Tess Gerritsen Books in Order (Updated February 19, 2026)

Tess Gerritsen is an American suspense novelist (and former physician) whose catalog splits into a few clean continuity lanes. If you stay inside a lane, order matters; if you jump between lanes, you won’t spoil yourself.

Quick answer

• If you want a long-running detective partnership: start with The Surgeon (Rizzoli & Isles #1).
• If you want “retired spies in small-town Maine” energy: start with The Spy Coast (The Martini Club #1).
• If you want a medical thriller with no series baggage: start with Harvest (standalone).
• If you want early romantic suspense (short, fast, twisty): start with Call After Midnight (standalone).

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Continuity at a glance

• Rizzoli & Isles = one continuous series (best read #1 → #13).
• The Martini Club = a newer spy-thriller series (read in order).
• Everything else here = separate continuities (read anytime).

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Rizzoli & Isles (read in order)

1. The Surgeon: Introduces Detective Jane Rizzoli in a serial-killer case that sets the series’ tone and core relationships.
2. The Apprentice: Brings Dr. Maura Isles into the spotlight as a copycat threat forces the team back into old terror.
3. The Sinner: A convent attack becomes a wider investigation where Maura’s personal history starts to matter.
4. Body Double: A case involving a look-alike victim pulls the team into a conspiracy that’s bigger than one murder.
5. Vanish: A midwife’s disappearance turns into a high-stakes hunt that expands the series’ scope beyond Boston streets.
6. The Mephisto Club: A secretive group studying evil draws Rizzoli and Isles into crimes staged to shock and unsettle.
7. The Keepsake (also published as Keeping the Dead): A buried body and a set of clues tie the present crime to long-hidden violence.
8. Ice Cold (also published as The Killing Place): A remote survival situation shifts the series into isolation, danger, and limited resources.
9. The Silent Girl: A Chinatown-linked case brings cultural motifs and community secrets to the center of the investigation.
10. Last to Die: A family tragedy pulls the detectives into a case where protecting the living becomes the urgent problem.
11. Die Again: A hunt for a predator connects modern killings to a grim backstory that explains the “why.”
12. I Know a Secret: A new wave of brutal crimes tests the team’s limits and pushes personal consequences forward.
13. Listen to Me: A suspicious death and a witness no one takes seriously force the team to re-check what they “know” about a familiar place.

Why order matters here: later books assume you already understand the team’s history, personal stakes, and hard-won trust.

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The Martini Club (read in order)

1. The Spy Coast: Retired CIA officer Maggie Bird’s quiet life breaks when her past shows up on her doorstep.
2. The Summer Guests: A missing teen case drags the ex-spies back into action and deepens their uneasy alliance with local law enforcement.
3. The Shadow Friends: Cold War ghosts and old loyalties resurface, pulling the group into international fallout they can’t ignore.

Release note: publication dates for book three vary by region/edition listings; the safest takeaway is that it’s the next Martini Club novel after The Summer Guests.

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Medical thrillers and other standalones (read in any order)

These do not require Rizzoli & Isles or Martini Club context.

• Harvest: A young doctor uncovers a horrifying system behind organ transplants, with the medical angle driving the dread.
• Life Support: An ER doctor faces a lethal outbreak and realizes the danger may be engineered, not accidental.
• Bloodstream: A woman’s strange illness becomes a hunt for a truth that someone has reason to keep buried.
• Gravity: A space-lab crisis turns into a survival thriller where help is far away and trust is thin.
• The Bone Garden: A modern discovery opens a historical murder trail, blending present investigation with 1830s Boston horror.
• Playing with Fire: A violinist discovers a mysterious piece of music with a violent past that refuses to stay in the past.
• The Shape of Night: A seaside rental and a disturbing local legend slide into obsession and the fear of being watched.
• Choose Me (with Gary Braver): A relationship-driven suspense novel built around control, manipulation, and how far someone will push a narrative.

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Tavistock duo (same continuity; read in order)

1. In Their Footsteps: A woman investigates a death that won’t stay “settled,” and the answers point toward a larger scheme.
2. Stolen (originally published as Thief of Hearts): A dangerous attraction and a high-risk plot converge, continuing the same underlying thread.

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Early romantic suspense (mostly standalones; read in any order)

These are distinct from her later “medical/crime” era and are best chosen by premise.

• Adventure’s Mistress: An early, rare title that shows her initial romantic-suspense mode before the later thrillers.
• Love’s Masquerade: Romantic suspense with disguise and hidden identity at the center of the conflict.
• Call After Midnight: A fast-moving romantic thriller where danger escalates quickly and the stakes stay personal.
• Under the Knife: A suspense setup that leans into vulnerability and pursuit rather than procedural investigation.
• Never Say Die: A survival-tilted romantic suspense that keeps pressure on the leads from the opening act.
• Whistle Blower: A conspiracy-driven romantic thriller where knowing too much becomes the threat.
• Presumed Guilty: A high-suspicion setup where the protagonist is forced to prove what others have decided is true.
• Girl Missing (originally published as Peggy Sue Got Murdered): A missing-person case with early-career pacing and sharp turns.
• Keeper of the Bride: Romantic suspense with a protective angle and escalating risk tied to a central relationship.
• Perfect Timing: A later romantic-suspense entry that focuses on chance, consequence, and the cost of one decision.
• Murder and Mayhem: A romantic suspense that foregrounds danger and momentum over long continuity.
• Madame X: A romantic-thriller style story built around secrecy, reinvention, and the hazards of being wanted.

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Recommended reading routes (pick one and follow it)

• Route A (most people): Rizzoli & Isles #1-#13 in order.
• Route B (newest ongoing thread): The Martini Club #1-#3 in order.
• Route C (standalone sampler): Harvest → Gravity → The Bone Garden (then go anywhere).

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Latest release status

• Newest Martini Club novel available: The Summer Guests (series #2).
• Next Martini Club novel announced/listed: The Shadow Friends (series #3).
• Most recent Rizzoli & Isles novel: Listen to Me (series #13).

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FAQs

Do I have to read Rizzoli & Isles in order?
If you care about character continuity, yes. The cases are self-contained, but the personal timeline is not.

Is The Bone Garden part of Rizzoli & Isles?
No. It’s a separate standalone with a strong historical component.

Why do some titles look different in different countries?
A few books were republished under alternate titles (for example, Keeping the Dead vs The Keepsake), but the story itself is the same.

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Conclusion

If you want the safest, least-complicated start, begin with The Surgeon and read forward through Rizzoli & Isles. If you’d rather start with her current direction, begin with The Spy Coast and follow The Martini Club in order.