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Summary: NOT JUST ANOTHER WEREWOLF STORY...
Review: This is an intriguing and well crafted Kay Scarpetta mystery, which begins promisingly enough with the discovery of an overly ripe, dead body. Found stashed in a locked and sealed freight container aboard a cargo ship from Belgium that has landed in Dr. Kay Scarpetta's jurisdiction of Richmond, Virginia, the male, mystery corpse is covered with loose hairs. This intriguing beginning sends Dr. Kay Scarpetta, Richmond, Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner, on a hunt for information that turns international in scope. She discovers that this is just one of a number of murders to contain those tell tale hairs.The murders, themselves, are graphic and the forensic details, as always, are fascinating, and Dr. Scarpetta's critical analysis of the pathology issues are well thought out and highly informative, as she sifts through the forensic evidence in order to profile the killer. Her assessment of the peculiar affliction of this serial killer is intriguing, providing scientific insight into creatures who were called werewolves, but who may have only been persons with a rare and unusual genetic condition, causing them to be especially hirsute, among other anomalies. Moreover, there are a number of subplots afoot. Dr. Scarpetta, who is recovering from the death of her lover, Wesley Benton, faces a number of problems closer to home. It seems that she has been the victim of identity theft, with her internet screen name being used to set up a phony chat room, and personally destructive emails being sent falsely under her screen name. To add fuel to the fire, a new Deputy Chief in the Richmond police Department, Diane Bray, and has managed to demote Dr. Scarpetta's long time friend, Homicide Detective Pete Marino. Having her own secret agenda, Bray has turned her sights onto Dr. Scarpetta, desiring to get jurisdiction over the Medical Examiner's Office. Perfidy also exist among Dr. Scarpetta's trusted staff, and her niece Lucy, who is still not operating with a full deck, is on a dangerous, undercover police mission with her lover in Miami, adding yet another worry to Dr. Scarpetta's already full plate. It is the camaraderie between Pete Marino and Dr. Kay Scarpetta, however, that holds this particular book together. Their repartee and dialogue is wonderful, giving evidence of their comfortable and close relationship, without saying so in so many words. They carp as if they were an old married couple. Lucy, Dr. Scarpetta's niece, however, is still a loose cannon, and it is unbelievable that any police agency would allow her to run around with a gun in her hand, given her record for shooting it off. Mercifully, this annoying character has a smaller role than usual in this novel, and the reader may only hope that she will either be written out altogether or get an attitude adjustment. The ending of the book, however, is a little too pat. Dr. Scarpetta's actions in the book's grand finale are not really believable for such an astute and normally cautious woman. Given what she already knows about the killer, her actions in the end bespeak more of the actions of an unknowing civilian. Still, this book does not fail to entertain and is sure to provide reading pleasure for many Kay Scarpetta devotees.
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Summary: Don't expect Cornwell to get any better than this.
Review: This is by far the best of the Scarpetta mystery novels. It alone deserves to remain in print for any appreciable amount of time. Everything in the series after this is likely to be anti-climatic. But the fact still remains that Scarpetta needs to get a life. She still hasn't learned how to realistically deal with her enemies. Scarpetta is herself paranoid and no wonder: she insists upon setting back and letting things get out of control. Her efforts at hitting back are at best misguided, ineffectual and misplaced.
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Summary: Kay at her worst?
Review: This one definitely wets your appetite for "the Last Precinct." It was hard to put it down. Dr. Kay will always be my favorite Cornwell character and when Kay is at her worst, Cornwell's writing seems to be at it's introspective best.
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Summary: MY FIRST PATRICIA CORNWELL NOVEL
Review: This was my first Patricia Cornwell novel and I fell in love with it. I read the next one, The Last Precinct, and loved it, too. I ordered the next one, Isle of Dogs, before I realized it wouldn't be a continuation and after reading some of the comments about it, I almost don't want to read it. Actually I have the audiotapes. I bought Southern Cross (which I am listening to now and really don't like it) and Hornets Nest (which I tried to listen to first but couldn't get interested in it--don't even like the guy's voice reading it). Patricia, stick with Kay Scarpetta!
Rating: 
Summary: Really disappointing
Review: We have to wait ages in England to get the latest in the series, and so to wait so long and then read this book was a real let down. Kay is self-centered and nasty-she is not the only one who loses people, and after all, she deals with death every day; it is totally self-indulgent to let everything slide. The so-called hidden agendas are laid on so obviously it is a wonder she reamins clueless for so long. Marino and Lucy are two nasty pieces of work, and Lucy's gayness is mentioned every two seconds, as is Marino's homophobia, as if any of it is actually of any interest to people who want absorbing characters. What does any of it have to do with being a good detective or ATF officer? I can't find myself liking any of the characters I once found so fascinating; they are all so self-absorbed and out of control. The book is world-weary, and it shows, and as for the 'criminal' at the end, without giving too much away for those who persist in the struggle to find anything redeeeming about this novel, well, all I can say is, pathetic and stupid.
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Summary: It's Not a stand alone book.
Review: You have to read, "Point of Origin" in order to enjoy this book. The events of Point of Origin.......drive the story line, especially the first half of the book. If you read both books, you will enjoy both. If you read this one separately, you will be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: It's Not a stand alone book.
Review: You have to read, "Point of Origin" in order to enjoy this book. The events of Point of Origin.......drive the story line, especially the first half of the book. If you read both books, you will enjoy both. If you read this one separately, you will be disappointed.
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Summary: Kay Scarpetta series is excellent
Review: You need to read them in order because the characters evolve in every book.
Rating: 
Summary: Unless you're into frustration, don't waste your time
Review: You never realize how truly disappointing a book can be until you realize that there are approximatley fifty pages left and countless plot lines flapping in the breeze. Cornwell is a master storyteller. Unfortunately, Black Notice if incredibly similar to many of Dean Koontz's books in that the author tells a great story but has no clue how to tie everythign together and end the book. Like Koontz, Cornwell chooses to simply end without tying up many of the plot lines. My advice, don't waste your time.
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