Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointed
Review: This is the last time I buy a book from Patricia Cornwell before reading the amazon.com reviews. No more pre-ordering for me after Blow Fly. I hated Isle of Dogs immensely and didn't even pay attention to her Jack the Ripper book, but I thought "finally, back to Kay Scarpetta" and pre-ordered Blow Fly. Big mistake. I felt like most of the book was taken up introducing new readers to all of the characters and summarizing her previous Scarpetta books. When it finally did get going, toward the end, I kept looking at the number of pages left, wondering how it was possible that I was almost finished when there was obviously so much story unresolved. The answer came when, in the last few pages, she completely rushed through ending the book. She spent a great deal of the book in the Wolfman's mind, but couldn't spare us 20 more pages for a halfway decent ending?As to the characters and their attitudes/outlook and whether they're realistic or not and the present tense and the third person writing that the other reviewers disliked, I won't pass judgment on that. It was probably part of the overall "yuck" I felt while reading this book, though. Next time, I'll be sure to read the reviews here BEFORE I give Patricia Cornwell another dime of my money.
Rating:
Summary: Unsatisfying
Review: WARNING: Spoiler alert. This review, and many others, contain plot twists and info about the ending. With prolific authors, I find there are three kinds of readers: Those who love everything unconditionally, those who love the initial product but turn cold when the author doesn't merely write carbon copies of the previous books, and those who are willing to go where the author leads and enjoy the books (or not) on their own merit. I see lots of reviews here that are in the first two categories, and a few in the third. This review falls into the third. I came to the Cornwell novels only a few years ago, and have read all the Scarpetta books (in order) and the other Charlotte-based fiction. I've also read the Jack the Ripper book. I have absolutely NO emotion about a writer attempting new things. Some people say "how dare she" not write only fiction, or only Scarpetta books, or only serious mysteries. So, I appreciated what she tried to do with the Isle of Dogs, etc. books. (Anybody ever heard of Carl Hiassen?) While I think her Jack the Ripper book has some serious flaws, again I don't have a problem with the attempt. It's true that the Scarpetta books had gotten increasingly dark, especially with the death of Benton. Some readers are angry about this. Again, if that's where the author wants to go, I'm willing to go along for the ride. I did hope, however, that this book would lift some of the cloud, because there's only so much misery and depression a reader can take, when it's about a character who did not start out that way. There is light at the end of the tunnel, here, but it comes about in a completely bizzarre, soap-opera fashion. The fact that Benton is back from the dead is a lame plot twist that I would have NEVER expected in this series. It's a tired cliche that is shocking in its very appearance. Lucy has never been a likable character, and now she's a self-appointed assassin? And what's with her coming on to her male partner? If she were to discover she's bisexual, that could be interesting, but the explanation given is unbelievable. The end of the book is sloppy and rushed. Bev is shot from a helicopter. Boom you're dead. Jay and the Baton Rouge woman are supposedly killed out of sight of the reader. THAT is suspicious in the extreme. Either it's incredibly lazy writing, or we're being set up for another resurrection or more fishiness with Benton. No matter how you slice it, I felt as if I missed the last 1/2 hour of the movie, and a friend summed up the plot for me in a few sentences. P.S. The brand-name tossing and status consciousness and the exquisite tastes and personal habits of Scarpetta, Lucy, and Benton got tired along about book 3 or 4.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: A downward spiraling trend....sadly. After much anticipation this book was a bitter disappointment to me. I feel PC had to scramble for ideas just to complete the book. And the conspiracy theory, I mean, come on. I don't mind stretching my imagination for the sake of fiction, but this was beyond 'stretching'. It was good to have familiar characters back (even if they did act out of character) but at what price? Let's hope PC will take a page from the old Dallas TV series and this will 'all be a dream' and we can get back to the Kay Scarpetta that we know and love.
Rating:
Summary: I Miss the Real Kay Scarpetta
Review: While I am still in the process of finishing this book, I can honestly say that I am very disappointed. I generally love Patricia Cornwell's books, even the latest that some people have not liked, but am disappointed in Blow Fly. I find the use of third person present tense distracting at best and irritating at worst. I miss the vivid imagery that Cornwell used in previous books such as The Body Farm and Unnatural Exposure. I want to feel like I am in the mind of the characters, or at least in the mind of one character -- namely Kay Scarpetta -- but I cannot get there. I have even begun to wonder if Cornwell really wrote this book, because it is not even in the same playing field as her earlier works.
Rating:
Summary: A book that felt like a stretch to reel in old readers...
