The Surgeon.

Tess Gerritsen. 2001. Read by Christine Marshall. 8 tapes. 9.5 hrs. Chivers Sound Lib., Chivers North America. 0-7927-2519-0. $69.95. Vinyl binder; plot, author, reader notes. A

In this grisly medical suspense novel a successful woman surgeon is the only victim who has escaped a killer known as The Surgeon. Two years ago, in Savannah, she was brutally attacked and raped, but managed to kill her attacker, who was an intern assigned to her. She moves to Boston, only to find that other women seem to be the target of the same murderer. The police must determine if this is a copycat murderer, a coincidence, or an undetected partner. More women die and all are somehow connected to Katherine. As the police narrow their search, Katherine once again becomes a victim.

Marshall does a laudable job portraying the many different characters, ranging from the cultured voice of the woman doctor to the working-class voice of the woman detective. Her male voices are done without strain and with the same range as the female characters. More than bodies are dissected in this novel, as Gerritsen pulls apart the relationships of men and women in the workplace and the minds of both the good guys and the bad. Not for the squeamish. Nola Theiss, Sanibel, FL