This was book 2 in the series, though I had not read book 1, I quite enjoyed this one in most parts. There were moments when it felt overwhelming to me, but I let go of those emotions to read only the mystery. I liked Jessie when she was not over the top. She was strong and intelligent. This book had a murder mystery along with an earthquake to make Jessie's life tough. But she proved she was tougher in both professional and personal life.
Hoping to read book 1 now

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Mystery
Triggers: Cheating

When a well-to-do businessman is found crushed, it’s up to Jessie to figure out whether it’s a terrible accident or murder.

Jessie and Anup have a somewhat stunted relationship. Anup is not available emotionally beyond what he gives to Jessie and Jessie is almost desperate in her attempts to fit in with Anup’s family. It’s an interesting dynamic to watch unfold. However, I felt almost zero chemistry between Anup and Jessie the entire story.

Jessie has her hands full with people coming at her from all different directions in this case. The wife and business partner are looking like they need money, the son seems less than credible, and then you have all of the workers on the job... the suspect list might be never ending.

I like how fast this story was. You have a few characters who really carry the storyline and as you watch everything unfold, you’ll seemed surprised until you aren’t.

I think the only real issue I had with the book was calling the EMT/morgue people by a number throughout the story. It was a little distracting.

I can’t wait to see what happens next.


Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
We meet Dr. Jessie Teska on a construction site where a well known architect has died a gruesome death. She quickly figures out that the death is murder rather than the accident it appears to be. But before we can get too caught up in working out who the killer is, an earthquake hits the city and the story takes a new direction. Between Jessie dealing with the emergency of the quake and its aftermath and boyfriend trouble, I nearly forgot about the dead architect.

I confess, I guessed early on who the killer was, but I had no idea how or why. This wasn’t an issue for me because AFTERSHOCK kept me engaged and I enjoyed having the questions of the how and whys answered, while at the same time dealing with Jessie’s hectic life.

It was fun to be back with Dr. Jessie Teska. She is stubborn, single-minded, and doesn’t always make the smart decision. It is great to have an imperfect heroine. Another great thing about AFTERSHOCK is the diversity of the characters. The people in Jessie’s life come from all different walks of life and it added interest and helped make the story feel more genuine.

AFTERSHOCK is another good mystery in the Jessie Teska series, and it isn’t essential to have read the previous book to read this one. I look forward to more of Jessie’s adventures and to seeing where her personal life goes. If you enjoy a good mystery, AFTERSHOCK is worth a read.

*Thanks to Hanover Square Press and NetGalley for the complimentary copy for my honest review*

I did not read the first book in this installment before reading this one and I didn't feel like I was confused or had a hard time reading this book. The book opens with a huge discovery that immediately drew me in and made me want to find out what had happened and what was going to happen next. This book had so many different suspects and I was wracking my brain the whole time trying to figure out a motive for each one and who the bad person was. This was definitely more of a slow-burn mystery which I feel fit this book very well.

Aftershock is the second in the Jessie Teska series revolving around Teska, an abrasive, hard core forensic pathologist in San Fransicso. I absolutely loved (!) First Cut, the first in the series by this writing duo and anxiously awaited the arrival of this Aftershock. I was quite disappointed with myself, actually, because I simply could not connect with the story line or even with Teska, herself, in this follow up. There is another questionable cause of death, this one at a construction site, but then there is a major earthquake which Teska must survive. Simply put, there was too much going on. Pick one - forensic thriller or earthquake thriller but I didn't need both on top of Teska's already bit over the top personality. I'm just not sure I'll bother with another book, if there is one, in this series despite my love of the first.

This was a fast-paced and interesting mystery, taking place in one of my favorite locations: San Francisco! This is part of a series but is easily a stand-alone title.

I really liked the intelligent and scrappy Jessie. There were lots of things added to give her character dimension — her Polish background, her early life in Lynn, MA, her family, her lovelife, her dog. I felt I got to know her. I also liked the mystery (even though I figured it out!).

I can’t wait to hear about the rest of the series from this husband and wife team! Thank you for making me part of the tour and for my review e-copy!

I am such a nerd when it comes to death and I’m truly loving this series. It helps that it has crime, suspense and even mystery wrapped up in a neat thriller novel. This is the second in the Dr Jessie Teska series and I’m obsessed. She’s tough, brilliant but, also has that vulnerable female side to her that most of us can relate to.

I’m this installment, Dr Teska has to undertake casualties caused from an earthquake as well as figure out who murdered a very important architect. The murder is supposed to look like a work place accident but our Dr Teska knows better immediately. Will she find love or will she remain single as well?

