Rating: 
Summary: not as bad as i heard
Review: I was pleasantly surprised by this latest Cornwell attempt. It was a nice shift away from the wordy self indulgence of the last few Scarpetta novels, reading hundreds of pages of moody introspection from a character who was capable of better. I liked the 3rd person prose and the character development of her supporting cast, and feel like I can actually care about them again. I agree the last few chapters were a bit choppy (cranky editor?) but I would recommend this book to my other Scarpetta fans. Be prepared for something different!
Rating: 
Summary: Ms. Cornwell, where have you gone?
Review: It is with deep sadness that I must inform fellow readers--especially those who have been and still are Cornwell fans--that I cannot recommend this book as a "good read." I gave it 2 stars because flashes of the Cornwell we all know and respect appear every so often throughout--tight narrative, wonderful characterization, exquisite scene detail, taut dialogue. Cornwell is one of the few writers who can turn crime scenes into macabre poetry, who can resurrect the violently deceased with the turn of a phrase and the punch of a character's ruminations; who can quite honestly humanize the monstrous. Truly gifted as a writer, I cannot condemn the book on its stylistic flow. However, with regard to storyline, I must respectfully ask: where the hell is Kay Scarpetta? What the hell just happened here?Dr. Kay Scarpetta relocates to Florida in the wake of all that happened in "The Last Precinct." Demoted, I suppose we could say, she serves now as a "consultant" and "lecturer." The first third of the book provides a window to Scarpetta's continued grief over losing her job, her Richmond life, and profiler Benton Wesley (presumably dead). But trouble's afoot in the form of the international cartel of the Chandonne family. Jean-Baptiste is on death row in Texas, Jean-Paul, his beautiful twin brother, is murdering women outside Baton Rouge, a city gripped with the serial murders of women (and I'm assuming Ms. Cornwell is basing this storyline on the actual murders that were occurring in BR tracked in the media since 2001 or thereabouts). Scarpetta finds herself intrigued by a Baton Rouge policewoman who attends one of the "great forensica's" seminars. Will Scarpetta mentor her? Sadly, that storyline is not developed. Nic Robillard (a refreshing character providing one of the only sparks in this turgid plotline) is trying to crack the BR murders but runs up against old-school Louisiana corruption and politics. But then her history is implausibly tainted by the revelation that her own mother was murdered by Jean-Paul years before; a case that remains unsolved until the end of "Blow Fly." Suffice it to say that hijinks ensue. Jean-Baptiste begins sending letters to Scarpetta (he'll tell her all his secrets since he's about to be executed--as long as she administers the lethal cocktail in the death room on his day); he allegedly sends letters to Lucy, who ends up on some absurd sidetrack in Poland where she and her partner Rudy stage the suicide of Jean-Baptiste attorney Rocco Caggliano (Marino's son). Meanwhile, Jean-Paul and henchwoman Bev are continuing to murder women in BR. Why? What are they doing? What's the greater purpose? Readers are left wondering. As if all this wasn't enough in the realm of implausibility, one of Scarpetta's ghosts shows up as the great manipulator behind all these "coincidences" that will bring down the Chandonne empire and save Scarpetta from a horrid death at the hands of Jean-Paul or perhaps his brother Jean-Baptiste, who we all know will most likely escape Texas's death row as the predictability of his continued appearances throughout the book leads us to wonder why he's playing such a central role. This reader has been terribly disappointed with Scarpetta's character devolution (development, in this sense, strikes me as perhaps something positive and what's going on with Scarpetta is far from that) since "Last Precinct." Actually, since Cornwell opted to involve Scarpetta romantically with Wesley. Rather than maintaining the Scarpetta edge, Cornwell has reduced the doctor to a depressed, ineffective, woefully unprepared shadow of her former self. She plays little role in this book and gets her hands dirty in only one crime scene toward the end of the book. What is it about crime writers who hook their female characters up in somewhat serious relationships with men? The characters invariably lose their edges and spend all their time obsessing about the whereabouts or wherefors of the men in their lives. That's NOT the Scarpetta I came to enjoy reading. Nor is it entirely realistic. If Cornwell wants to involve Scarpetta with a man, fine. But why must Scarpetta lose herself, lose her abilities as a brilliant forensic pathologist and do nothing but pine away for a guy who was cheating on his wife with her? Quite frustrating. Meanwhile, Lucy is off galivanting across eastern Europe, manipulated by the puppeteer I won't reveal here. She struggles with HER ghosts, as well and I ended up not having much respect for her as a character. What happened to her? She's rude, mouthy, impulsive to the point of endangering everyone around her, confused, and angry. She didn't learn that from Scarpetta; where did she learn all these bad behaviors? I couldn't find much redemptive about Lucy this time around--one of the many disappointments in this book. For his part, Marino continues to be caught up in his odd (but believable) longing for Scarpetta and his horrendously unhealthy lifestyle. In short, the first third of the book was the best of this mess. The story is introduced, Scarpetta is talking forensics, Nic Robillard looks like a potentially new and interesting character. Then a series of bizarre yet orchestrated coincidences occur, all linked to the Chandonne cartel (would Ms. Cornwell PLEASE stop it with the Chandonnes? It's as if she's trying to morph into a Robert Ludlum with this international intrigue angle). In the end, readers are left with a story that is barely connected by the loosest of threads (most so implausible as to border on ridiculous), the unfortunate reintroduction of a ghost from Scarpetta's past, a forensic investigator incapacitated by her longing for a once married, presumably dead man, and a series of characters who, like actors trying valiantly to save a sunken script, move woodenly across the once brilliant stage Cornwell created in "Postmortem." Alas, Scarpetta. Alas Cornwell. We thought we knew ye.
