Disclosure: I received a copy of this book free of charge for review purposes only. Receipt of a book does not guarantee a review or endorsement. My reviews are my honest opinion and are not biased for the purpose of personal gain.

A college student senselessly run down in the road. A well-loved nurse beaten to death in her own home. A suspicious couple moving in over the road. Welcome to the 13th book in the Rizzoli and Isles series.

She thought of her own mother, also fiercely independent, also living alone. She thought too of all the other women in this city, alone in their homes at night. Women who would be alert to the sound of shattering glass and unfamiliar footsteps.

In the latest instalment we really get to know Jane’s mother – a right nosy neighbour who thinks it’s her right to know about the lives of everyone on her street. There’s this whole side story where she spies on the new neighbours and decides they’re too private and therefore must be up to no good. Jane is fed up of hearing about it and I had to agree, boundaries were frequently overstepped. Let your private neighbours be private.

In the main mystery, Jane Rizzoli is struggling to come up with a motive or suspect in the case of the murder of Sofia Suarez. Her investigation seems to be clutching at straws, chasing after any lead, no matter how tenuous, but eventually it all comes together. Meanwhile she stumbles into a stalking case that she’s determined won’t turn into a homicide.

There’s a slightly awkward scene acknowledging the poor relationship between police and the black community. Young Jamal had been helping Sofia with her laptop and his mother understandably goes on the defensive. Later on they return for his help though you’d think Boston PD has their own cybercrime team and didn’t need to ask a teenage boy.

Core mystery was a good balance of clues, enough to work out most of it by myself but not too easy. I thought the mystery of Angela’s neighbours was obvious, but it does lead to a Eureka moment for Jane.

Maura and Daniel’s relationship seems a bit flat. In previous books it felt like a real driving force in her character arc but now she’s just settled to being second to his calling. She doesn’t play a huge roll in this book, except for her concert performance which provides an excuse for the investigative team to be a bit closer to the family.

Looking out the window from my dark living room, I see the same row of houses that’ve always been here, the same street I’ve lived on for forty years. But tonight everything seems different, as if I’ve crossed into some parallel world and I’m now looking at the evil twin of my old neighborhood. A neighborhood where every house, every family, hides a secret.

I really wanted to tell Angela that the trick to being good at Scrabble is not long words, but knowing your two letter words. I don’t think her Scrabble crew were all that advanced.

Not the best in the series but I whizzed through it and enjoyed revisiting old friends.

Listen to Me is published by Bantam Press and will be available in hardback, ebook and audiobook editions from 7th July 2022. Thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy for review via NetGalley.

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