Keeper of the Bride

By Tess Gerritsen

Your day starts by being jilted at the altar. It's about to get a lot worse.

If Nina Cormier's wedding had taken place, she would be dead. But after the bride was left at the altar, the church stood empty when the bomb exploded. It wasn't until a stranger tried to run her off the road that Nina realized someone actually wanted to kill her.

But who?

That's what Detective Sam Navarro has to find out fast. With a nightmare unfolding all around them, Sam and Nina must try to decipher the terrifying truth: they are at the mercy of a brilliant madman, one who is playing for keeps.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
• Release date: Dec 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781459248960

Tess Gerritsen

Bestselling author Tess Gerritsen is also a physician. Her thrillers starring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles inspired the hit TV series Rizzoli & Isles. But Tess's interests span far more than medicine and crime. As an anthropology student at Stanford University, she catalogued centuries-old human remains and she continues to travel the world, driven by her fascination with ancient cultures and bizarre natural phenomena. She resides in Maine.

Reviews for Keeper of the Bride

[dbabbp · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Adequate for very light reading. Author explains this is one of her very early forays into authorship, inspired by a friend's gift of romance novels & the response we have all had - "I can write as well as that!" Unlike most of us, she set about proving it with a number of romantic thrillers such as this, before she found her own voice.

[carol420 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I don't usually read romance novels, but I like Tess Gerritsen, and thought I would give it a try. Not a terrible book.

[n.w.moors-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I think this is one of her older books and it shows a little. I enjoyed reading it but all throughout I wondered why Nina wasn't in some sort of official protective custody instead of running around with Sam. Yes, I know it was a plot device for the relationship, but I live in Portland and I hope our police department wouldn't act that way. Would they?Anyway, it's a good read and I love the Portland setting with so many familiar places. Ms. Gerritsen is one of the best at thrillers.

[toobusyreading · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is supposed to be a “heart-racing romance suspense novel” by an author I've read before and have enjoyed. It's heavy on the romance, light on the suspense. I listened to this through my free trial of Audible Escape, which is a “romance” package, so I shouldn't have been surprised, but I expected better of this author. The story was rather trite. But what really annoyed me was all the instances of men telling Nina what she should do. Back off guys, let the woman think for herself once in awhile. Entertaining, but not great.

[jdy_26 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Love tess Gerritsen, but this book wasn't one of my favorites. I liked the story line between Sam and Nina, but things seemed to drag on and the bombings got a little old. This was my first Gerritsen book that didn't do it for me. Will try another one soon though!

[brainella · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is early Tess Gerritsen. Pretty good mystery/romance; didn't know she'd written these kinds of books to begin her writing career. Her police/investigation writing is very good -- not too keen on the romance stuff.

[silversurfer_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Bad title. That should have told me something from the start. This was NOT the usual Suspense thriller that I have come to expect from this author. This was really run of the mill, by the numbers thriller, with not much thrills. More romance then suspense.It read as if it was written by a different author.Well, just found out, this was an early novel, before Gerritsen found her terrific style. That explains alot here.Not recommended.

[sleahey_3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Although it was fun to read a book set in Portland, this book was quite predictable and formulaic from the start. Much more romance than mystery, there were too many unbelievable conversations and motivations. The absence of emotional response of the main character being left at the altar and the object of a bombing, all on the same day, made the characters seem flat. Some spontaneous swearing would have gone a long way in making this more authentic. And for heaven's sake, didn't the woman have any friends or sense?

[bobie_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My Daughter bought me this book as a present for Christmas because she knows how much I love Tess Gerritsen.Good read and well written with a great twist, plus a bit of romance thrown in for good measure. Can't say it is the best gerritsen book I have read but entertaining all the same, would recommend it.

[reading_fox · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Icky. I'd known that Tess Gerriston had writen some standalone books before her career took off as a major serial crime writer. What i hadn't realised was that instead of mysteries with an occasional dash of romance, they were romances (complete with heaving bosooms and throbbing) with a dash of mystery.Nina is a nurse - and more importantly a bride. However when she's left standing at the alter, her life collapses around her - alomst literally as the church she was being married in is badly damaged by a bomb blast, just after she walked out. Fortunetly a hard cop called Sam is around to pick up the pieces. She finds herself irresistably drawn to his rugged uncaring demenor, certain it si just a facade for the caring man underneath. Meanwhile he finds himself struggling to mask his emotions as he stares into her intelligent and compationate brown eyes. He knows that he shouldn't comprimise his professional integrety, but she's such a lost soul looking to be saved. etc etc etc. You can guess al the rest (don't forget the throbbing). The bomber strikes again, and Nina remembers a vital clue, evetually Sam is forced to amke a choice - not exactly difficult to guess what this choice is, or which decision he amkes though - and it is badly foreshadowed from some way out.Tess' writing contains the same highish octane style asin her more well known series. In particular her trademark villain's voice appears to hint at (but not give away) crimes to come. The medical terminology and gore has been replaced with equally explicit sex descriptions instead.Not really worth it, but almost interesting to see how her early voice developed.And at least it's very short.

[wyvernfriend · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nina Cormier is going to be married, today, however 20 minutes before the event she receives a note from her groom to tell her that he's backing out. As she's gathering herself together and getting a lift home from the pastor the church explodes. Later a car tries to run her over and Nina realises that someone wants to kill her.Sam Navarro has never really recovered from the blow to his psyche when he realised that the relationship he had with a starlet was more to do with his being a hero than him himself. He's one of the lead investigators in the bomb squad and he's trying very hard not to get involved with Nina.The two characters are quite interesting, broken in their own unique ways, the story moves along quite quickly and the bodies do mount up. I enjoyed this fast read.

[dawnbirduk_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A fast paced well written book, a great story