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Summary: Quick review- Unnatural Exposure
Review: Quick Review- Unnatural ExposureI adore Patricia Cornwell's books; the mystery, the murder, the suspense- and this book doesn't let you down. In Ireland five dismembered, beheaded bodies have been found and now five more have been found in America. Their murderer has struck all across America and has been named the Butcher.
But the tenth body is different. The victim was already seriously ill, when she was murdered- with an unknown deadly virus.
Soon people are dying from this disease across America, and no one knows what it is or what could possibly stop it- there's no pattern to it. It's like a super Smallpox.
Scarpetta is still struggling along, but seems to be getting tougher- well slightly.
But then along with stories leaking to the press about the virus, the murder is contacting Scarpetta. And the murderer seems to be taking over Scarpetta's identity.
But as if it seems, it can't get any worse- it seems that Scarpetta may have caught the deadly disease . . . I love the twists and turns of this book- the way you never know what is going to happen next. Patricia Cornwell describes the emotions of the characters and the situations in such a way that you almost feel that it's real- it makes you feel weird about going out at night and who you trust . . .
If you are going to get one book this Christmas- make it be this one, it'll be worth your while.
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Summary: amazon readers right - book is weak
Review: Patricia Cornwell has written a good series of books but they seem to be going downhill, including with her latest novel, "Unnatural Exposure." It is the latest in the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series. Scarpetta is the Virginia medical examiner. When she's good, Cornwell can write some great, engaging, scary stories. But when's she bad, well, it's not pretty. For most of this book, she held my attention. Some of that momentum was kept up, though, by referring to characters and plot lines from the earlier books - as well as putting off some stories for the next one. The plot itself is good: a serial killer is hurting and killing selected people by releasing a mutated version of smallpox. The killer taunts her by sending electronic mail through American On-Line so the FBI tries to trip the killer up by having the real doctor and "deaddoc," the suspect's on-line name, meet in a chat room so they can trace the call. While the character of Scarpetta is interesting - it's not everyday that a medical examiner is the heroine - she is getting so hardened on the world (shades of Cornwell's famously guarded personality?) that she is becoming gradually less interesting. More interesting is her niece, Lucy, a computer expert working for the FBI who is being hassled because she is lesbian. After reading the book, and feeling the desire to throw it against the wall when the suspect was revealed, I checked to see what other readers thought of it by looking at reviews in Amazon.Com. Sure enough, most had the same opinion: this was a book that seemed rushed and is one of her weaker efforts. Several suggested focusing a story around Lucy instead of Kay, which is a pretty good idea. Overall, the characters in her book are becoming less interesting than I'm questioning whether I'll read another Cornwell book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not my favorite
Review: This story is a good read, but I'll admit I enjoyed the others better. Still, if you're a Kay Scarpetta fan, you'll want to include this in your reading of the series.
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Summary: Dr. Kay is back, but leaves you limp at the close
Review: I have read all of Cornwall's books and the last two Scarpetta novels have left me disappointed in the finish . When Scarpetta finally lets the reader in on who the germ warfare bad guy is, I had no idea to whom she was referring or when the character had been introduced. The conclusion was disappointing, confusing and gives the reader a sense that Cornwall lost interest in wrapping up the crime/book. From Potters Field ended with the same lackluster, rushed conclusion. In addition to being stilted, the finish seemed a bit preposterous -- without giving the end away, the perpetrator of the crime does not fit the classic psychological profile of someone who would commit such a crime. On a positive note, Cornwall has already set up the plot for her next thriller with an additional crime (albeit one that sounds remarkably like the crime in the recently fabulous competitor's book Deja Dead by Kathy Reich) that goes unsolved in Unnatural Exposure. All in all I give it a B -- entertaining but not compelling.
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Summary: Not for the faint hearted.
Review: When a headless, limbless torso is discovered in a landfill in Virginia, chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta is called in to investigate and is horrified to discover that the person was infected with a smallpox type virus which she herself could have contracted.The murderer contacts Scarpetta via the internet, showing her gory photos of bodies in the process of dismemberment, and going by the name of"deadoc". I guarantee that the readers interest will be held to the end, even if it gets pretty gruesome at times.
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Summary: reality check: pathologists are the dumbests MDs around
Review: It's funny: at med school a continuing joke is that the worst med students, at the bottom of the class, wind up as pathologists, because at least then they can't kill anyone. Here we're presented with a humorless, unlikable protagonist who is constantly flattered and told how brilliant she is -- I had heard these were bad, but I tried two and these really are the worst crime novels I've ever read. I know my dissenting vote won't affect the true fans, but this is subliterary dreck.
Rating: 
Summary: Patricia Cornwell Does Not Disappoint.
Review: This may not have been my favourite Kay Scarpetta, but I still enjoyed it to the point where I didn't want to put it down. I find that Dr. Kay is getting more and more human with each book, and that's a good thing! In my estimation though, Ms. Cornwell dwells too much on the homosexual angle with each book. This leads me to question Lucy's authenticity since she seems less and less real with each book. I think the books would be improved without her character. Ms. Cornwell tries too hard with her, and it shows. But Kay, Benton and Marino are real characters. In this book we don't see as much of Marino and that's a loss. The story is intense and gripping, and the tension really doesn't ease up. The book deals with biological terrorism, and that is certainly a hot topic right now. For those of us Scarpetta lovers who love a tense and gripping tale with lots of forensics, this book does not disappoint.
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Summary: From a fan of Patricia Cornwell
Review: I have always enjoyed reading the Kay Scarpetta series, and this book didn't let me down either. I enjoyed the story, and more so that it took place in Ireland, but all the clues pointed elsewhere. I enjoy the way Patricia describes every detail of the book. I can't wait until she releases another book!
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Summary: Not one of her greatest
Review: Patricia Cornwell is one of the best suspense writers i have read in a long time. Her knowledge on her stories makes it all the more better. The characters are very well written. I have read many of her beginning books and i think that some of them get better but some don't. This book was one that didn't get much better from her previous novel. I think that when she writes a book, she really knows how to pull you in and keep you wanting more, but in this one a lot of the situations dragged on. I still enjoyed the book and am looking forward to reading more!
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Summary: Cornwall can do better.
Review: Patricia Cornwall writes a standard novel where the usual murder occurs. It's the type of novel that says muder-comes-someone-finds-out-with-twist. The main problem with Cornwall's style is not the muder or evidence or list of suspects with the final twist, but the main character herself. Kay Scarpetta seema to be a smart forsenics scientist who has a hard a burdenful life. AS you read, her character doesn't really appeal to you. She seems to love her job but hate her life. This is my first Cornwall novle and I have to say I am not impressed. I felt that Scarpetta needed some medication to enlighten her depressing aura. I felt so tired of her problems and langorous lifef that I wasn't even able to finish the entire novel.
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