A woman trying to outrun her past is drawn to a coastal village in Maine—and to a string of unsolved murders—in this novel of romance and psychological suspense from New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen.“Suspenseful, sexy, and soulful.”—J. R. Ward, bestselling author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood seriesAfter an unspeakable tragedy in Boston, Ava Collette flees to a remote village in … Ava Collette flees to a remote village in Maine, where she rents an old house named Brodie’s Watch.
In that isolated seaside mansion, Ava finally feels at peace . . . until she glimpses the long-dead sea captain who still resides there.
Rumor has it that Captain Jeremiah Brodie has haunted the house for more than a century. One night, Ava confronts the apparition, who feels all too real, and who welcomes her into his world—and into his arms. Even as Ava questions her own sanity, she eagerly looks forward to the captain’s ghostly visits. But she soon learns that the house she loves comes with a terrible secret, a secret that those in the village don’t want to reveal: Every woman who has ever lived in Brodie’s Watch has also died there. Is the ghost of Captain Brodie responsible, or is a flesh-and-blood killer at work? A killer who is even now circling closer to Ava?
Praise for The Shape of Night
“Gerritsen is at her atmospheric best in this spine-tingling tale of a lone woman, an old house, and all the secrets everyone tries to hide.”—Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“With a twisty mix of dangerous passion, obsession, and suspense, Tess Gerritsen reinvents the Gothic novel, giving it a razor-sharp, modern edge.”—Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author of Untouchable
“Curl up in your favorite reading chair and let Tess Gerritsen whisk you away to a coastal town reminiscent of Daphne du Maurier’s best settings. You are in for a dark and sexy night, and you will be up very late with Tess’s twisted, haunting tale.”—Iris Johansen, #1 New York Times bestselling author
more
Guilt ridden from an unspeakable act, a woman escapes her life to a coastal town in Maine where she rents a house on the sea, proceeds to drink too much, sees the ghost of a fallen ship captain and tries to solve the mystery if a missing woman.
I am still not quite sure about this one. It was hard not to like because it was well written, and the characters were solid, but the plot was a little far out there for me. I was engaged throughout the story, even the parts where I was questioning it, so because of that a 4 star rating.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher and author for an ARC of this book. The opinions expressed are my own
Very different plot. Well delineated female protagonist with many emotional aspects. Unique but I really liked it. Finished in a couple days
This book started off different than most Tess Gerritsen books, especially the Rizolli and Iles books, but it grabbed me right from the state. I don’t think I have ever read a paranormal book by Tess, but as good as this one is she needs to write more. A cookbook writer who also wants to give a flavor of the town along with the history of all the seamen made this small town back in the day there home. She also seems to be running from something that happened the past New Years at her home in Bost. Ava has not been in the house she rented for the summer to October to write her book from the house she rented called Brodie’s Watch when she think she sees a ghost. I don’t want to give anymore away but this book is full of murder, mystery and a little of the unknown. I really enjoyed this book.
The Shape of Night by Tess Gerritsen was not what I was expecting from the blurb. I was hoping for a modern take on The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (a suspenseful mystery with some paranormal elements). It has some of that, but then it takes a trip into the dark side. There are intimate scenes that resemble a dark Fifty Shades of Grey. It certainly was not what I was suspecting nor was it something I wished to read. I found myself skimming through the last sixty percent of the book. I could not get into The Shape of Night. I did not like Ava who overly indulges in alcohol because of guilt which makes her an unreliable narrator. I thought the pacing was slow and the descriptions were wordy. There was repetition and predictability as well. I was expecting more from Tess Gerritsen who gave us Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles (I still miss the television show). While The Shape of Night was not for me, I suggest you obtain a sample to see if it suits you. That is the beauty of books. There are so many novels available that there is something for every type of reader. The Shape of Night just did not come together as a gothic paranormal mystery.
Not what I was expecting. I am not into paranormal plots.
This is a great old-fashioned ghost story set in a small New England town north of Boston called Tucker Cove. It begins when a food-writer, Ava (with her cat, Hannibal) rents an old mansion called Brodie’s Watch to escape her sordid past and hopefully finish her cookbook on authentic New England recipes. Ava gets a whole lot more than a great ocean view and privacy. The house was built in 1861 by Captain Jeremiah Brodie, who went to a watery grave a decade later. Soon Ava hears and sees things that should have sent her packing, but instead, she embraces the ghost of Jeremiah in more ways than one. Throw in a woman’s body that washes ashore, an odd assortment of small-town characters, and a paranormal fact-finding team that captures video of Ava’s ghost and you have a chilling, fast-paced story that’s hard to put down once you start reading. I enjoyed this one immensely and highly recommend it.