If you haven’t read the first in this series, I highly recommend it. It introduces you to the characters and their personalities as well as backstory that will be brought up in this book.

Awesome job Dr Melinek, please keep them coming!! Special thanks to the author, NetGalley and Harlequin for this review copy!

Favorite Quotes:

A steel band cover of “Don’t Fear the Reaper” makes for a lousy way to lurch awake. Couple of months back, some clown of a coworker got a hold of my cell phone while I was busy in the autopsy suite, and reprogrammed the ringtone for incoming calls from the Medical Examiner Operations and Investigation Dispatch Communications Center. I keep forgetting to fix it.

Oskar had nervous eyes under bushy brows, small nostrils in a mousy nose, and bluish stubble against a complexion like an altar candle. He impressed me as a man who climbed out of bed every morning wound up three turns too tight.


My Review:

This was an active, nonstop, wryly written, and superbly crafted tale that was shrewdly paced, cunningly plotted, and cast with a wide variety of curiously compelling characters. I had great difficulty putting my Kindle down for those senseless interruptions that dared to interfere with my perusal such as thirst, hunger, dying batteries, and need for sleep.

The busy storylines were written from the first-person POV of the brilliant and hard-working medical examiner Jessie Teska, M.D., and were taut with intrigue and pernicious conflicts with arrogant and egregious detectives and lawyers who didn’t have the good sense to listen to her sagacious theories and perceptive observations. I wanted to kick them in the shins for her. Lashing of amusing and clever wit cropped up to balance the emotional tone, which I always appreciate. This is my second time reading this dynamic duo’s exceptional wordcraft and I am so enamored with their mad skills that I have added them to my list of favorites and will be eagerly awaiting Dr. Teska’s next case.

For me this was the perfect sequel. It built off the characters that we met in the first book, kept the same general tone that I loved in the original and just gave me more of it. I really enjoy how this series handles both the investigation storyline along with the interesting family life of the main character.

This one follows Dr. Teska as she investigates the apparent murder of an architect whose body was discovered under a ton of steel pipes at a construction site. To make matters worse San Francisco is hit by an earthquake which inundates the morgue with bodies.

These books are medical thrillers and they have made me want to pick up more of them. The details during the autopsy scenes are not for the faint of heart, just reading the excerpt above can give you an idea. This is the type of thriller were you feel like you're getting an inside look at the bureaucracy involved in the investigation of a murder.

To be fair this was not a perfect book. I really enjoyed the pacing, the characters, the investigation and the plotting. This series is quickly turning into my favourite serial mystery series, but there are still a few problems that I had with it.

First this one is only about 300 pages, which turns out to be perfect for a short read, but I really needed more. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. Now on to the real problem that I had (its actually quite minor, but still...)

During this book the main character is in a commited relationship that started in the first book in the series. I was really excited to see these characters together in this book, but throughout the book they barely saw each other. I wish there were a few more scenes where they were able to converse more.

Then about halfway through one character (trying to be vague) does something that ruins this relationship for me. This is the same thing that happened with The Lost Man by Jane Harper, where an event occurred that completely changed the dynamic and we were still expected to empathize with the character. This put me off reading for a bit, as I was really enjoying it, which is why I took almost 2 weeks to finish this 300 page book. I was able to get back on the train for the ending, but I have to take at least 0.5 stars away from what would otherwise have been an amazing continuation. I look forward to reading further with these authors!

4.5

You don’t need to have read First Cut, the first in this series about medical examiner Dr. Jessie Teska, to enjoy Aftershock. It’s set several months after First Cut, when Jessie has settled into her life in San Francisco and her relationship with lawyer boyfriend Anup. Called to an apparent construction site accident where a prominent architect has been killed, Jessie soon realises things don’t quite add up about the scene, and that she’s looking at a murder, not an accident.

One of the authors is a medical examiner and it really shines through; there are no same-day DNA results (I’m looking at you, Hawaii 5-0) more like, chasing down microscope slides two weeks later. A serious earthquake in the city leaves Jessie with the morgue’s cool room stacked high with body bags and far too much work to follow up every thread on the case, and the chronically understaffed morgue with regular equipment failures also felt very realistic.

