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Blow Fly

Blow Fly

List Price: $44.95
Your Price: $29.67
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Disappointing Ending
Review: I loved this book until the last 2 chapters. I do not feel that the story had a conclusion. It was all left hanging. It was like someone was in a hurry and just stopped. We have no idea what happened at the shack to Bev Kiffin, Benton just says that he killed everybody in the cave, no action there, and at the very end Scapetta just touches his face. What about Albert? I felt like this was the cliffhanger for the end of a season series and we just have to hang out until next season. I have read most of Cornwall books, and this is the first time that I felt like it just wasn't finished.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WOW!!! Blow Fly Blows Me Away!!!
Review: I can't believe some of the other reviews. It seems some people just like to nit-pic and grumble. This is a refreshingly new twist on the Scarpetta epic. Did you ever think that maybe PC gets tired of the same-old same old??? Give her credit for breathing new life into the series. These people are REAL - they hurt, they grieve. They don't always do what you expect them to do. I'm sorry they don't fit into the little square pegs you seem to have contrived for them. I quit reading my lifelong favorite, Stephen King, because his books became the "same story, different title" type of repetition. I think Cornwell is setting us up for a whale of a next book. I can't wait!!!
PS - I absolutely HATED Isle of Dogs! Natch?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: What does "Blow Fly" mean?
Review: In regards to a previous review, the title "Blow Fly" is a metaphor for the Chandonne family. A blow fly feeds off of the rotting flesh of dead bodies--here refering to the murderers, Jean-Baptiste, Jay Talley and Bev Kiffen.

This isn't the best Scarpetta novel, but it is worth reading. If you are new to Cornwell, start at the beginning with "Postmortem" and read in chronological order. It is a lot of books, but they can be read in a few hours each. Skip the ones that are not about Scarpetta--they introduce a new character who really is not very interesting.

After a 3 year hiatus from Scarpetta, this book reintroduces each character in detail, leaving not much room for plot development. The best part of the book is at the end, something I waited for for 6 years. I won't give it away, but it should give this series of characters a new breath of life. I can't wait for the continuation of this book!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Strange and somber Scarpetta novel.
Review: For those readers who know and love the brilliant forensic pathologist, Kay Scarpetta, "Blow Fly" will be a major disappointment. Scarpetta plays an insignificant role in the plot, which centers on the two murderous Chandonne brothers. These brothers belong to a family that runs a crime cartel, and we first encountered them in the Cornwell novel, "Black Notice." One of the brothers, Jean-Baptise, is on death row in Texas. The other, who goes by the name Jay Talley, is a serial killer who has been butchering women for years. Scarpetta is called in to consult on a cold case in Louisiana that may be related to the Chandonnes' crimes.

Cornwell flits from place to place in this book, as she tries to cover too much ground. Kay Scarpetta is living a subdued life in Florida. She has never recovered from the loss of her job as Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia and the loss of her lover, FBI Profiler Benton Wesley. Another troubled soul is Pete Marino, Scarpetta's close friend. Marino is self-destructive in the extreme, although he has always been a great cop. He has issues of his own that make his life a living hell. Meanwhile, Kay's brilliant niece, Lucy, is busy with clandestine activities in Europe that could get her into very hot water. In one way or another, all of these characters get involved with the deadly Chandonnes.

The problem with "Blow Fly" is that none of the plot elements coalesce. The narrative does not flow and the characters do not engage the reader. "Blow Fly" is little more than a dreary and depressing wallow in the misery that serial killers bring to the world. The early Scarpetta books were rich with meaning and excitement. How sad that Cornwell has to turn to old plot lines that no longer hold our interest when she could have shown Kay moving on with her life, meeting new people, and becoming engrossed in new and intriguing cases.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Blown off by Blow Fly
Review: I thought Isle of Dogs was a dog, but this book really was a disappointment. I did not like the third person writing, and I missed the nerve-tingling excitement (frisson) that used to make me read a Cornwell novel in one sitting, even when my vision was very poor and reading was painful. Cornwell seems to be well motivated to contribute her resources to real world forensics;
maybe that is the best use of her talent.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Grave Disappointment
Review: Patricia Cornwell's newest Scarpetta novel has been long awaited and eagerly anticipated, at least by this reviewer and surely by many of her other fans. Unfortunately, Blow Fly does not deliver what most of us are expecting.

