The Keepsake: A Novel

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This book was beautifully written . . . A story which kept me hooked, with mysteries to uncover’⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review

A totally engrossing dual time line novel that was both well researched and also had great depth with the characters’⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review Who is Josephine Pulcillo? What is she running from? And what kind of monster kills women then keeps them by preserving their remains? What message is he sending, and to whom? Gerritsen is the master of putting all of the little pieces together to form one large puzzle. Her earlier novels displayed her penchant for lifelike and likable characters, dramatic issues, and surprising plot twists. This book marks a step forward in her development as a writer in the detective/mystery genre as she spins riddles and clues with ever increasing skill. The Keepsake for 1829 is particularly notable for its contributors, which included the most popular authors and artists of the day, many of whose works now comprise the Romantic literary canon. Well known contributors to this volume include Mary Shelley, Thomas Moore, Walter Scott, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, Felicia Hemans, Letitia Elizabeth Landon and Robert Southey. [4] I am not sure that serious archeologists would truly appreciate this book, and I don’t know if Dr. Gerritsen had Halloween in mind when she wrote it, but whatever inspired her to come up with this premise, it made a terrific plot.

When the will is read she discovers she had been betrayed by her father. She decides to take control of her life and go travelling anyway. The Keepsake is a psychological thriller that builds effortlessly around an archaeological theme, drawing in all sorts of horrors such as shrunken heads, bog people, tanned bodies displaying rictus death masks. Behind it all is a killer long history of collecting bodies as personal keepsakes.

The basis for the story above is thought to be the life of Eleanor, Countess of Stair who died in 1759. [1] Characters [ edit ] Who was “Madame X”, and how did she come to be at the Crispin Museum in Boston? Moreover, why do other well-preserved, pseudo-ancient remains keep appearing? Are the deaths of these women related? Unable to determine a cause of death without organs, Dr. Isles cannot proceed. It is up to Jane Rizzoli and her partner, Barry Frost, to investigate. Jane gets weird vibes about a young female archaeologist who is employed at the museum. Frost seems smitten by her. Oh-oh. Frost is a married man. What’s going on there? And will it affect his work on this case? I thoroughly enjoyed this immersive story which spans both generations and continents. The evocative details and i mpeccable research make for a delightful reading experience and I can pay it no greater compliment other than to say, I wish I’d written it‘ KATHRYN HUGHES There always seems to be a guy pinging the interest of either Maura Isles or a book-specific secondary female character in some creepo way (i.e. long stares or persistent attempts at trying to "help" her). These dudes are rarely the bad guys. Is the Edward Cullen "stare and relentlessly, almost aggressively rescue" tactic really romantic nowadays? I mean, Maura Isles is a doctor and Josephine Pulcillo in this one is a pretty smart archaeologist, so it's hard for me to believe that ladies with such brains are really charmed by lingery and/or unassertive weirdos. It's not that The Keepsake is "worse" than the other Rizzoli & Isles books I've read so much as it brings to light the fact that a couple of things that frustrate me about the series are actually series staples.For untold years, the perfectly preserved mummy had lain forgotten in the dusty basement of Boston’s Crispin Museum. Now its sudden rediscovery by museum staff is both a major coup and an attention-grabbing mystery. Dubbed “Madam X,” the mummy–to all appearances, an ancient Egyptian artifact–seems a ghoulish godsend for the financially struggling institution. But medical examiner Maura Isles soon discovers a macabre message hidden within the corpse–horrifying proof that this “centuries-old” relic is instead a modern-day murder victim. A gripping read that had me hook, line and sinker. There are lots of twists until the final revelation. Somehow, she would find a way to chart her own course and be her own woman. She alone would determine what her life was to be. And that would be whatever she was brave enough to make it.’ I really enjoyed this story. It had an intriguing plot, excellent research . . . and a double love story to boot’⭐⭐⭐⭐ reader review The Keepsake was published in London for its full run, and some volumes were also published in Paris, Berlin, and Frankfurt. Its London publishers were Hurst, Chance, & Co.; Jennings and Chaplin; Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman (in the Longman line); and David Bogue. [2] In Paris, it was published by Rittner and Goupill, Delloy & Co., Fisher & Co., Aubert & Co., L. Curmer, Fisher, Son, & Co., and H. Mandeville. [2] Other continental editions were published by Charles Jugil in Frankfurt, A. Asher in Berlin, and T. O. Weigel in Leipsic. [2] American editions of The Keepsake were published in New York by D. Appleton & Company and in Philadelphia by Lea and Blanchard. [2] Production [ edit ]