Rating: 
Summary: Borrow don't buy
Review: V. disappointed. It almost seemed that it was written by someone other than Patricia Cornwell. If this had been her first book, I would not have read another. Does a disservice to her previous novels. Barbara.
Rating:
Summary: Blow Fly BLOWS!!!
Review: I am glad that my public library had the latest Scarpetta offering. It saved me the anguish over losing $26 on a piece of not so hot fiction. Cornwell should be disappointed over this stinker as most of her loyal readers seem to be. It's the worse soap opera script ever written and Patricia...YOU should be ashamed of yourself to treat your loyal readers to such drivel!
It's a waste of time to read and long winded. Where were the editors!!!! Thank God Kathy Reichs came out with hers first. Help us Linda Fairstein...we are suffering from novel withdrawl!
Save your money kids!!! Check it out of the library if you have to read it. Amazon has much better offerings!
Rating:
Summary: Blow Me Away..........
Review: If someone had told me I'd finish reading this book and throw it across the room in disgust I'd have said never. I love Kay Scarpetta and looked forward to the release of this book with great anticipation. What a disappointment! What happens to these writers after a few very successful books? Does their success go to their heads and they forget what their fans want? I finished reading the last page of this book and sat there thinking this must be a mistake, where is the rest of the book?! Don't waste your time and money on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Not worth your time - a really BAD book!
Review: I agree that this was the worst book I have read in a very long time. Like other reviewers, I WAS a Cornwell fan, but not any longer. If anyone else had written this trash, it would have never been published. What a disappointment and a rip-off. No more of my time or money will go to Cornwell.
Rating:
Summary: Dreadful, bizarre, awful
Review: This is the worst book I've read in recent memory. I would give it no stars if I could. Kay Scarpetta wanders around the landscape seemingly in a daze. It is as though she stumbled into the book by accident. The regular cast of characters is there as usual, but they are parodies of themselves. The plot is nil, the writing perfunctory, and the characterization laughable. Her books just keep getting weirder and weirder. I think the author needs to get back to the straightforward mystery plots and interesting and believable characters that made her earlier books, such as Postmortem, so enjoyable. If you must read it, get it from the library.
Rating:
Summary: The last Cornwell book I buy?
Review: It took me more than a month to finish this one and I didn't enjoy it at all! Her books have gotten too gory and the plot made almost no sense. The ending is puzzling . . . I'm not at all sure what happened. No more Cornwell books for me unless the reviews are really good!
Rating:
Summary: That's Enough
Review: Well this one did it for me. I've gone from "I can't wait for Cornwell's next book" to "never again wanting to read about characters like these." I can definitely do without any more reprise of the twin, sicko, Chandonne brothers who, among other things in this butchered novel, take pleasure in using a woman's severed arm for alligator bait. Worse yet they may may never actually die--Cornwell has one of her characters actually return from being convincingly killed in a previous novel! I think Cornwell's extensive research for her recent Jack the Ripper book has taken a toll on what used to be one of my favorite authors. She seems to want to depict men as capable of being even more hideous than ever rather than writing an entertaining thriller.
Rating:
Summary: Just a disappointment,,,
Review: I am such a Cornwell fan, reading all of her book, even the cook book! But this one is not her best work. Seems as though this book wasn't cared about. Took me forever to read it and I usually read them in days. The wittness protection card has been played so many times, it's just a tired story line. I found myself not caring about the characters like I have in other books. The ending was so weak I didn't realize it was the ending. How disappointed I am, perhaps next time Patricia.
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