Yes, the novel is written in an entirely different style from the other Scarpetta novels. Instead of first-person interaction, we receive third-person. There are no insights or glimpses of the old Scarpetta here. Kay is now regulated to being a fired, tired, wrinkled-clothed woman living in a rental home in Florida, all aspects of exciting scenes of forensic detail absent.

Scarpetta is not even really the main focus of the book; we get lots of confusing stories revolving around past characters: Lucy, Marino, Benton, Jay Talley, Jean-Baptiste Chandonne, and many others. While the story starts out well enough and intriguing, with Chandonne sending letters from prison to those on the outside who helped put him there, it quickly loses its focus into a mess of plot that is hard to muddle through.

I optimistically gave the book three stars, because I was so happy to see a new Scarpetta novel, but I'm not so sure it was worth the wait. While it is not a complete waste of time, reading this chapter in Kay Scarpetta's life will probably not whet the appetite of the constant fan.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Better than I expected
Review: After reading the brutal reviews posted here, I expected much worse. What I like about this series is how the characters grow, both in age and emotion. Lucy started out as a computer geek little girl and now she's gone through the FBI, DEA, got promoted, got fired, and winds up the strongest characacter in this installment, teaming up with partner Rudy (interesting duo). Even Marino is on Lucy's payroll. This series so far, as in real life, has resulted in a weary and troubled Kay Scarpetta getting tossed out of Virginia and banashed to consulting work in Florida, Marino and Lucy sharing a deep, dark secret that can never be exposed to Kay, 'the wolfman' waiting to be executed on death row in Texas, and two seriously nasty serial killers. I won't give away any plot details - this is a very interesting read. If you've gotten this far in the series, this is just another good installment - the next one should shed light on the untied knots at the end.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: How can I rate it less than 'one star'? Blech.
Review: I am so angry with myself; not only did I go ahead and buy this dog after swearing I wouldn't after reading her last, BUT, I paid full price for it. Not even full price, but AIRPORT full price. ARG.

This is the worst book she's written. It's poorly edited; lacks continuity; written in a context that works against her prior novels (first person, third person); the ending is not only rushed, ill-written, but not even conceivable. Frankly, that describes the entire book.

There's no "blow fly" connection to the title, other than a small segue in the beginning that lacks any real connection to the story.

Benton - come on, how long are we expected to believe these types of story lines? Evil twins? Mutant genes? Serial killers who refuse to die, and just keep coming back, story after story, all after Kay? Lucy and Marino have enough attitude, and no reality, that their characters are just not believeable. The name dropping (enough with the Mercedes and the MD Bells already).

This is a turkey, and I refuse to spend another dime on any of her work. I'm beyond disappointed.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: This Sucked
Review: I was very disappointed with this book. It was a let down and left so many questions unanswered. Which I imagine will come out in another book. It was very evasive in a lot of areas and very predictable in other areas. Not as detailed as her other books. She must have been on a deadline, and just wrote anything to make the book sell, because I am sure a lot of people bought this with the anticipation of getting their money's worth.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Insomniac???????? This is the book for you.
Review: Ok, let me preface by saying that I swore I would NEVER EVER buy another Cornwell novel after the last 2 extremely disappointing reads. BUT, in a moment of stupidity, weakness and boredom, I picked up BLOW FLY. You know how they say never go shopping when you're hungry cuz you'll end up buying crap you don't need???
Another painfully slow, slapped together and somewhat confusing novel by Ms. EGO maniac. Question.....How could Hairboy just walk out of prison if he was supposedly rendered blind from the formalin? So many questions, so little plot.
C'mon Patty, spare us....save a tree.


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