Alex Rider
thriller
Series · thriller
Rizzoli & Isles
The Rizzoli & Isles series by Tess Gerritsen has 13 known books (13 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with The Surgeon (2001). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Listen to Me.
- Books
- 13 known books (13 novels)
- Published
- 13
- First published
- 2001
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Thriller
- Last checked
Start here: The Surgeon (2001) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Surgeon
The Surgeon (2001, 368 pages) opens the series with Jane Rizzoli, the blunt, working-class Boston homicide detective, as its lead -- Maura Isles doesn't appear until the following book. It establishes the medical-thriller precision, drawn from Tess Gerritsen's own background as a physician, that runs through the whole series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Surgeon - Book 2:
The Apprentice
The Apprentice (2002, 380 pages), the second novel, introduces Maura Isles, the reserved, patrician medical examiner nicknamed 'the Queen of the Dead' for her calm around corpses -- the book where the series' title partnership actually begins to form. It followed The Surgeon.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Apprentice - Book 3:
The Sinner
The Sinner (2003, 390 pages), the third entry, continues developing the contrasting chemistry between Rizzoli and Isles that Gerritsen builds the series on, alongside the real forensic and pathology detail she brings from her medical background. It followed The Apprentice.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Sinner - Book 4:
Body Double
Body Double (2004, 414 pages), the fourth novel, keeps to the series' blend of genuine forensic science and high-body-count set pieces, with Rizzoli and Isles' friendship continuing to deepen book by book. It followed The Sinner.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Body Double - Book 5:
Vanish
Vanish (2005, 409 pages), the fifth entry, followed Body Double and continues the series' medical-thriller territory -- autopsy detail and real pathology alongside straightforward serial-killer plotting -- that distinguishes it from more conventional procedurals.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Vanish - Book 6:
The Mephisto Club
The Mephisto Club (2006, 421 pages), the sixth novel, followed Vanish and preceded a two-year gap before The Keepsake, continuing Rizzoli and Isles' developing partnership through one of the series' darker set pieces.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Mephisto Club - Book 7:
The Keepsake
The Keepsake (2008, 412 pages), the seventh entry, is published under a different title in the UK -- Keeping the Dead -- though it's the same novel. It followed The Mephisto Club after a two-year gap.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Keepsake - Book 8:
Ice Cold
Ice Cold (2010, 448 pages), the eighth novel, likewise carries a different UK title, The Killing Place, for the same book. It followed The Keepsake and continues the series' unflinching mix of forensic detail and dark, high-stakes plotting.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Ice Cold - Book 9:
The Silent Girl
The Silent Girl (2011, 328 pages) is, at 328 pages, the shortest novel in the series, following Ice Cold. Rizzoli and Isles' friendship, by this point nine books in, has become one of the series' central draws alongside its forensic detail.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Silent Girl - Book 10:
Last to Die
Last to Die (2012, 442 pages), the tenth entry, followed The Silent Girl and continues the series' pattern of grounding a police procedural in genuine pathology and disease plotting rather than a more conventional whodunit structure.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Last to Die - Book 11:
Die Again
Die Again (2014, 382 pages), the eleventh novel, arrived after a two-year gap following Last to Die, continuing the dark, high-body-count set pieces the series has never shied away from since The Surgeon.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Die Again - Book 12:
I Know a Secret
I Know a Secret (2017, 336 pages), the twelfth entry, followed Die Again after a three-year gap. It preceded a much longer real-world wait before the next book, as Gerritsen turned her attention to launching her separate Martini Club spy series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of I Know a Secret - Book 13:
Listen to Me
Listen to Me (2022, 384 pages) is the series' most recent entry, arriving five years after I Know a Secret -- the widest gap between any two Rizzoli & Isles novels -- after Gerritsen spent the intervening years launching her Martini Club series. Gerritsen has said she has another Rizzoli & Isles story in mind, though nothing is confirmed as of this curation.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Listen to Me
About the Rizzoli & Isles series
Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles make an unlikely pair — Rizzoli is blunt, working-class and allergic to bureaucracy, Isles is reserved, patrician and nicknamed "the Queen of the Dead" for her calm around corpses — but Tess Gerritsen, a physician-turned-novelist, builds the series on the genuine chemistry between them as much as the forensic detail she brings from her own medical background. Rizzoli doesn't actually appear until book one and Isles is introduced only in book two, so the partnership that gives the series its name and its later TV adaptation takes a book to fully form.
The novels lean into medical-thriller territory (autopsy detail, real pathology, disease and bioterrorism plots alongside straightforward serial-killer cases) and aren't afraid of genuinely dark, high-body-count set pieces. It's for readers who want their police procedural grounded in real forensic science, with two strong, contrasting female leads whose friendship deepens book by book rather than being static.
Frequently asked questions
How many Rizzoli and Isles books are there?
13 novels, from The Surgeon (2001) to Listen to Me (2022). Author Tess Gerritsen has said she has another Rizzoli & Isles story in mind, but nothing is announced or scheduled.
What order should I read the Rizzoli and Isles books in?
Publication order, starting with The Surgeon. Maura Isles isn't introduced until book two, The Apprentice, so starting there is essential to seeing the partnership form.
Is the TV show Rizzoli & Isles based on the books?
Loosely. The TNT series (2010-2016) uses the same central characters and Boston setting but tells largely original stories rather than adapting the novels directly, and gives Rizzoli and Isles a closer friendship earlier than the books do.
Why does book 7 or 8 have a different title on some editions?
Tess Gerritsen's UK and US publishers used different titles for two entries: book 7 is The Keepsake (US) / Keeping the Dead (UK), and book 8 is Ice Cold (US) / The Killing Place (UK). They're the same novel.
Is there a new Rizzoli and Isles book coming?
Gerritsen has said in interviews she has another story worked out, but as of August 2026 nothing has been announced or scheduled. She has been focused on her separate Martini Club series since 2023.
If you like the Rizzoli & Isles series
Reading order last verified .