Rating: 
Summary: My brain froze over
Review: This supposed "thriller" is mind-numbingly dull and inept - I had to give up half way through.
Rating:
Summary: 400+ pages, with only one good scene
Review: Does anybody really believe that when a joint FBI/police/medical examiner team needs to locate West Coast dental specialists quickly, they would decide the best way is TO SPAM EVERY USER ON PRODIGY asking for a knowledgable dentist to contact them?This book has so many problems, I hardly know where to start. They fall into two main areas -- no, not the print and the page, the pages, at least, are innocent! There are editorial problems, and problems inherent in a story that reads as if it didn't have the author's full attention. Let's begin with the editorial problems. Do you believe that sirens can "whelp" through the sky? (and is that why we say it's raining cats and dogs? or at least, puppies?) Dialogue moves in and out of a "no contractions" zone, which has the characters suddenly using formal diction -- maybe ONE character in modern America could get away with this, but most of them? How often do senior cops and med. examiners, in casual conversation, say "I will not" and "I do not" instead of "I won't" or "I don't"? It's the unevenness that is jolting and extremely irritating, as if there were multiple editors, one of whom didn't believe in contractions while the others did. But the editors can't be blamed for the plot problems and general stupidity of the characters. How many times are we expected to believe that people who are told every other sentence that they should not go out alone have yet again gone out alone? One second they're talking about putting Scarpetta into the Federal Witness Protection scheme and the next, she's going into work 2 hours early so she'll have the whole building to yourself -- does anybody think the readers will be surprised when You Know Who intrudes on Scarpetta's early-morning solitude? It happens repeatedly. It's like a B-grade horror movie -- the characters are idiots who walk stupidly into danger they could easily avoid. But then there'd be no book (not necessarily a bad thing). The main character's resemblance to Superman pales quickly. In a crime scene, only Scarpetta will spot the incriminating footprint. In a crowd scene, only Scarpetta will spot the suspect in the crowd. Why bother with all the other police/FBI/NY Transit Police? Even so, Scarpetta doesn't detect much, she mostly intuits. If more than one person could have done something, you can bet that Scarpetta knows which one did it. How? She just knows. Maybe the rest of the team doesn't know whether the killer is in Virginia or NY, but Scarpetta does. Why? She just knows. If one character has a high-ranking uncle, and she hears that another is vaguely rumored to be related to someone important, you can bet that she'll guess the two are siblings, and she'll be right, and the reader will not get any more explanation. As a reader, I feel cheated -- where is the detection? If I wanted to read about clairvoyance, I'd be reading books in a different genre. The ONE redeeming feature is the scene in which Scarpetta meets the parents of the serial killer. That jumps off the page. What is it like to have your child turn out to be a monster? How would you react? Cornwell should have developed this, made it the focus of the book, have Scarpetta skillfully tease useful information from the parents, DO SOME DETECTION, instead of having her charging around with an arsenal, hopping planes and FBI 'copters all over the East Coast until you, the reader, feel the jet lag. If Cornwell can write that scene, why did she write 400 pages of drivel to wrap around it? I know that she's a well-known, well-respected author, but she was really asleep at the wheel for this one. I only wish Amazon would let you give a book ZERO stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Losing her edge?
Review: I loved Patricia Cornwell's first five novels; sadly, her sixth loses its edge.. I wanted to enjoy it.. but the plot labors on.. and I had a hard time finishing a book I couldn't wait to read. We lose Scarpetta's forensic "grit" and instead focus on a bizarre, rather boring computer plot.. I hope the next books in the series are better!
Rating:
Summary: A wildly implausible thriller
Review: This book is so unrealistic that it spoils all the fun, super killers like Temple Gault (a clone for the Satan Incarnate known as Hannibal Lecter) are more silly than super. I found all the other character two dimensional and all the "intrigue" regarding super computers insulting to my intelligence. Has Cornwell done better? I don't know and, after reading this, am in no big hurry to find out.
Rating: 
Summary: A Thrilling Novel by the Master
Review: Patricia Cornwell's books are nothing short of a master-piece, especially the novel, From Potter's Field. I could not put the book down. Following Dr. Kay Scarpetta through the tremendous search of finding the identity of a young women who's body was found naked and frozen in Central Park. Then finding out the actual identity of the woman and her relationship with the killer was amazing. Patricia Cornwell's books always have the best, most intreguing characters. For example, the physco-pathic killer, Gault, was such a master-mind at what he did. The way you read a book, not being able to sit still with untameable anticipation of what will happen next, is the way every Patricia Cornwell's books will make you feel. I would recommend this book to anyone! :-)
Rating:
Summary: Stilted and Hokey
Review: This book reads like the tin man in the Wizard of Oz walked BEFORE he was oiled! Jerky and clumsy with a very hollow ring to it. I read 1/3 of the book and threw it in the "yard sale" pile. It's the first book of hers I've read and I don't intend to pick up a second one. This is really a prime example of bad writing churned out for non-readers and quick profits.
Rating:
Summary: Impressive delivery but plot lacking in believability
Review: This was the first Patricia Cornwell book I have read. She is a compelling storyteller, and she obviously possesses great knowledge of the subject matter. I do admit to finishing the book in a two-day period, but it was more to get to the inevitable final showdown between Scarpetta and the killer. Scarpetta and some of her cronies are characterized well, but the killer seemed a bit stereotypical. I don't believe in reading ahead and spoiling the surprise, but in this case I skipped some detailed sections to find out how the killer would be stopped in his tracks. Since reading this book, I have read Cause of Death by Cornwell and would rate that book slightly higher than this one. This book is not her best that I've read so far, but it wouldn't prevent me from reading another one. This is a good, focused, and knowledgable writer who does not need to fall back on unbelievable killers and sensantional plot devices to tell an imaginative story.
Rating:
Summary: Meeting the Parents of a Serial Killer
Review: Another great book from Madame Medical Investigator Author Patricia Cornwell. Always well-researched, this time the book causes Dr. Kay Scarpetta, Marino and of course, FBI Agent Benton Wesley to investigate the death of a frozen naked woman propped openly in Central Park. Their path leads them to the parents of a psychotic serial killer, one of whom can see nothing wrong about her son and the other parent who would only see his if pointing a shotgun at the son's face. The woman's identity is a shock, as is Scarpetta's handiness with a side-arm. A must-read!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read!
Review: Patricia Cornwell does it again! This is my third Kay Scarpetta novel and I loved it as much as the first. Ms. Cornwell has the unusual talent of getting the reader hooked from the very beginning. I flew through this book because the storyline was very fast-paced and exciting. Can't wait to read the next in the series!
Rating: 
Summary: this book is great
Review: I really enjoy Patricia Cornwells books and this is no exception.Even though it deals with a character previously written about it does not stop you from understanding.I really like the descriptive nature of her books even though I don`t know some of the terms I enjoy learning about them.The book is compelling and fastmoving even if it is sometimes gory. It is unputdownable and the concepts within it are believable.An excellent and exciting read.
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