I was looking for something new and the premise of this one sounded interesting...sadly, it didn’t deliver.

I wanted to like Ava, but I’m not sure I did. She drinks heavily every night and her while inner monologue didn’t reflect that, it was something she thought about often. There are some fairly huge mistakes in her past {which is fine}, but I didn’t feel like she had any growth. And yes, I’m being vague on purpose.

Plot wise, it was disappointing. I didn’t quite get the romance {okay, let’s be honest and just call it sex with a ghost} and the murder mystery part felt like an afterthought. There wasn’t any tension or build up.

Overall, I constantly thought about DNFing, but for some reason I kept reading. Mostly because I wanted answers and never got them.

**Huge thanks to Ballantine Books for providing the arc free of charge**

After Ava experiences a tragedy in Boston, she decides to seek refuge in an old mansion in Maine. Rumor has it that the house is haunted by Capt. Jeremiah Brodie. Upon moving in, Ave learns that several of the women who have lived in the house have died there. Ava begins to investigate the history of the house and the women who have lived there. Is there really a ghost? If so, how does it relate to the women? It’s a fascinating story. I’ve been a fan of the Rizzoli and Isles series by this author and was delighted to read something a little different from her.

Also reviewed on B&N and Kobo under the name IrishEyes430

Wow ! A mesmerizing psychological thriller that you won't soon forget ! A twisty mix of modern gothic , murder and obsession ! Loved this book ! Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing , Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read and review this book ! #Netgalley #RandomHousePublishingGroup-Ballantine #TheShapeOfNight

I was a big fan of Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli and Isles series, but I haven't read anything by her in ages. This book sounded really interesting, so I just had to request it. If you're expecting a book comparable to those storylines, you will be disappointed. However, if you like gothic suspense tales, I think you will be very pleased.

Ava Collette is a food writer working on a book about New England cuisine who rents a house named Brodie's Watch in Maine. She's having trouble writing in Boston and is also running from a terrible past, so she and huge Hannibal the Cat think this seaside town is the perfect writing retreat. She quickly realizes there are some strange goings-on in this historic home. She hears strange noises in the night; is there an intruder in the home, or could it be handsome Captain Brodie, who actually died well over a century ago? Research shows that a number of women died in this house; was it Captain Brodie, or could there be a human culprit?

I'm very surprised how much I liked the book! I didn't like Ava, with her secrets and drinking, yet she was such an interesting character. Captain Brodie was rather interesting himself, considering he was a dead man with a penchant for domineering and punishing sex! The other characters, from Ben the handsome doctor to Maeve the paranormal investigator to Ned the carpenter, were all solid additions to the story. I must admit, however, that my favorite cast member was Hannibal. That big butterball of a cat had an even bigger personality. I loved when Ava contemplated Hannibal feasting on her dead body. I normally don't like books told in first person present tense, but I soon overlooked that as I got wrapped up in the story. Definitely a book worth getting lost in.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Wow! What creepy psychological thriller! I actually really liked it. The book kept me wanting to turn the pages fast to find out what happens next.

I regretfully give this book a much lower rating than I would have liked. I absolutely loved the setting, and the way the author describes it is excellent. You really can envision the house, the turret, the sea, the cliffs. I almost felt as if I could smell the sea, the way it was described. Unfortunately, that was the best part of the story. The main character alludes to a secret throughout almost the entire book (I think the full story, like all 5 pages of it, comes out at around 85%). By the time we get the whole story, there has been such a buildup that it seems like such a letdown. Most readers will likely already know what happened by the time they get to that part anyway, as it's not a huge leap from the clues dropped throughout the story.

Again, another thing that kept me turning pages was the history about the house (and ghost) as Ava started digging into it. At this point, I expected them to uncover murders spanning centuries. Multiple reports of paranormal activity at the house. I don't want to spoil any of the bigger details here, but lets just say I was underwhelmed. The whole ending just felt very anti climactic to me. A sad departure from the high hopes I had at the beginning,

I didn’t realize beforehand that this is a paranormal. I hate them. I do not read them. However, as I received an advance copy of this book and promised to leave a review , I did read it. As I have to rate it on storyline and character development, I have to say it is very good. It is a fast paced psychological romance with lots of mystery. Well done

I discovered repeats of Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli & Isles series on TV, and from there, becamse a fan of her books. When I saw this, I couldn’t wait to see what she would do with a different kind of story.

From the very beginning, the Prologue drew me in with a very atmospheric, almost haunting start. There are little clues that the main character, Ava, made some mistakes in the past and is running away from them with distance and alcohol. The author does an excellent job of showing through actions and Ava’s thoughts how difficult of a time she is having getting past this; Ava is pretty much ripe for the sequence of events she finds herself in.

The story was so incredibly well written that it could only come from the mind of a very talented writer. If you are looking for something a bit different from her usual style, this book is worth checking out.

While Tess Gerritsen is famous for her Rizzoli and Isle books, this book is something of a new and trying book for me. I am not a huge fan of paranormal but once you are in it, you wont want to put it down! I would recommend Tess's fans from her typical mysteries to try this one out!

