Rating: 
Summary: Kay FINALLY moves forward!
Review: Well, it's about time. After dealing with the fallout from Black Notice - TLP picks up where BN ended - Kay Scarpetta FINALLY (we hope) decides to get on with her life instead of maundering about and wailing and gnashing her teeth over the loss of Benton. I picked up this book fully expecting it to be better than BN (which was damn near unreadable), and it was, in nearly all respects. Kay goes through a lot here. It often seems as though she's groping through a maze, what with nothing and no one being what they seem, and layers upon layers of suspicions, paranoia, deceptions, etc. etc. etc. However, she has to get through this before she can move forward, as I have been waiting for her to do since Point of Origin. Readers who are paying attention will get a clue as to who's behind all of this very early on in the story. I won't give it away here! I am actually looking forward to Patricia Cornwell's next Scarpetta story - she seems to have written herself out of the mire and is ready to fly! One complaint I have, though, is the endings just seem to come too fast.
Rating: 
Summary: The Last Precinct
Review: I believe that even bad Scarpetta is better than no Scarpetta and wouldn't think of missing a Cornwell book. However disappointing I found this book, what I found most disturbing was the author's usurping of Linda Fairstein, a real life person who also writes mysteries (though legal rather than medical) with herself as a model for the protagonist. The dedication to Fairstein seems like a forced nicety. I find it most disturbing that a character in a novel should be lifted both from a real living person and her alter ego in novels. Granted many Scarpetta characters are "based" on real people, but this seems too much. I await the next book with hopes of originality.
Rating:
Summary: The Last Stand
Review: I was very disappointed with the ending of this book. There was so much build up to the story of the Loup Garou and all the people that may or may not be involved with Chardonne. I cannot believe she wrapped up the story in about 20 pages after building up the story for over 300 pages. There was so much more she could have done with the ending that when I put the book down, I had a very bitter taste in my mouth and felt very let down.
Rating:
Summary: Not a Scarpetta book
Review: I have been a big fan of Cornwell and Scarpetta. This book was a big disappointment. I prefer a murder mystery. The story was focusing on Scarpetta's damaged psyche.
Rating:
Summary: Scarpetta and Cornwell move on...
Review: From page 1 of The Last Precinct, this long-time Cornwell reader senses that great (and welcome) change is afoot. It opens with Dr. Kay Scarpetta, one of far too few literary heriones, trapped under the microscope of watchful law enforcement personnel as she packs up her belongings and what seems to be her life. Her home, her sanctuary has become the very crime scene she has investigated throughout her tenure as Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner. Faithful friend and colleague, Police Captain Pete Marino, is present to protect Scarpetta from her own dark thoughts, as well as the chain of public fools who secretly are plotting her demise. Niece Lucy returns to offer her Aunt Kay protection. And her lover and best friend, Benton Wesley, returns from the dead to offer both Scarpetta and Marino clues that ultimately help save their lives. If these names don't sound familiar, don't worry. It is not necessary to have read The Black Notice, the predecessor novel to The Last Precinct, or the many other Cornwell Scarpetta novels, to appreciate the book. It is recommended, however. Scarpetta must she find the inner strength to survive the heinous attack on her own life by the grotesque serial killer, Jean-Baptiste Chandonne, aka the "werewolf." In the midst of dealing with this crisis, she must defend herself against a whole new set of would-be assasins. And do so alone since most of the people she has come to trust in her life prove untrustworthy. She faces an indictment for a crime that she did not commit. Trhoug all of her own personal and professional turmoil, she must muster the courage and will to investigate new crimes that appear connected to Chandonne, including the hanging death of an innocent young boy. And perhaps most difficult for Scarpetta, she must place her life in the hands of a top female prosecutor from New York, Jaime Berger, who has come to Richmond, ultimately to offer Scarpetta salvation. Cornwell provides many glimpses into the mind of Scarpetta. Her thoughts, her feelings of despair, her questioning of everything known to her. This may bother some readers. But it adds a more human dimension to Scarpetta that the earlier novels lack. In the end, Scarpetta is able to solve the new crimes by relying on the gut instincts and forensic expertise that has served her so well in the past. And she is able to let go of past demons and look forward to a new life. Cornwell is smart to move her heroine onward in her career path. The Virginia Medical Examiner's Office was growing stale for material. With one foot still in the public sector -- Scarpetta returns the favor to prosecutor Berger by agreeing to participate in Chandonne's trial in New York -- and the other in the private sector, Cornwell will be able to introduce a whole new set of story lines and characters in future novels. A good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Patricia Cornwell does it again!
Review: What a great book! Once I got started, I didn't look up again for the next ten hours. Patricia Cornwell has a talent for drawing you in to Dr. Scarpetta's life. You feel like you really know all of these characters. The only recommendation that I would make to someone contemplating buying this book, is to read Point of Origin and Black Notice first. The Last Precinct is a continuation of those two books. Believe me, you will not be disappointed with any of them!
Rating: 
Summary: Not Cornwell's Best
Review: Being a huge Patricia Cornwell fan I could not wait to get a copy of The Last Precinct in my hands. I only give the book 3 stars because it just does not pull the reader in like previous Cornwell novels. I hope Kay Scarpetta is only having a mid-life crisis. Don,t waste your money wait for the paperback.
Rating:
Summary: Getting Better, but not there yet
Review: Patricia Cornwell's first few books were great. I read each with great anticipation, to learn about Kay and Lucy and Benton and Marino. Then, her books started to get weird. They were angry and bitter. The story became unimportant. What became important was the interplay between Marino and Kay/Kay and Lucy and neither of these relationships was rational. In the Black Notice, the weirdness was taken to an extreme. I looked forward to the Last Precinct and for the first half of the book, I was not disappointed. The story of Kay's emotional catharsis was excellent and well written. I thought that we were on track to getting back to the story and getting rid of the anger. Well, the 2nd half of the book does not hold up to the promise of the first half. There were plenty of opportunities to make the 2nd half great, put Kay in a strong position for future books and take the story to a new level. Ms. Cornwell fails to achieve that. Too bad. I would certainly read this book if you are a Kay Scarpetta fan. Just dont expect the excellence of the first few novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Getting worse
Review: Patricia Cornwell's earlier works are simply her best. That is how I got hooked. I eagerly awaited this one only to be bored with it from the start. She really needs to regroup and backup and write as I know she can. Too much Lucy and not enough ME stuff.I wanted so much to like this one and I was very disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: To long and drawn out with no real surprises
Review: I am one of Patsy Cornwell's biggest and longest fans. I have her personal autograph setting on my desk. So it is with regret that I say this is probably her worst work to date. For some reason she has decided to use an over abundence of words to tell a very predicatable story. Almost to the point you can guess what you are going to read on the pages before you turn them. She has added caracters that really have no relevance to the story or maybe I should say they would certainly not have been missed. Also leaving no question where the next book will start and who it will include. I also think she made a really big effort to include Lucy's sexual preference more often than necessary. I have absolutly no problem with homosexuality, but it seems as though she has made it one of the major themes of this story. Nevertheless, having said all this I would never miss one of her books!
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