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.

I started reading Tess Gerritsen's books after watching Rizzoli and Isles. This book is a departure from her usual genre. Not surprisingly, I was intrigued by the first page. I thoroughly enjoyed the ghost story, and satisfied with the ending.

This is not my normal genre, but I decided to try it because I've read other things by the author that I liked. This one did not work for me, though I would probably recommend it to patrons who enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey.

This is an eerily spooky story. After a devastating tragedy, Ava, a food writer with a book deadline escapes to Maine to finish her book. She rents an old mansion whose previous tenant has left in a hurry and hasn’t been heard from since. The house Ava rents is called Brodie’s Watch and was built by a sea captain in the late 1800’s. The house feels sentient and it is rumored to be haunted. Ava has several encounters with Jeremiah Brody but is he a ghost or has Ava been drinking too much? After digging into the house’s history Ava finds out that all of the women who’ve lived there have died there. As Ava works through her demons she is falling in love with and is terrified by Captain Brody. The previous tenants body is discovered and it is determined she was murdered. Is the ghost killing the women who all look similar to Ava or is someone else in Tucker’s Cove responsable? I liked this story, it was creepy and spooky and just right for an October read. My one problem was with the dialogue. Ava was very short and rude when interacting with people in town. Most were very nice to her but I found her personality a bit abrasive. I know she was suffering from guilt but I think she could have been less abrupt. Overall, I liked this haunted house story and wanted to taste some of Ava’s dishes. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

As always a winner! Gerrirsen hasn’t lost her touch to write a best seller! Loved this book and will be looking for more!

Hold onto your seats, this is a real nail-biter! From the first word to the final gulp, you’ll be mesmerized. Paranormal delight! #Unputdownable! #Gobsmacked
#nailbiter #edgeofyourseatthrills #supersuspense

Unfortunately, I was very disappointed in this book. I have enjoyed the Rizzoli and Isles series and the other non-series books by Tess Gerritsen, but this book fell short of her normal quality. I'm not offended by the paranormal aspect, but when you factor in the main character's alcohol issues and the sexual experiences, it was essentially an alcoholic pornographic story.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Tess Gerristen’s newest novel is a departure from her well-known series's and stand-alone novels. This ghostly thriller features cookbox writer Ava, escaping to the haunted house on the cliffs of Maine from a troubled past in Boston. We start to learn about Ava’s guilt as we get to know the very real ghost Captain Brodie.

A story wrapped in several others takes many twists and is entirely impossible to put down. I don’t tend to enjoy this type of mystery, but really enjoyed this story.

Grateful for the advanced reader copy for an honest opinion.

This is my first book by Tess Gerritsen, I was a fan of the show based of her popular series and I've always wanted to dig into one of her books. I was super excited to try one with a paranormal twist.

The Shape of the Night follows Ava, a women who is dealing with a tragedy and betrayal. She is looking for some place different to concentrate not only of her new culinary book but also the guilt and hurt she has from what happened back home. She rents a house on the lake in a small town in Maine for a while, the house at first is not what she expects, even though its beautiful there was something eerie and unsure she felt before she stepped in. But not until she starts to hear strange noises does she think she's dealing with a haunted house. Then when she comes face to face with the Captain who owned her house long ago does she feel the pull to stay here as well as the frightening feeling she's not thinking clearly.

I loved Gerritsen writing, the flow and ease that she pulls you into the story is wonderful. I loved the small town the detailed description of the house and the small hints of mystery that really got me hooked. Ava herself is a bit of a mess, emotionally and being isolated in a new house and town doesn't help her situation. Her mistake back home that caused her reason for coming was tragic and also I felt angry with her. She has a problem and the reader becomes obvious to it as the book moves forward. I had a hard time connecting with her because she was making more bad decisions, especially when the ghost shows up. I would of been out of that house in a minute, however I do understand that the ghost has a pull towards the people there.

Overall it was a great thriller, but it actually creeped me out it some negative ways. The ghost and how he was with Ava was disturbing. I'm sure that was the authors intention because of what the ghost purpose was but I just got the creeps from the whole interaction, mostly how he was and how he talked. I do like last few chapters because it becomes clear the reasons behind the ghost and how Ava story came about. The murder mystery itself was missing something, not sure what I just didn't feel as invested in solving that as I did about what was going on with the house. In the end I'm glad I gave this author a try, I may not of liked the plot as much as I was hoping for but I did enjoy her writing style.

I have always enjoyed Tess Gerritsen’s books, and this one is no exception. As a matter of fact, I believe I would have to rank The Shape of Night as one of my favorites. Ava Collette is trying to outrun her past. In an effort to accomplish this, she flees to a remote area in Maine and rents a very old and very large house—Brodie’s Watch. For some reason, this area and this house bring a peace to Ava that she has not experienced in quite some time, until something happens to steal that peace away
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Do you believe in ghosts? This is a question that Ava is faced with in her temporary home away from home. Or is it temporary? Is it haunted? Not only is there a hint of the supernatural contained in this novel, there is mystery and romance as well. It is loaded with suspense and will keep you on your toes as you explore along with Ava, attempting to make sense of her life and the things that happen to her.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and hope that Ms. Gerritsen will venture along this path again. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

A paranormal romantic suspense. Ava Collette, a cookbook author escaping a tragic event, flees Boston to rent an old mansion in Maine in order to have peace and quiet to finish her latest book. There she experiences (and boy does she!) the ghost of Jeremiah Brodie, the dashing sea captain who built the house over a hundred years ago. Over the years, five women living in the house have died or disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Is Ava next? And is the ghost really a demon or just a figment of her guilty, drunken depression? A decent ghostly mystery.