Review: I never write reviews here, but felt compelled because of the HUGE letdown I'm having reading this book. I almost feel as if PC knows her books have declined in recent years and is trying to shake things up with a huge twist and a new point of view. The twist was just annoying and not very believable. And reading a Scarpetta book in third person was just distracting and doesn't nearly have the pacing and personality of her earlier novels. Characteristics that I came to love in characters in her Scarpetta novels are now hugely annoying. I wouldn't waste my money on the hardcover version of this book. Wait for the paperback and buy it used.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointed faithful Scarpetta fan
Review: I was so excited to receive and start reading Blow Fly. As it turns out I am 3/4 of the way through the book and I am having a hard time finishing it. I feel all Scapetta fans have been let down. I can't tell you how disappointed I am with this latest lack of storyline etc. My sister is also an avid Scarpetta fan and she was also very disappointed. I hope the next novel in the series brings us back to characters that we know and love. Hopefully, this one will be explained as a bad dream.
Rating:
Summary: Beyond Disappointing
Review: Having read every Cornwell book, but stayed away (due to bad reviews) from the last two, I eagerly anticipated her getting back on track with what she's always done best - Kay Scarpetta landing a starring role in page-turning suspense, with good character development, a touch of dry humor, and an intense story line with a twist. Sadly, Blow Fly contains none of this, and Kay has faded to a minor supporting role, upstaged by everyone around her including characters I'm tired of reading about. This book was truly an abomination of predictability, confusion, narcissism, pointless subplots, and a letdown from the beginning to the unremarkable end. Gone was the familiarity of "our Kay" and the gruff but likable Marino, replaced by a predictable automaton who has given up on anything good in her life, and a guy I wouldn't have in my life for ten minutes. Depressing. And Lucy commits a murder that would have happened anyway? Then goes from 100% secrecy to full disclosure? Scarpetta approves? Cornwell: who are these people? I will mourn your carefully developed characters. As a side note, this was one of the choppiest books I have ever read - choppy to the point of annoyance. It became habit to turn back to make sure I didn't skip a page (or more likely a chapter or two). I'm not quite sure how this book made it out of editing, unless the editors are no longer interested in good form and flow. Anyway, Cornwell, you got my money on this one, but it's the last time. You've done irreparable damage to your characters, and your audience will likely not trust you again.
Rating:
Summary: Poor writing
Review: It seems like a completely different person wrote this book. I literally had to check if the author was Cornwell. It was poorly written and just constructed.
Rating:
Summary: Kay Scarpetta, R.I.P.
Review: I don't know how long I can keep on buying Cornwell's follies. First there was Isle of Dogs -- perhaps the worst book EVER. Now there's this Kay Scarpetta book with almost no Kay Scarpetta, and even the meager appearances don't ring true. Here's a frightening thought: Cornwell has lost touch with her own main character. Lucy commits cold-blooded murder in this book, and Kay is OK with that. My old pals Kay and Marino used to go to any length to catch the bad guys. Now I can't tell them apart. So not only is the main character MIA, but there's nothing to like. The plot is nonsense, Lucy's secret agent antics are pointless, Benton's resurrection just means we're in for more bad relationship scenes, and it's like Kay suddenly drank Love Potion No. 9: everyone loves or admires or lusts after her. The longer you dwell on this book, the worse you feel. Nothing adds up, nothing makes sense.
Rating:
Summary: Cornwell Paranoia
Review: If anyone is familiar with the excellent Vanity Fair article about Patricia Cornwell from a few years ago, you can see what has been going wrong with her recent books - particularly the terrible Blow Fly. Cornwell is pretentious, paranoid and egotistical. The Vanity Fair article goes on about Cornwell having bodyguards (a book author!), the suspicions about her involvement in the plot to kill someone, trying to buy the author off with a Mont Blanc pen (in order to obtain a favorable article), and on and on. If one is to believe the Vanity Fair article, she is crazy as a loon. In Blow Fly, she continues with her name dropping, as she has done in previous books (how much do we have to hear about Scarpetta having the best of everything?), plots revolving around everyone out to get Scarpetta....please, she is the medical examiner and now she has a beast and his gorgeous twin brother pining away and wanting to murder her? The only thing that got me through this book is the fact that I love these characters. I hope she returns to the basics and more plausible plot lines. And talk about Cornwell taking herself too seriously....just because she is a mystery author, what gives her the qualifications to write books on true life crime? Taking on Jack the Riper and Princess Diana's death? Give me a break! This woman needs a dose of reality before she loses all her fans.
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