Review: In Their Footsteps

In Their Footsteps by Tess Gerritsen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’ve read many Tess Gerritsen books – both her older romantic suspense books and her newer mystery books – and I can safely say she is one of my favourite authors. However, In Their Footsteps failed to entertain me in the way I had hoped. Truthfully, it is my least favourite of all the Gerritsen books I have read.
 
In Their Footsteps had the promise of being a wonderful read. Spies and murder – what’s not to love? Unfortunately, it didn’t give me the suspense filled book I had been hoping for. There were a mere handful of pages where events took place, the rest of the time… well, it felt as though the book was trying to force its way through a bog and wasn’t really getting anywhere.
 
To me, it felt as though the spies and murder were a backdrop to a very boring story. It’s as though those aspects were thrown in as a means to make the story more entertaining, only it was too little too late. We’re told about government agents, we’re told about past events, and yet we spend most of our time focusing upon drama I didn’t really care about. Yes, the drama plays in to the overall story… but it didn’t hold my attention at all. Usually when Tess Gerritsen does drama she creates something wonderful, but with this one there wasn’t really anything there at all. Events were taking place and yet I found my mind drifting because there wasn’t the usual things you find in a Gerritsen book. There was no real action; the characters were rather boring; the romance was lacking. If I’d read this book without knowing the author, I would never have guessed it to be a Gerritsen book.
 
If you’ve yet to read a Gerritsen book, I certainly recommend starting somewhere else. She really can do – and has repeatedly done – better than this. Were it not for the fact I brought the omnibus, I wouldn’t be reading the second story about this family. In fact, I’m only doing so in the hope Gerritsen can salvage the family.
 
Overall, a disappointing read from one of my favourite authors. You’re always going to find them – the books where your favourite authors didn’t quite reach their usual high – I’m just disappointed a book with so much promised turned out to be the Gerritsen book I didn’t enjoy.

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