From the New York Times bestselling author of THE SURGEON and
THE APPRENTICE comes a chilling new novel of suspense featuring
Boston medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles, on the deadly trail of an
anonymous madman who's committed an unholy crime. . . .

THE SINNER

Not even the icy temperatures of a typical New England winter can
match the bone-chilling scene of carnage discovered in the early
morning hours at the chapel of Our Lady of Divine Light. Within the
sanctuary walls of the cloistered convent, now stained with blood,
lie two nuns-one dead, one critically injured-victims of an
unspeakably savage attacker.

The brutal crime appears to be without motive, and the elderly nuns
in residence can offer little help in the police investigation. But
medical examiner Maura Isles's autopsy of the dead woman yields a
shocking surprise: Twenty-year-old Sister Camille, the order's sole
novice, gave birth before she was murdered. Then the disturbing
case takes a stunning new turn when another woman is found murdered
in an abandoned building, her body mutilated beyond
recognition.

Together, Isles and homicide detective Jane Rizzoli uncover an
ancient horror that connects these terrible slaughters. As
long-buried secrets come to light, Maura Isles finds herself drawn
inexorably toward the heart of an investigation that strikes closer
and closer to home-and toward a dawning revelation about the
killer's identity too shattering to consider.

As spine-tingling as it is mind-jolting, THE SINNER showcases Tess
Gerritsen in peak form-bringing her intimate knowledge of the dark
depths of criminal investigation brilliantly to bear. Beneath its
layers of startling insight into the souls of its characters, and
the richly wrought depiction of the everyday war between good and
evil, beats the unstoppable heart of an irresistible
thriller.

© Copyright 2003 by Tess Gerritsen. Reprinted with
permission by Ballantine Books. All rights
reserved.