What did feel unreal to me was the building contractor who apparently had the job of doing maintenance on the HVAC on the morgue and was concrete pour supervisor at a multimillion dollar skyscraper project. These are two very different skillsets and vastly disparate budgets - one of them is a 3-4 figure job and the other a 5-6 figure job, so to me it didn’t really add up that it would be the same person within a short window of time. Unfortunately the author hung a major plot point on it, which had me wincing; it felt clunky, contrived and fake, which was a real shame because the rest of the book is so good and I like Jessie a lot - she feels so very real.

I’ll give this four stars, and I’d definitely like to keep reading in the series (hoping Anup sees the light sooner rather than later, too!) but I hope the villain in the next one is less clunkily telegraphed.

After reading the first book in the series, I knew I wanted to read this one as well. While you can read this one by itself without reading the first one, there are some references which will stand out more if you have already read the first one. That being said, I loved this one just as much as I enjoyed First Cut.

The twists and turns of this one, especially with the earthquake thrown in, made for a fast paced story. Jessie is strong in her desire to discover the truth and admittedly that doesn't always sit right with people, especially those who haven't appreciated it in the past. Some of the best moments in the book are the interactions between characters and how hard Jessie works to uncover what really happened. To be fair she doesn't always choose the best way to do it, but it makes the story more impactful.

A book written by real forensic medical examiner, isn't that cool, so yeah of course I'm super excited and expected a lot, and I do get a lot, especially the gory details of dead bodies.

It's my first book from Dr.Jessie Teska mystery series, and just found out this is the second book, but definitely can read it as a stand alone, I didn't feel anything missing or needed to read the first book, because I can really get to know the heroine very well in this second book, all her issues, insecurities, and vulnerabilities, and her bravery and how she determined to go above and beyond to found out the truth, a stubborn, smart and brave woman, I admire her a lot.

As for the mystery...I like it a lot. Three suspects plus one who's been set up to take the blame, and the the twist at the end....OMG..I really didn't see that coming, I'm a big fan of this person and then bam!!! this person is the murderer, that makes me love this book, although it's a bit slow and rushed at the end, with the twist like that and the great journey to find the murdered, I totally recommended this book for suspense readers out there.

Reading this book made me feel like a was reading a script for a medical mystery show. It truly kept me turning the pages.


I will say having not read the first book I did kind of feel like I stepped into the series mid-season but quickly got the vibe. Jessie is an ME that seems to get herself into trouble following the clues of the bodies that end up on her table.

I felt like this book could be the script for a future Hallmark Mystery series and really loved meeting Jessie. Overall I enjoyed the book and will be interested in reading more by this writing duo.

I usually choose a book if the blurb sounds interesting b I know they can be sometimes deceiving.
There's always some expectations because you think you're going to read an exciting and gripping story.
I can say that I wasn't disappointed because this is is an exciting and gripping story.
It's fast paced, action packed, full of twists and turns.
I loved Jessie as she's a brass, opinionated and strong willed woman who cannot be stop in her search for justice.
She's a well written and fleshed character and I can say that the character development is excellent.
The plot is tightly knitted and it kept me on the edge till the end.
This is the second in a series but it can say I had no issues with the characters or the plot. I will surely read the first installment as I loved Jessie and the style of writing.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and can't wait to read other books in this series.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Hanover Square Press and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Aftershock by Judy Melinek & T.J. Mitchell
Jessie Teska #2

Jessie is woken early to come into assess a dead body as happens when one is a medical examiner. Upon arrival there is a messy scene with a very dead man beneath a pile of pipes. Everyone seems eager to write it off as an accident…except Jessie and someone she works with. Police arrive, crime scene techs come do their thing and for some reason Jessie becomes a sleuth along with being a medical examiner a bit like Quincy or perhaps Crossing Jordan on TV. I have trouble wrapping my head around that idea but putting that aside and thinking of it the context of one of these shows I can see the story working better.

Soon after the first dead body is found there is a big earthquake while Jessie is out with her boyfriend of eight months and this is the first hint in the story that though they have been together awhile there may be future problems. Why? Well, Jessie feels she needs to go out and work after the earthquake as there will be dead bodies and her main squeeze, Anup the lawyer, thinks she should go home and stay safe.

There are scenes with Jessie doing autopsies, talking to the homicide detectives, interacting with Anup, spending time with her PI friend Sparkle, on the job with coworkers, talking to her mother, talking to suspects, meeting Anup’s family, dealing with relationship issues, with potential love interests other than Anup and…a few other things. It was a busy story with a lot going on with plenty of twists and turns, red herrings, positive and negative people and eventually the sussing out of who murdered the first dead body.