I appreciate that author's want to stretch. I like Gothic stories. I like the paranormal. I actually lived in a house for two years with a ghost, and have encountered others. I have been fascinated by the paranormal for years. Although the story is fiction, I also believe there are things of which the paranormal are capable, and what they're not. Becoming corporal and having sex falls into the "not" category. Perhaps, had I stayed with it, I'd have found that part was only a dream or Ava's imagination, but I just wasn't willing to go that far, so I stopped reading the book, and shan't be posting this review publically.

Gerritsen is an author I've followed from her very first book, but this was just a step too far for me. I know she is capable of excellent writing. I'll wait for her next book, thanks.

I've been a Tess Gerritsen fan for YEARS. I read her way before the Rizzoli and Isles TV Show. I started reading her in high school so that's been....13 years+ oh my!!!. But, this is Tess in all her glory writing a wonderful tight suspense novel. I did love some of the supernatural aspects thrown in. Boy, I had missed Tess's writing. So fantastic. Hard to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. I would give this book about a 3 1/2. Being a fan of Tess Gerritsen's books, I found this book to be a bit different from her other books.

Ava has escaped her issues in Boston and seeks a quiet place in Maine to get her life back on track. She finds that the home that she is renting is haunted, by what is presumed to be the original owner that was lost at sea over 100 years ago. While trying to complete her book that is over a year past due, she must uncover the secrets that are being hidden in the house.

Strange read but a great read! You get away from your life, go somewhere so you can relax and finish your novel. Only relaxation is to far away since you are currently dreaming about a ghost. Paranormal books have never been a favorite of mine, but author Tess Gerritsen has been a favorite because of her Rizzoli and Isles series. Quick read but good content.

This was my first time reading this kind of paranormal romance and while intriguing, I'm not really a fan. The story was very detailed, intricate, and filled with twists. But i couldn't get past how unrealistic it was for Captain Brodie to command her like he did. Maybe if this is your chosen genre it would be fabulous. I'm giving it three chilli peppers of hotness for the smexy.

I received a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts are my own.

A woman trying to outrun her past is drawn to a quiet coastal town in Maine–and to a string of unsolved murders. A ghostly romantic story.

I have seen bits and pieces of the show Rizzoli & Isles but haven't delved into the series in book form yet. Rather I got pulled into this book by the description and felt like reading a paranormal gothic mystery. That, of course, led to me reading parts of other people's reviews because I have a bad habit of doing that and occasionally spoiling myself for things to come.

The Shape of Night starts with our dear Ava running from something back home - we find out multiple times throughout the story that she was trying to run from herself which is impossible. Anyway, she decides to move to the story's local in good, old Maine because, ya know, nothing bad ever happens there. (Unless you're a character in something written by Stephen King - then, oh, watch out!) She begins to form relationships with people around town and finds items around her house that belong to the previous tenant. Being the great human being she is, she'd like to return those items and starts to unravel this big mystery as to why Charlotte (previous tenant) chose to leave as quickly as she did.

We meet a doctor who isn't as up and up as he's portrayed to be, two handymen who are just going to eat our dear old Ava out of her house and home and a ghost who likes a little extra something in the bedroom. A ghost who honestly may not have even been real - I mean, ghosts aren't real so why am I having this debate with myself? But Ava questions it a few times and even if he wasn't real, she thought he was and she dealt with some inner turmoil through him and realized some things about herself along the way. I mean, I guess.

I can't really complain about this book - beyond the fact that it made me slip unintentionally into a reading slump that meant I didn't really read much for two weeks. I liked the intrigue, I liked the mystery and honestly, the ghost and his proclivities didn't bother me. As a whole, it even made me want to check out other books from Tess Gerritsen. The story was intriguing even if I dragged my feet when it came to finding time to read. I had figured out a little early on who was to blame for the dead women but that's not always a bad thing to know early on who the creeps are.

I just finished this book and it's a really good supernatural thriller. I was of courses hooked when I read that the main character had a pet cat. This book was extremely intriguing and hard to put down. My only hesitation is the part when it comes to the main character having sex with a ghost. If you can overlook that then this book was really good and had a great twist at the end that I didn’t see coming.

This is not Rizzoli and Isles for sure. Tess Gerritsen goes paranormal in this new book. Ava is running from her life in Boston and rents Brodie’s Watch, a beautiful yet interesting house in Maine. Strange things happen and it appears to be haunted by the sea captain who built the house years ago. The house has a history of women dying, but she is drawn to the ghost who promises her what she needs.

The story is riveting and kept me interested even though I am not typically a paranormal fan. The mystery is well written and the ending was kind of predictable, but still a great read.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley.