Rating: 
Summary: Not the Last, please!
Review: Obviously, there must be something wrong with me because I really enjoyed The Last Precinct! It was one of those books that I had a hard time putting down. In fact, I was hoping, the next installment might be out already! I was looking forward to reading about Kay in New York, being "second chair" to Jaimie Berger. I also enjoyed the fact that this book was a continuation of Black Notice. I certainly hope this is not the last book in the Scarpetta series. I think she needs a break from the morgue, though, and New York is as good a place as any to take a sabbatical.
Rating: 
Summary: Ditto
Review: I can only but agree with previous reviewers - I have quit reading this book and will think twice before picking up another Cornwell novel. Over the last few years, her characters have become people I do not wish to know. Their lives are too disturbing, too dark, too seedy. After reading "The Last Precinct" for a couple hours, I was in a depressed state and felt the need to take a shower. Her books are no longer entertaining and fun to read.
Rating:
Summary: The Last Scarpetta....
Review: I just cannot finish this book....it isn't holding my interest at all, although it is better than "Black Notice" (but not by much, since is a sequel). The book is mainly dialogue and politics, not a lot of action or forensics (although, to be fair, there is some forensic information scattered throughout that HAS managed to hold my interest), and mostly reflection back on the previous book (which if you haven't read, you would be completely and utterly lost, and if you read it a while ago, like me, you are still lost trying to remember details). I vowed that "Black Notice" would be my last Scarpetta novel, but this time I mean it. The characters are all old and tired, and they seem to have run their course.
Rating:
Summary: Same story/book--different title
Review: I really enjoy reading a series of books from the same author--in fact I don't even mind the same 'type' of writing or story lines that murder mystery series novels most likely contain. BUT I do mind buying a book and feeling like I am reading the previous book in the series. The Last Precinct's story line is such a continuation of the previous book's werewolf theme and "Is Benton really dead??" storyline that I was bored and unchallenged while reading the majority of the book. The final chapters pick up a bit--and that is only b/c FINALLY some new material/characters come into the storyline.Patricia Cornwell can write much more interesting material--this must have been a very hard sell because as my title suggests--same story/book-different title!
Rating: 
Summary: This was an ok book, just drawn out
Review: As a Virginia native, I am quite excited when Patricia Cornwell comes out with a new novel. THE LAST PRECINCT was no exception. However, I found the book hard to get into and drawn out. The plot takes forever to unfold, and lots of the information is unecessary. The book was ok, and if you like Cornwell's works or are a die hard fan read THE LAST PRECINCT. Following the events of Cornwell's BLACK NOTICE, we find Dr. Kay Scarpetta in rare form. She has just had an encounter with "The Werewolf" also known as the Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Chandonne. This leaves her shocked, vulnerable, scared, and a suspect for murder. She will be required to look deep within herself to find the answers to several questions and to clear her good name. During this journey, she will find answers to things she did not want to know. We gather that she will never be the same again after all the things that happens to her. THE LAST PRECINCT was an ok book. Cornwell mainly wrote it to tie up loose ends from all her other books. This can be quite helpful if you are interested. Ultimately, Cornwell could have done better. However,THE LAST PRECINCT has a little to offer. Buy it today.
Rating:
Summary: Guilty pleasures....
Review: I have just completed the last book of the Kay Scarpetta series and must say that while the quality of the writing waned with each new installment, I was an addicted reader. I felt almost compulsive about finishing the series even though I felt I should be spending my time with books having fully developed content and accurate detail. Toward the end of the series, these books appeared to be written only to fulfill a requirement for her publishing company. They were poorly written and poorly put together. It is almost as though she had forgotten to reread what she had written herself before she went on to her next book. One of the more annoying inconsistencies in the series was the fact that while Lucy seemed to age quickly with each book, Kay stayed somewhere in her mid-forties throughout the series. It was stated in the first book, "Postmortem", I believe, that Kay was 40 years old and Lucy was 10. I found it interesting throughout the series how these ages never seemed quite congruent again. Lucy jumped quited a bit in age in just the first few books. She jumped from being a 10 year old to a late teen in just a couple years. By the last book, "The Last Precinct", Lucy was 28 and Kay still in her mid-forties when she should've been 58 years old according to the timeline set up in "Postmortem". Another error I was annoyed with is the statement in the last book that Anna had never been Kay's therapist. She had indeed been Kay's therapist in an earlier book but out of professional courtesy never charged Kay for the sessions. Errors such as these were not detrimental to the story but were aggravating just the same. Made me feel as though Cornwell didn't invest much time or effort in her novels. If she didn't, why should I? Well, I decided to just accept them for what they were....quilty pleasures. Fluff. A break from more involved, challenging reading.
Rating:
Summary: The Last Precinct
Review: Patricia Cornwell is an excellent writer, but each book in her series presents situations that are more macabre than the last. If you like mysteries that are reminiscent of film noir, then this book is for you. As far as I'm concerned -- The Last Precinct is my last book by this talented, imaginative author.
Rating:
Summary: CORNWELLS NOT THE SAME ANY MORE!!!!!!
Review: This book picks up where Cornwells last one left off. I really not not like much of the book. The first many, many pages were very boring, talk, talk, talk. The middle was pretty good, then the ending was bad again. I could not believe just as Scarpetta was about to be done in the action stops and the next page says. "Two weeks later!" Bad ending Patricia. I have read all of the Kay Scarpetta books, I may not read another one. I really like Marino, Lucy I can do without, but I have come to feel like I am part of this group of people. Sad to leave them. I nearly put this one down before I finished it and that is rare for me. I know Patricia Cornwell can and has done better. ...
Rating: 
Summary: A major disappointment
Review: I used to just love these books. But this one had no plot and it was very boring. I was unable to finish it and usually I can't put her books down.
Rating:
Summary: Three strikes and you're out.
Review: Black Notice, Southern Cross, The Last Precinct. Three little doggies after a terrific string of great books. I blame myself for being dumb enough to read The Last Precinct after I read a glowing review in the newspaper (probably written by the publisher). I won't be suckered in again in the future. It's kind of sad, too, because I really liked Kay and Marino and Lucy. They are now like old friends who have moved away. Another thing that frosts my butt is that I paid big money, four dollars and forty nine cents at Costco for this book instead of waiting for it to go on sale at the library overstock sale for about eighty cents. This book isn't worth eighty cents. This book is an economic anomaly, like a cat, it has negative value. Aside from the usual transgressions of the previous two dogs, such as no story, no resolution of key mysteries, etc., this book sacrifices a poor little dog named Mr. Peanut so we are supposed to buy the next book to see his killer get justice. No way. I haven't seen a ploy this transparent since I didn't care "Who shot J.R." on the TV show "Dallas" twenty years ago.
|