I did not read book one in the series and wonder if I would know Jessie better if I had. I had trouble warming up to her as I read and wondered if she would grow on me or not. She is brash, outspoken, aggressive, says what she thinks, backs down for no one, and tends to rub people wrong. So, perhaps I will give the next book in this series a chance to see if Jessie and I can hit it off or if perhaps she and her series will not be for me. I have a feeling the author(s) will grow as they write more in the series and would like to see how they and this character develop over time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Hanover Square Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

3.5 stars

By the time the dead body under the construction pipes has been identified, it was clear to me that “hostility” was going to be the word of the day among all parties. Dr. Jessie Teska is short-tempered with nearly everybody, she and Detective Keith Jones obviously have low opinions of each other, the construction workers are about as belligerent as they can be, the crime scene unit is snarky with Jessie and the death scene investigators…the list goes on. It all left me a bit unsettled and wondering if I would end up liking this prickly medical examiner.

The earthquake that strikes adds a level of tension not usually present in a police procedural and it certainly impedes Jessie’s investigation. It also brings her somewhat reckless behavior to the forefront. She probably would have been that way in normal circumstances but the earthquake makes things more lively.

Jessie is, at heart, a snoop, unable to let others do the investigating and that makes for a more interesting story but it also seems a little unorthodox. Still, a plethora of red herrings and misdirections entertained me till the end and I also appreciated the authors’ attention to Jessie’s personal life including her particular baggage and her relationship with her boyfriend, Anup. She’s definitely not the most likeable character I’ve come across but she’s not boring and I’ll be reading the first book as soon as I can.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, January 2021.

I’ve previously read and reviewed Melinek and Mitchell’s first Jessie Teska mystery, First Cut. When I was offered the opportunity to participate in the Aftershock blog tour, I jumped on it. I do love a good forensic mystery. I devour books by Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs, Tess Gerritsen, Jefferson Bass. Were I going back to school, I might go into forensic science. That’s how fascinating I find the whole field.

The book opens when Jessie, recently promoted to deputy chief, is called to the scene of what appears to be a construction accident – a man crushed by a load of falling pipe. But what she’s seeing doesn’t match up with what allegedly happened, and she isn’t going to let it lie. The deceased turns out to be a big-name architect who made himself a nuisance on the site, and there are a lot of people who could have wanted him dead. As she’s trying to find evidence to support her theory that this was a homicide, San Francisco is hit by a big earthquake, and the medical examiner’s office is up to its eyeballs in corpses.

Jessie isn’t one who goes along to get along. She has a history with the investigating officer, and she doesn’t trust that he’s going to do his job and follow up on what she’s telling him. So she does her own sleuthing, putting herself in harm’s way as someone doesn’t want the truth to come out.

I like Jessie. She is a take-no-crap woman doing a tough job and doing it well. Sometimes she makes impulsive decisions that don’t always work out, and I can relate to that. I’ve said that “it seemed like a good idea at the time” will be my epitaph.

Melinek and Mitchell have once again done a bang-up job of writing an excellent procedural that just sucks you in. I love the details of the activity in the morgue. (I took a Law and Medicine class in law school – we got to observe autopsies. It was cool! I’m weird like that.) I used to be a prosecutor, so the details of the court hearings remind me of those days. And there were enough changes of direction to keep me guessing as to who the killer was almost up until the big reveal.

Another thorougly enjoyable read, and I look forward to more Jessie Teska.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the advance reader copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don’t say nice things about books I don’t actually like.

Dr. Jessie Teska has another case on her hands. This one is a body found at a construction site that first appears to be an accident, but when Jessie takes a closer look, she locks down the site and calls in the police. This is definitely a homicide.

Along with digging into the homicide and finding twists at every turn, a major earthquake hits the city which wrecks even more havoc onto the investigation. When Jessie comes face to face with the killer, will she be left for dead underneath the rubble or will she bring another killer to justice?

Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell have another suspense hit on their hands. They not only leave us hanging and breathless at the end of every chapter but they also delve into the emotional and personal side of Jessie which brings such depth to the story. I have enjoyed every book in the series and this one is no exception. You could read this book as a stand a lone as well as the authors do a great job of filling in the backstory. Thank you so much to the authors Judy Melinek and T.J.Mitchell, Harlequin Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book to review. It was a fabulous suspense novel. All opinions expressed for this review are unbiased and entirely my own.

