This particular story threw me for a loop. There was the obvious plot and then the subplot that was always there, yet quietly waiting to fully emerge. It was a great blend of suspense, angst and self reflection.

Grief and guilt can do a lot to a person. It can make a seemingly sane person turn into a shadow of their former selves. Gripping onto habits that will only help to send their life into a downward spiral. That's what has landed Ava in Maine. That and a looming deadline that she wasn't getting anywhere near at home.

Despite the picturesque location, Ava soon realises that the ghost stories weren't just stories. There is something else living in the house with Ava. Something that claims to know what she desires and all of her secrets. Including the one secret she's hoping to keep buried.

As if that wasn't enough, she is also trying to look into the deaths surrounding the house. Deaths that were all accidental in nature or made to look that way. The closer she gets the more danger mounts on both sides.

Struggled to get through this one, the characters seemed a little too hard to get to know. The story promised a lot, but for me didn’t deliver.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed with this one. The premise is exciting and interesting, but overall the execution fell flat. The characters were just blah for me and I really couldn't get into the story.

Overall a 2/5.

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 leave my opinion.

Really mixed feelings on this book. I loved the premise and what it could have been. I felt like I was reading a cross between a mystery and 50 Shades of Gray with a ghost.

Ava Collette is trying to run away from a mistake she made. She rents a house on the coast in Maine to escape and also finish the cookbook that she is trying to write. She discovers items left behind by the previous renter which makes her curious as to why she left so quickly. This is the main mystery and it's a good one. Where it got weird was the ghost of the man who originally built the house. If you can skip over these parts, it's a good story.

In order to finish writing her cookbook, Ava Collette decided to spend the summer at Brodie’s Watch, a beautiful old sea captain’s home on the coast of Maine. Nervous at first, Ava quickly finds the house is calling to her, and she makes excellent progress on the cookbook while doing her best to ignore the underlying reasons that brought her from Boston to Maine.

It started slowly, with glimpses of something shadow-like and increasingly disturbing dreams, but finally the Captain himself manifested, promising Ava what she most desired, and assuring her no harm would come to her under his roof. As Ava continues research for her book, she also hunts for information about Brodie’s Watch and Captain Jeremiah Brodie, and is concerned enough to contact a ghost hunting group to help her.

My initial thoughts on this book were, “Ooh! Ghosts and romance and a little time travel thrown in!” And yes, the book has all those things. To me, the story was a little flat, and the book, though it was a fast read, didn’t inspire me the way I was expecting. Ava’s heavy drinking and unresolved guilt were brought up way too frequently, and weighted the storyline down.

This was very different from the other Tess Gerritsen books I've read - it's a mystery but the focus is on the paranormal/spooky, and on the main character and how she does, and doesn't, deal with the past. It's also a lot sexier/explicit than most of her other books I've read.
I really liked the spooky, almost gothic atmosphere. And I was definitely creeped out by some of the events! There were some really neat things about the ending too, but anything I said about those would be spoilers.

This was an interesting read that certainly tested my ability to read “ghost stories.” It was an interesting plot and well written. These type of themes, however, are not my preference.

Tess Gerritsen is a name I know, but I’ve never read anything by her before. I requested this book because of the supernatural aspect, along with the murder mystery plot line.

Ava Collette has secrets in her past that lead her to flee from Boston to Tucker Cove, Maine. She rents Brodie’s Watch, a beautiful, historic house with a sea view. She begins to hear strange noises, see strange things, and one nigh, Captain Jeremiah Brodie - the house’s namesake - appears to her. He’s both intriguing and frightening. Along with the rumors of the haunted house, there have been occurrences in the house, deaths. As Ava begins investigating, she realizes that her life may also be in danger.

I love the ghost story aspect of the book. Creepy, haunted houses are very much my thing, and Gerritsen does it well, describing noises, weird things falling in the house, and even Ava’s cat’s weird behavior. I also enjoyed the mysteries of the house and the history that Gerritsen created for Brodie’s Watch. The reveal at the end, the whodunnit, was interesting and believable.

My struggle with this book came from the weird sexual relationship between Ava and the ghost of Captain Brodie. I’m not opposed to sex in novels, but I was turned off by the fact that she was having that kind of relationship with a ghost. There were also scenes in which he inflicted pain on Ava, which is something I’m generally not a fan of reading.

My rating on this book is reflective of aspects of this particular story, not of Gerritsen herself. I would definitely read more by this author as she tells a great story and kept me turning pages, even on the parts that weren’t my favorite. If you have different tastes in books than I do, you might still really enjoy this one!

I was very sad that I couldn't get into this one. I've loved so many of Tess Gerritsen's books I was excited to see what she had ventured into. With The Shape of Night, I didnt' like the characters, couldn't relate, so it was hard to get into the story...it starts a little slow which makes it difficult to get into the plot. If this had been my first book by Tess Gerritsen I may not pick up another, but knowing her other works, I'll give her next one a fair chance :)

I went back and forth between 2 and 3 stars, I just didn't like anything about the characters. The story could have been gothic and creepy. Instead it was kind of outdated, sexist and gross. I wanted so much to like the ghost story and the paranormal aspect of it all but it was overshadowed by this ridiculousness.

Ava leaves her apartment in Boston after a tragedy and she has trouble coping with her role in the event. She finds a house on the coast that seems the answer to her escape. Soon she finds that a sea captain's ghost still inhabits the house and that every woman who has lived there died. What is Ava's fate?

The Shape of Night is a paranormal romantic suspense novel from Tess Gerritsen, author of the Rizzoli and Isles novels that inspired a popular television series.