The Shape of Night by Tess Gerritsen
I love this author and have read many if not most of her books, this one was different but still worth reading!
Ava needs to write the rest of her book and rents what turns out to be a big mansion with a little mouse problem and it seems a big ghost problem, throw in a missing woman, a small town handsome doctor, gossipy realtor and Cpt. Brodie of course and some ghostly sex and you have one heck of a book! Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for allowing me to read this book and letting me leave my opinion.
I quite enjoyed this book although this genre of creepy paranormal romance is not my favorite. The plot and storytelling are done well and the ending wraps up the mystery nicely.
A ghost story and a murder mystery by a consummate teller of tales.
This book was terrible – what a waste of reading time! When I read the description, I thought it was a murder mystery with a little romance thrown in. The author takes a long time to build the main character, yet I never really connected with her. The ‘tragedy’ that sent her packing is easy to guess, and most of the rest of the ‘suspense’ was pretty obvious. Throwing in the murder mystery seemed haphazard and more of an afterthought. Seems like she was hurried to finish the book and just gave up on story development. Making all of that worse, the ‘romance’ portion was practically hard-core porn, in my opinion. Overall, an incredibly disappointing book.
One of my favorite writers, Tess Gerritsen, weaves another one of her fantastic tales! She creates another likable and complex character as well. Keep writing!
Tess Gerritsen is a favorite of mine. It’s almost impossible to go wrong with one of her books.
Definitely Not Along the Lines of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
The novel opens with the Ava Collette, the heroine, driving to Brodie’s Watch, a hundred plus year old house isolated and overlooking the Atlantic in a small town in Maine. Ava is a cookbook writer and is almost a year behind in delivering her next book. She is coming here to escape and heal from the complications back in Boston and to finish her next book based on a Maine and Seafaring theme. When she arrives, the house is huge and foreboding. The rental agent drives up behind here. Ava starts to express concern but doesn’t have the courage to back out. Once in the house, the feeling changes and she starts to feel at home. She learns from the rental agent that two carpenters will be completing their renovations and will be working in the turret and widow’s walk for a few weeks. She also learns that the previous renter just up and left with additional month’s rent paid. The novel takes off from this point.
The main storyline proceeded with Ava using the carpenters as food critics, interacts with the rental agent and local doctor, but most of the action is in and around Brodie’s Watch. On her first exploration of the beach below the house, she notices what appears to be someone up on the widow walk as she walks up the path to the house. She found no one in the house, and the carpenters do not work on weekends. As more incidents occur and Ava leans about the house’s history, she is convinced her that the house is haunted and may be dangerous.
Unfortunately, the B-storyline for me was a little light. Only a few facts are revealed about her before her arrival except something serious between her and her older sister back in Boston. The main storyline just proceeded with Ava becoming more and more focusing on her ghost who she believed was Captain Brodie who built the home and subsequently died at sea.
The novel was very light in terms of vulgar language, but there are very graphic sex scenes. While there are only a few, they include bondage, and sadomasochistic elements. I rate this novel with very strong sexual content so let the reader be forewarned. This novel definitely is not the Ghost and Mrs. Muir that I first thought when I just started to read the novel.
By the end of the novel, all the story threads were completed satisfactorily with only the appropriate level of paranormal reasons. My attention was finally captured but not compellingly around the 50% point with the novel started to transition from a romance to a thriller. Until this point, I was dreading reading more of this novel. I was thinking of a rating of three stars at best. When I finished the novel, I was pleased with the read and rate this novel with four stars. If you like romance novels, I suspect that you may like this novel more than I did. To be honest, this is the first romance novel, or what I believe is a romance novel, that I have read. So if I am wrong in this aspect, please forgive.
I have received a free kindle version of this novel through NetGalley from Ballantine Books with an expectation for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this novel early.
reader, sharing feelings and apprehension, while shadowing things to come, “Even now I still dream about Brodie’s Watch, and the nightmare is always the same…I had felt no such apprehension on that day in early August when I turned onto North Point Way and drove toward Brodie’s Watch for the first time.” Readers learn a lot a about the narrator as she talks to herself and comments on events along the way.
Gerritsen skillfully takes readers on a long strange visit to a wonderful house undergoing renovation but with a lovely huge kitchen just perfect for the narrator who is writing a cookbook. The opening tone is optimistic; after all, the house is the perfect place to write a book about “Traditional New England” cooking. However, as the days pass, readers feel the same apprehension, tension, and approaching panic as the narrator. Readers, along with the narrator, walk the line between reality and something else, then are hit with a strong dose of both, and begin to question what reality actually is.