Deputy Chief Medical Examiner, Jessie Teska has another puzzling mystery to solve when renowned architect, Leopold Haring, is found in what is at first thought to be a job-site accident. The scene doesn’t add up to Jessie and she quickly determines the man’s death to be a homicide. There’s no shortage of suspects as Mr. Haring wasn’t a very likeable character, especially on his job sites. To complicate matters there’s an earthquake which throws the city into chaos and inundates the Medical Examiner’s Office with cases.

Jessie is truly dedicated to her job, sometimes at the expense of her personal life. I did think she was a little reckless after the quake and I could understand Anup’s (her boyfriend) frustration with her to a certain extent, especially when it came to putting physical health at risk. But I also admired Jessie’s commitment to finding the truth for her victims. At one point, I was totally disappointed with Anup and could understand Jessie’s reactions. A surprise at the end has me wondering how it will all work out.

Jessie’s search for the truth is sprinkled in with investigative details that give the story a real-life feel, and I’m sure that’s because of the Ms. Melinek’s actual experience as a Medical Examiner, making the story captivating as well as believable. Aftershock was cleverly plotted and kept me guessing until Jessie started connecting all the dots and the culprit was revealed.

While Aftershock is the second book in the series, I don’t think you necessarily have to read the First Cut to enjoy it. You’d miss out on getting to know Jessie a little, though. Dr. Jessie Teska mysteries are perfect for crime-procedural fans, but Jessie’s personal life keeps me turning the pages, as well. She’s flawed, but I really like her, and I’m eager for the next book!

Dr. Jessie Teska is the medical examiner on call when a body is found at a construction site. She discovers it's a homicide staged as an accident, and she has to track down the killer. An earthquake rattles the city, leaving an innocent man framed for the murder. Now Jessie has to race to find the truth before it gets buried.

I found Aftershock fascinating from the start, not knowing much about how medical examiners work. She's a doctor and takes her duties seriously both as a medical examiner and as a first responder doctor when someone is in an accident or when the earthquake hit San Francisco. She's determined to find the truth, no matter who it is; she campaigns just as hard for the famous architect as she does for the homeless man. I admire that about her, as well as the strong ties to her family and close friends. I'm as upset on her behalf that her boyfriend can't introduce her to her family and finds her Polish roots and brash demeanor too much of a barrier to bridge. She's more than willing to reach out and be part of his culture, as superficial as her attempts are, and that's a trait that's often hard to find.

I'm sure that Jessie's attempts to dive deep into the murder investigation aren't part of the usual duties of a medical examiner, but it's fascinating to see the frustrations and day to day routines that she has. It's because she isn't directly interviewing suspects the way the police detectives do that she is able to tease out new tidbits to give them. Politics, money, and race do play a part in some of the investigation and some of the outcome, something I'm sure happens in Real Life more often than any of us would like. For this novel, I was drawn into it from the start and lost track of time to finish the book. I look forward to seeing more novels starring Dr. Teska and her friends.

I had never heard of Judy Melinek or T.J. Mitchell before, but the cover of Aftershock was what first caught my eye. Then it was the description. Solving a murder, but through the eyes of the medical examiner? Sign me up! I’ve read what seems like a million mystery/thrillers in my time, and this was a new concept for me. Something new and intriguing. I had to read it.

Melinek and Mitchell do not disappoint. From chapter one you are greeted with interesting and intense characters. Dr. Jessie Teska is sassy, yet professional and has the smarts to put any man or woman to shame. She doesn’t take any crap from anyone and I might have a slight girl crush on her. She is fierce. We also meet many side characters including her friend Sparkle, her cousin Baby Mike (who can clear a mexican food truck in a way that makes me so proud), Teska’s boyfriend Anup, and so many more. I always say while the main characters make the story, the supporting characters make it interesting. Melinek and Mitchell have some of my favorite supporting characters I have ever read.

This story will not leave you bored at any point. No matter if Teska is digging in dirt for blood or taking her dog for a walk, it all seems very important, very intense, and like at any moment the other shoe will drop. I loved how enthralled I was the entire time. Not a single down moment. It’s hard to find books that hook you and hold you with not a single dip in momentum. The writing is smooth and even shocking at times. The details prove these authors did their research in all fields related to this story. Best of all, you will NOT see the end coming. I’ve gotten pretty good at guessing what is going to happen and my mouth literally dropped open when the final clue clicked into place.

Aftershock is witty, shocking, exciting, and will keep your blood pumping from page one to the end. You will love this novel whether you love mystery/thriller novels or not. It’s that good. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go pick up any other novel Melinek and Mitchell have ever written.