Prior to writing, Tess worked as a doctor. Many critics believe that it was this fact that helped the writer to create horrific novels.
Biography
Tess was born in 1953 in San Diego, California. Mother - an immigrant from China, father - of American-Chinese descent, was engaged in cooking seafood in his own restaurant serving Chinese dishes. Tess inherited the talent for writing from her grandfather, a successful Chinese poet.
As a child, Tess dreamed of writing short stories like Nancy Drew, but did not think she could become a professional writer, so she chose medicine as her future profession.
She graduated from Stanford University in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in anthropology. Tess continued her studies at the University of California, San Francisco, studying medicine. In 1979, she earned a medical degree and began her medical career in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Career
The first published short story Gerritsen was written during maternity leave of the writer. Her work “In Search of the right food” was met with interest by readers, participation in the contest brought her first prize, which amounted to $ 500.
The short story describes the story of a young man who rethinks the complexities of relationships with his own mother. The writer later admitted that most of the described experiences of the hero are based on her personal experience, she experienced them herself during a difficult period in the life of her mother, who tried to commit suicide.
Inspired by her first success, Tess continued to write while working as a doctor. She chose the most interesting genre for herself, a romantic thriller. The first two works did not interest publishers; luck turned to her after the creation of the third novel. Call After Midnight was published in 1987 by Harlequin Intrigue.
In 1996, Gerritsen wrote the first non-romantic thriller, Harvest. The book describes the history of street orphans in Russia, disappearing without a trace on the streets of Moscow. In the course of the story, it turns out that a gang engaged in illegal organ transplantation abducts children. Higher medical education allowed Gerritsen to make his work as convincing as possible.
The book became a bestseller, a writer inspired by success, wrote a series of books in the genre of medical thriller.
In 2001, Gerristen released the crime novel The Surgeon, in which Detective Jane Rizzoli appears. A television series was shot for this work.
