Sunday, February 12, 2006

Reading Journal: "Body Double" by Tess Gerrittsen


I always wonder how the author &/or publisher comes up with the title. I do know that often an author isn't allowed to make the final decision. Sometimes titles don't make the least bit of sense. It's as though they're just pulled out of a hat, and have no relation to the story at all. An example of this is "The Rottweiler" by Rendell. Other times, they're vaguely relevant, but in a boring sort of way--such as Dennis McFarland's "Prince Edward."

And sometimes they're inspired, like this one. It was obvious after the first few pages that this title referred to identical twins. But it delighted my word sense later on to realize that the double bodies had a 'double' meaning, and also applied to pregnant women and their babies.

Dr. Maura Isles is a Boston pathologist who is used to seeing dead bodies. But she is shocked to arrive home one evening to find her colleagues at the scene of what they believe is her own murder...for the dead woman is her mirror image. Maura was adopted, and as far as she knew, had no siblings. But DNA tests confirm that this mysterious woman was without doubt her identical twin. Maura's friend, Detective Jane Rizzoli is quite pregnant, but still hard at work and her investigation leads to facts that show the dead woman was a victim of domestic violence. However, things are not quite so easily solved. Soon circumstances cause her to realize that they are on the trail of a serial killer--one who murders pregnant women!

My online friend Linda Cameron gave me the idea of hiding details that give away the plot. I glued a little folder to the bottom right-hand corner and held it closed with a dot of velcro. The reason behind this is so that I can look back to remind myself "who-dun-it" without spoiling the story for anyone looking at my journal.

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