I received a review copy of “The Shape of Night” from Tess Gerritsen, Random House Publishing, and Ballantine Books. It was expertly designed to pull readers into the drama of the characters, the setting, and the house. The plot was intended to manipulate feelings and establish doubt. It was compelling from start to finish.
When I think of Tess Gerritsen I think of her Rizzoli and Isles novels or her early medical thrillers Harvest and Gravity. This is nothing like those novels. This is a sexy ghost story thriller. Ava has come from Boston to an isolated seaside mansion named Bodie’s Watch in Maine. Here she hopes to find peace, and she does until the ghost of Jeremiah Brodie shows up. She soon learns that every woman who has lived in Brodie’s Watch has died. Did the seductive ghost kill them or is there a flesh and blood explanation? This book written in Ms Gerritsen’s usual style, is suspenseful and sexy and a fast read. The characters, including the house, are well developed. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley but as a fan of the author I would have read it anyway.
This book made me feel like I was living in a different place and time. This small town can suck you in and make you forget the rest of the world exists. Ava feels this pull more than most it seems. Once she moves in to Brodie’s Watch to focus on her cookbook, strange things start happening. She begins seeing things and then learns that she’s not the first. While Brodie’s Watch feels inviting to her, everyone else feels spooked when they walk through the doors. Will Ava get out before it’s too late? Is everyone else being too cautious? What really happened at Brodie’s Watch?
This book seemed to have a lot going on, but I still enjoyed it. I really liked Ava, and for a “small-town” novel, this is one of the better ones I’ve read. It’s a quick and easy read.
None of the above adjectives work for me. The protagonist was a depressing disaster but the story was mildly intriguing. More development of the other characters would’ve turned this into a much more involving novel. The story had a good start, however, the finale was totally predictable.
Ava is running away. She tells herself she is just getting away to write her book. But deep down…she knows she is running from her past. She rents a home on the edge of the sea in Maine. The home is the historical house of the famous sea captain…Captain Brodie.
Ava immediately knows something is off about the house. After a few days in this house she questions what actually made the previous tenant leave? This sends her on a quest and possible danger from her own rental property. See…her house is inhabited by Captain Brodie himself!
This is not your typical Tess Gerritsen novel. So, if you are expecting her usual, prepared to be surprised. This is a ghost story and it is twisted. It is even very risqué in places. This has received some mixed reviews. But, I have not read a Tess Gerritsen book in a very long time. So, I had no prejudices. I went in with an open mind. And yes I figured most of it out. But the story is very entertaining and I was definitely on the edge of my seat.
Not sure I would recommend reading this home alone on a dark night!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Dark, edgy, and brilliantly written.
First off, this is not Rizzoli & Isles, so if that’s what you’re looking for…stop, but don’t because this story is fabulous, it’s just different. If you’re a fan of ghost stories and especially The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, but maybe want something a little sexier, darker, and definitely edgier, then this is your book.
The story is brilliantly and beautifully written as you’d expect from Tess Gerritsen. The details are there so you feel like you’re in a small, coastal town in Maine in a hundred and fifty-year-old home. No surprise in either of those areas because we’re talking Tess Gerritsen. What was surprising was the paranormal aspect. But yet…was there really a ghost or was it just Ava’s mind? I’ll let you decide. No spoilers from me. I will say, I read this in one day because I couldn’t put it down. The story drew me in, consumed me, wrapped Ava’s pain and guilt around me and wouldn’t let go until the end.
If you like a good psychological suspense with twists and turns give this book a try. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Do you believe in ghosts? Ava Colletter does … she’s actually seen Captain Jeremiah Brodie who’s been haunting Brody’s Watch for more than a century. She’s touched him, been touched by him, and talked with him. He looks and feels as real as anyone who is still among the living. He welcomes her with open arms.
Ava has rented this mansion for the summer i order to write her next cookbook. And fleeing from a disaster, this is the perfect solution. Or is it?
Before too long, Ava is questioning her own sanity. But he has become her addiction.
But the house …. and the ghost … come with a terrible secret.. one that could add her to the list of other women who have lived there before her.
This is a haunting tale of suspense, obsession, and a dangerous passion… largely reminiscent of the old Gothic novels. There is plenty of action in this well crafted novel. A few twists kept me riveted from the very first to the surprising unpredictable ending.
Many thanks to the author / Random House Publishing – Ballantine / Netgalley for the digital copy of this paranormal suspense. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.