2-3-4 Challenge Book Discussions #1 discussion

Dr. Maura Isles makes her living dealing with death. As a pathologist in a major metropolitan city, she has seen more than her share of corpses every day–many of them victims of violent murder. But never before has her blood run cold, and never has the grim expression “dead ringer” rung so terrifyingly true. Because never before has the lifeless body on the medical examiner’s table been her own.

Yet there can be no denying the mind-reeling evidence before her shocked eyes and those of her colleagues, including Detective Jane Rizzoli: the woman found shot to death outside Maura’s home is the mirror image of Maura, down to the most intimate physical nuances. Even more chilling is the discovery that they share the same birth date and blood type. For the stunned Maura, an only child, there can be just one explanation. And when a DNA test confirms that Maura’s mysterious doppelgänger is in fact her twin sister, an already bizarre murder investigation becomes a disturbing and dangerous excursion into a past full of dark secrets.

Searching for answers, Maura is drawn to a seaside town in Maine where other horrifying surprises await. But perhaps more frightening, an unknown murderer is at large on a cross-country killing spree. To stop the massacre and uncover the twisted truth about her own roots, Maura must probe her first living subject: the mother that she never knew . . . an icy and cunning woman who could be responsible for giving Maura life–and who just may have a plan to take it away.

Settings
Boston, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Newton, Massachusetts
Fox Harbor, Maine
Natick, Massachusetts

Prologue
33 Chapters

Character List
(view spoiler)[
Jane Rizzoli: Homicide detective with the Boston Police Department (BPD). She’s the only female and is partnered with Barry Frost. She’s 34-years old, married to Gabriel Dean and eight-months pregnant.
Maura Isles: Medical examiner who Tierney recruited a year ago. Nicknamed Queen of the Dead by the Homicide Unit. She has shoulder length black hair with blunt bangs.
Gabriel Dean: FBI agent and Jane’s husband.
Barry Frost: Homicide detective with the BPD and Jane’s partner.
Rick Ballard: Newton Police Department detective.
Carmen Ballard: Newton Police Department detective. Rick’s wife. They’re separated.
Katie Ballard: Rick & Carmen’s 14-year old daughter.
Vann: Boston Police Department homicide detective. Dunleavy’s partner. They closed the last Black Talon case.
Dunleavy: Boston Police Department homicide detective. Vann’s partner. They closed the last Black Talon case.
Marquette: Lieutenant over the homicide unit.
Sarmiento: Natick detective.
Ligett: Natick detective.
Daljeet Singh: Medical examiner in Augusta, Maine.
Father Daniel Brophy: Priest from the neighboring church parish, Our Lady of Divine Light.
Dr. Abe Bristol: One of Maura’s colleagues.
Costas: One of Maura’s colleagues.
Yoshima: Maura’s medical assistant.
Louise: Maura’s secretary.
Anna Jessop: aka Anna Leoni. Maura’s doppelgänger, found dead in a car in front of her house.
Charles Cassell: Anna’s abusive ex-boyfriend. Founder of Castle Pharmaceuticals.
Theresa Wells: Murder victim. One of the sisters Amalthea Lank was convicted of killing.
Nikki Wells: Murder victim. One of the sisters Amalthea Lank was convicted of killing. She was nine months pregnant.
Joyce O’Donnell: Neuropsychiatrist who has an unhealthy interest in serial killers and murderers. She still visits Hoyt (the Surgeon).
Terence Van Gates: Attorney.
Lily: Maura’s neighbor. Susan’s partner.
Susan: Maura’s neighbor. Lily’s partner.
Mr. Telushkin: Maura’s neighbor.
Mattie Purvis: Pregnant wife of Dwayne Purvis. She’s due in two weeks.
Dwayne Purvis: Owner of a BMW car dealership, married to Mattie who he’s cheating on.
Bart Thayer: One of Dwayne’s salesmen.
Alice Rose: Young girl trapped by a boy named Elijah.
Elijah Lank: Young boy who buried Alice underground.
Amalthea Lank: In prison for the murder of two women. She’s Elijah’s cousin.
Susan Fishman: Mattie’s OB-GYN.
(hide spoiler)]

Spoiler Info
(view spoiler)[
Mattie was abducted and placed in a box with limited supplies.

Anna and Maura share the same DNA. Amalthea Lank is their biological mother.

Amalthea and Elijah had a son, Samuel. Elijah died eight years ago. Samuel took up his killing ways. They abducted pregnant women and sold their babies.

Mattie saved herself.

Terence Van Gates paid Amalthea for Maura and her sister, Anna.

Carmen Ballard killed Anna out of jealousy. Then she went after Maura after killing Rick. (hide spoiler)]