Brodie’s Watch was built in 1861 by seafarer Captain Jeremiah Brodie. It is said that he still haunts the house in Tucker Cove, Maine. Rumors that are only fueled by the fact that to date every female that has resided in the house has died there.

Ava Collette is a food writer from Boston, renting Brodie’s Watch for the summer, expecting a private retreat where she can write in peace. She soon realizes that Brodie’s Watch is the total opposite of peaceful. She encounters the ghostly apparition of the original builder of the house, Captain Jeremiah Brodie. Ava begins to crave visits from the paranormal entity that may be real or a product of her drunken stupors. She keeps her infatuation with a ghost, that takes shape in the night, a secret, but it’s not the only secret she’s keeping.

The Shape of Night is an interesting novel. It starts somewhat slowly but picks up toward the latter half. The story is essentially a bird’s eye view from the perspective of the central character, Ava Collette. A character I didn’t like at all. She seems to be excessively shallow and unreasonable. Luckily, there are surprising and suspenseful plot twists. Ultimately I enjoyed the novel and rate it 3 out of 5 stars. I recommend it to readers who enjoy paranormal romantic suspense.

My thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However, the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.

The Shape of Night is a mix of murder mystery and paranormal thriller. Ava is a food writer who is escaping Boston for small town Maine. A personal tragedy occurred the previous New Years and Ava cannot face her sister anymore. After the previous renter of Brodie's Watch up and levels early Ava gets a great rental for the next few months. Almost immediately Ava starts finding personal effects of the previous tenant lift behind and the original owners starts to visit her at night.

What happened to the first tenant? Is Brodie's ghost real or just in Ava's imagination? Will Ava get the answers she needs before it is too late to save her?

This was definitely a book where I was not sure if the mystery was human or paranormal in nature. It is also a book about healing. This was a good quick read that mixed the genres in a masterful way.

The Shape of Night by Tess Gerritsen is about a woman trying to outrun her past. Drawn to a coastal village in Maine, Ava Collette rents an old house named Brodie’s watch. While living in the isolated seaside mansion, she begins to see the ghost of the long-dead sea captain who resides there. Ava is happy to see him as a romance ensues until she finds out that every previous woman who has lived at Brodie’s watch has died. Who is the killer and will she be next? This is a strange, unbelievable novel, but intriguing. A bit creepy at times, Ghosts, dreams or an overactive imagination? Ava found a lot of mice and mysterious happenings, but refused to move. Make sure you keep reading to the end. This book was good, but I enjoy her Rizzoli and Isles series better.

This book held me right until the end. It is the first book that I have read by this author but I will definitely read more.
I am not a normal reader of paranormal books but this one was very well done. The author combines a ghost story, romance and a murder mystery into one great psychological thriller.
A great page turner that leaves the reader wondering was there really a ghost?
Thank you Netgalley and Ballentine books for an opportunity to review this book.

Ava Colette flees tragedy in Boston to move to a coastal Maine town. Her home, Brodie's Watch, is isolated enough that she feels safe until she discovers that the long-dead sea captain Jeremiah Brodie still haunts the house. In addition, there are rumors that every woman that has ever lived in the house had died there. Is it the ghost, or a serial killer coming for her?

Tess Gerritsen is known for the Rizzoli and Isles novels (which I hadn't read), so some people might be drawn to this book for the name recognition. It's not part of that series but meant to be more of a paranormal noir kind of novel. There are elements of BDSM in it as well, so it's very different from the usual crime and suspense novels! It's not as heavily described as the horribly written "Fifty Shades of Gray" series of novels, but Ava is bound, and there are scenes where she is whipped, there is a "jury" that is judging her for her crimes, and other times when she is simply cuddled when she feels alone. Of course, she won't want to discuss this aspect of her haunting, but it had still creeped her out just enough to go looking into the history of the house (ostensibly to add flavor to her cooking/history book) and potential hauntings. Ava does make friends with some locals, though she also drinks heavily while alone as well as socially, and also tried to look into the whereabouts of the prior tenant to her home when she found some of her belongings that were left behind.

The story progresses in a fairly straightforward, with some question as to what Ava is actually seeing and experiencing. It is simply drunken dreams? Is it due to an infection? It surrounds her, whatever it is, and it isn't until the end that it's absolutely clear what had happened to the women around Brodie's Watch. Even then, there is still the hint of a possible haunting, and some secrets are never fully disclosed to other characters. Ava sees it as proof of how much she loves her sister to carry her guilt with her, and it's also that same guilt that possibly drove the haunting in the first place. This is less of a horror tale than a spooky one with a hefty dash of intrigue, definitely fulfilling the intention of the novel.

This is a well-told story about a "not always likable" main character. The narrator is both interesting and hard to relate to. There is a lot of drama and shame surrounding her move to Maine and by the time the reader finds out why, it was shocking and anticlimactic - the hints were plentiful but I kept hoping that wasn't what happened.

And...I didn't expect a ghost to be one of the main characters.

The mystery of the previous inhabitants and the unexplained and/or untimely deaths was enough to keep the story moving along and interesting. However, there's a point where an explanation of the ghost is offered - and it's terrifying - but it goes nowhere and if it had, it would have brought the book in a completely different direction and become more of a horror story.

The story was well written and kept my interest, I definitely wanted to know how it all turned out, I just didn't like the story of what was actually in the house, since it wasn't addressed again or taken care of.

Terri"s books never disappoint. they grab you from the beginning and keep a hold of you until the final page. I have read a lot from this author have always enjoyed all of her books. cant wait for the next one

This book was a disappointment to me. I've always like Tess Gerritsen, but this one just wasn't up to her usual standards, in my opinion.