Tess Gerritsen writes scintillating murder mysteries and this is no different. Ava is hiding from her sins when she comes face to face with her demon in the form of a ghost. She is mystified by the number of women who have died in the house she is renting. She starts an investigation to find out what is truly happening. There are secrets been kept by the people of the town and when she stumbles upon a suspect her life is in danger. The story will keep you turning the pages until the last shocking end. You will never guess who the killer is until it is revealed.

I prefer the author's standalone titles over her Rizzoli and Isles series, and this book is no exception. It is an intriguing haunted house mystery that takes place in the charming village of Tucker Cove on the coast of Maine. Brodie's Watch is the very old house that Ava has leased for a few months so she can finish writing her cooking book. Ava feels uncomfortable and fearful when she first enters the house, but soon she feels relaxed and hopeful that she can overcome her recent unhappy past. Then odd things begin to happen in the house, and Ava becomes concerned.

This book is a fun and very fast read. It is well-written, with strongly drawn characters and vivid descriptions. I felt like I was in the house, experiencing everything with Ava. Well done!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a preprint copy.

Amazon review: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R1Q35P0SR364CM?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srp

Ava decides that she is going to, on impulse, rent the inn that her Grandparents lived in for decades, until they chose to sell it. She has nothing but good memories of this place and, even though it needs a lot of work, she feels at home as soon as she sets foot inside. Rumor has it that Jeramiah Brodie, the Seafarer who built the house, haunts it to this day. Never one to believe in ghosts, Ava doesn't care. She just needs to get out of Boston and, the horrible things that happened on the previous New Year. She also needs to be far away from her sister because, Ava can't being herself to tell her sister the truth.
Since Ava is dealing with massive amounts of guilt and pain, she doesn't realize that she is leaving herself open to the machinations of a ghost who may not be as nice as she originally believes. There is a history of women dying under mysterious circumstances and, the ghost hunter Ava hired believes that Ava may just be next.

In this book a woman named Ava tries to escape a secret in her past by heading to Maine. The experiences she encounters are hard to describe without giving away some of the stories mysteries.

I really enjoyed this book. I went into it cold not knowing what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised. I did not see the ending coming. It might be because the story was so entertaining that I didn't focus on the underlying mystery. I would definitely recommend this book. It was haunting, intriguing and an all around fun read.

When I saw Tess Gerritsen had a new book out, I didn't have a to read the blurb to know I was going to read the book. The Rizzoli & Isles series is one of my favorites. Who would have thought I would be reading a paranormal 50 Shades of Grey with a mix of Amityville Horror and Poltergeist. Throw in a 30 year ago death, a missing person, a dead body, an alcoholic, an adulterer, and everything becomes convoluted. Luckily it was a short book and I was able to finish it quickly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for a copy of Tess Gerritsen's "The Shape of Night" in exchange of an honest review.

I didn’t read the blurb about this book, I just saw it was a new Tess Gerritsen book. I love the Rizzoli and Isles series and I thought this was a new one in the series, imagine my surprise finding out this was a paranormal book. Like her R & I series this deals with death, but this also has to do with guilt and grief. What made this a 3 star book for me was the BDSM ghost. That just didn’t work for me.

This was a slight departure from the author's usual books in that it was more of a paranormal read. I actually liked to while I would not normally care for such plots. I actually cared about the characters and what happened to them, event the cat. I love Tess Gerritsen and this book was right up my alley as it is getting to be fall, and will come out to the masses in time for Halloween and the other fall holidays. Just right for snuggling up with a great book, I would recommend this to anyone, paranormal fan or not.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book for an honest review.

Having read every book in the Rizzoli and Isles series, and many of Tess Gerritsen's standalones, I thought I knew what to expect from this story (and was very excited about it). But this... was a startling departure that definitely took me by surprise. In the interest of keeping the review spoiler-free, I won't go into more detail but I found this departure a little too unnerving. I'll be back to Tess Gerritsen's books, but certain elements of this one were just so distracting that I couldn't get into the story as much as I would have liked to.

I have been reading many praises for The Shape of Night. It did not disappoint. I love books that blend romance and suspense. The Shape of Night has a Maine setting. Tess Gerritsen captures Maine’s beauty and mystique.

The Shape of Night by Tess Gerritsen is a recommended Gothic tale of a haunted house that may be lethal for women.

Ava Collette, a cook book writer, flees Boston to a remote village in Maine where she has rented an isolated, old restored house named Brodie’s Watch. Ava feels she can finish writing her cookbook here. Soon, though, she sees the spectral vision of Captain Brody, the sea captain who built the original house. The ghost appears to Ava on some night and she begins to look forward to his visits. This haunting prompts Ava to look into the history of the house. She is also looking for the woman who rented the house before her in order to return some of the possessions she left behind. Ava soon discovers that the house seems to be lethal to women.

This is a well written novel, but it does require the reader to be into Gothic/paranormal/BDSM/murder novels. I'm not a fan of the combination. I am choosing to overlook parts of the novel that I skimmed while reading in order to get to the ending of the novel. You can easily do this and not lose the narrative thread. Gerritsen is an excellent writer, which I'm taking into consideration in my rating.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House.

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I'm a big fan of Tess Gerritson's Rizzoli and Isles series but I haven't read many of her other books. This book was a wonderful surprise for me!! Moody and gothic with a sexy ghost...what more could you ask for? How about an exciting romantic suspense story? Tess Gerritson continues to be a go to author for me!
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.