Rating: 
Summary: WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!
Review: WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! The resurrection of Benton Wesley was never very well explained (and if you didn't read the book where he "died", you would be totally lost), there were several things alluded to that didn't come to fruition (e.g., what seemed to be a relationship that MIGHT develop between Lucy and Nic), but, worst of all, after chapter 118 (page 443)the author just seems to say "I'm tired of writing so I'm quitting after a few more pages." Everything was sort of wrapped up with few, if any, explanations and Jean-Baptist Chandonne was left out there roaming the Louisiana bayous. WHAT A CHEAP TRICK TO BRING ABOUT A SEQUEL. Well, guess what! I won't buy it or read it. Another disappointment was the fact that Kay Scarpetta wasn't much of a heroine in the book. Her former exploits were alluded to frequently but I felt as though she was crippled or retired or both. Patricia Cornwell seems to have lost her touch. YUCK!
Rating:
Summary: Worst Book by Patricia Cornwell
Review: This has to be the worst book Ms. Cornwell has ever written. Much of the plot doesn't even make sense. Just a few examples: Why does Lucy feel compelled to kill Rocco after she receives a strange letter (supposedly) from a death row inmate? She already knew he was a bad guy who had probably killed a lot of people. And why doesn't she tell Kay about the letter? Why exactly is Benton in witness protection? Why does he care if Marino knows where he is? And why is he running around calling people with tape recorders? Huh?Beyond the serious holes in the plot, the book is also indescribably gross. The details surrounding Jay Talley and his serial killing, as well as his sexual tendencies, are unnecessarily specific. The same goes for Jean Baptiste and his death row musings. Even the blow fly details are just too much. This book belongs on the same shelf with the "bodice rippers" in the bookstore: it's as if Cornwell wanted to write a book with a weak plot, no character depth, and lots of horror and sex.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Disappointment
Review: I have been disappointed in her last few books to the point where I can't even finish reading them. I did get through this one, but it was a struggle. Never again! At least I learned from my last mistake and got this one at the library. I still keep hoping she will return to her old form, but this seems to be par for the course now.
Rating:
Summary: next book - the heroine is revealed to be a space alien
Review: Obvious, overblown, silly. Big plot points that make no sense. (e.g. - Lucy, the heroic lesbian (now sort-of-bisexual when under pressure), keeps as a partner the man who tried to rape her and they are both forced to resign the FBI after he admits to the assault.) Filler chapters that don't contribute to the plot. I gave up on this not even halfway through, knowing there was no way it would get better. Ms Cornwall is fortunate that there is no option for No Stars in the ranking scheme. The only saving grace it that the book came from the library and I didn't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: a big let down
Review: This novel was written so different than her other Scarpetta novels. A big dissapointment. Too many story lines going on. Too much , too fast, even too little. I have all the novels and was so excited to get my hands on this one, but due to tight finances, waited until I could find it in a thrift store, which I did, for $1.99, and I am so glad I didn't pay full price! I would have wanted a refund! Patricia, don't make the same mistake on the next one, if there is a next one!
Rating: 
Summary: Patricia STILL has it!!
Review: After reading all of the reviews on this page, I was nervous. However, After listening to the unabridged book on tape I was not disappointed. This book is not a first read for the Scarpetta Series. I was SOOOOO happy with the surprise in the novel. I felt all of the emotions in a good Scarpetta story. If you loved all of Patricia's books, you'll like this one too. Just think of this as a continuation of a story line from the Last Precinct, Black Notice, and Point of Origin. Keep going with the Story!!! I can't wait to see what happens next.
Rating: 
Summary: Action, Forensics and Dead People Make a Fun Read
Review: Kay Scarpetta is now in private practice in Florida. Her old foes, the maliciously evil Chandonne brothers, are still around. Jean-Baptiste, the horribly ugly "Wolfman," is on Death Row in Texas. Jean-Paul, his beautiful twin now known as Jay Talley, is busy murdering women in an unspeakable fashion in the Louisiana bayou. Unknown to Scarpetta, her ex-lover, Benton, who she thought had been dead for several books now, is still working undercover on the Chandonne case, as is niece Lucy. The action zips along between locals in this story that I think many Scarpetta fans will love, but for me bringing Benton back the way Cornwell did was a little much. However she tied up all the loose ends pretty neatly and I'm sure I'll be first in line at my local book story when the next Scarpetta novel comes out. Sophie Cacique Gaul
Rating:
Summary: Well, it's better than her non-Scarpetta fiction...
Review: I agree with many of the other reviews already posted: Cornwell is at her best when Kay is investigating crimes. Since there were only a few pages of her investigating in this novel, the book was less interesting than Cornwell's earlier books. Much of it felt like filler. I put it down after reading each (very short) chapter. About 2/3 of the way through, the action seemed to pick up. But the end was very dissatisfying; we just hear most of what happens from Benton. And while he and Kay have their reunion, she leaves the scared little boy alone in his room?!?! We can expect another book with "Le Loup-Garou"in it, to be sure. I disagree that the book was that poorly written. I've read a lot worse-and I didn't see many editing mistakes, either. If you've read her non-Scarpetta mysteries, you'll be relieved that, while Cornwell does use multiple points of view, she doesn't sink to telling us what first a cat and then God think as she did in one of her books! Still, don't waste your money; if you must read it, patronize your library!
Rating:
Summary: Better than a Greyhound Bus ride...
Review: I read "Blow Fly" on a 15 hour Greyhound Bus ride, which is probably why I didn't mind it so much. It kept me entertaining, provided excellent protection from my freakish fellow passengers, and reunited me with (some semblance) of formerly interesting characters that I had previously grown to love. The virtues of the book--of which there are considerably fewer than its vices--include its short chapters, atmospheric scenes (esp in the Bayou), and zippy pace. Its formidable failures, however, are another story. In brief, they are: 1) the recycled plot lines (how many more times will Cornwall rewrite Scarpetta history? How many more times will she delve into past books and "mine" their plots for "unrevealed" secrets, rather than coming up with new and interesting plots?); (2) an abrupt shift in narrative (first to third person), which results from the hole she wrote herself in following the scattering of the major characters in the last novel; (3) a complete lack of forensic detail--isn't this the core of the series???; (4) disrespectful dampening of vitality in all of the major characters, esp. Scarpetta; & (5) a hastily-written, anticlimactic ending that stank like a decomposing first draft...
I will read the next Scarpetta novel, if only because I view this as an interlude and necessary evil (born out of the structural shortcomings of the Last Precinct) that will hopefully give rise to a renewed and revitalized series. Hopefully!
Rating:
Summary: The Dark Side of the Force
Review: This is just amazingly bad. Cornwell has spent way too long gazing at the Dark Side of the Force. The improbable Jean-Baptist Chandonne and his absurd family of criminal masterminds have taken over the novels. What made the Scarpetta series interesting was the forensics, and maybe with CSI This and That all over TV, Cornwell thought she should d something different, not realizing that the serial killer is a truly overworked genre. Everyone in this series is angry and out of control, not just the criminals; it's depressing, for in reality things just don't work that way. There are always sane, focused individuals who make the world work, despite the angry dysfunctionals. Cornwell has lost sight of that and of the drama in the confrontation of the competent and the others. Avoid.
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