Rating: 
Summary: Time for Growing Up
Review: I started reading P. Cornwell with "Black Notice, TLP"...people change over the years due to "stuff" that happens. Cornwell brought that into her characters showing the change due to choices/event made/happening. I believe if any of the "one stars" folks were attacked by a lunatic, they too may be tempted to resign. The singer Ricky Nelson summed it up best in his song "Garden Party"....time to let the characters grow...see where they develop...I had my "no, don't let them do that" thoughts about what some of the characters did....Cornwell owns these characters...they're growing...don't like that I have to wait for the next one, as the ending suggests, however...I want to see where they go.....enjoy it for what it is....entertainment...without a sense of "tv show expectations" (i.e. we KNOW no matter what happens, the main characters will do/act "thusly")...p.s. If P. Cornwell reads this...please have mercy on your fans if something happens to your main characters...and tell us about it s-l-o-w-l-y :-)))
Rating:
Summary: Haven't read it yet, but can't wait!!!
Review: I just signed into Amazon to see if there was any new Cornwell books out! I've read every one of her books, and this one sounds wonderful! I've read and reread all of her books and she is absolutely brillant!!! Even though alot of the reviews gave away alot of the interior of this book, I still think it sounds wonderful.....I'm thinking maybe Ms. Cornwell did this one in the third person to open up new book series.....such as one about Lucy's life with and without her beloved aunt ( I think this would be a wonderful idea!!) or Marino's son and how he became involved with the Chardonne family! I think this one will be wonderful (Ms. Cornwell does NOT tell a bad story!!) and I'll buy everyone she ever writes!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Bring back the real Kay
Review: I really miss the tight plotting of Cornwell's first books. I had to force myself to finish this one. It meandered, and I find the whole huge conspiracy theory thing, started in The Last Precinct and continued here, too implausible. I guess I'm fed up with nothing pleasant ever happening to Scarpetta, Marino, or Lucy...I'm bored with the ceaseless catalogue of horrors and unhappinesses and persecution without even the slightest bright patch. I know these books are crime novels about forensic investigation into serial killers so clearly not a cheery topic, but that doesn't mean that the odd nice experience couldn't find its way into the lives of the characters. I also found that the way the narrative comes from one hundred and one points of view makes it feel very superficial. In the early books, the first person narrative led to real bonding with Kay, and with those to whom she was close. When I put this book down my overwhelming thought was that it was time to put the whole thing to bed and start afresh with a new series and new characters.
Rating:
Summary: too much embalming fluid
Review: Pat has been to too many autopsies & smelled too much embalming fluid. She needs to take a deep breath, clear her brain and go back to her original story lines. No werewolves, no unfunny black humor.
Rating: 
Summary: Amanda from Houston, TX
Review: I thought that this book wasn't one of her best attempts yet. I am really getting tired of reading about this Chandonne character, but maybe her next book will be better. Maybe Dr. Scarpetta will be more like the past. We can only hope. Well, Patricia Cornwell has me hooked anyway, even if this wasn't her best book. I will be first in line when her next one comes out.
Rating: 
Summary: Blows: A Series
Review: I will be short. Only the serious die-hard fans will appreciate this book. The pacing is all off. The third person doesn't work here. I found the different storylines and storytelling confusing and distracting. This is second-rate at best and a trend in poor storytelling. All that is happening is so unreal and an insult to the reader! This book blows!
Rating:
Summary: Where did she go?
Review: I'd really like to know what happened to Kay Scarpetta. THE Kay Scarpetta... the one that we all knew, loved, and thought of as a real person. The Kay who used to solve thrilling, suspenseful cases with the help of her trusty, wise-cracking sidekick Marino, and her intelligent genius of a niece. This book really baffles me. After 'Black Notice' and 'The Last Precinct', I thought we were honestly going to be done with the Jean-Baptiste plot-- guess I was wrong. This isn't your ordinary Scarpetta book. You can even tell by reading the first paragraph-- Cornwell has changed her writing style of these books. 'Blow Fly' was written in the third person, very different from her first 11 books. Kay Scarpetta is the main character, and the book doesn't even focus on her as much, very unlike the past ones. They're written from every character's point of view. Kay- We should call this book the "Scarpetta Crash". She lives in a run-down house in her native Florida-- certificates, degrees, and awards all stashed away in cardboard boxes. She makes her living by private consulting. She trips over Benton's Wesley's dead body everywhere, just trying to cope with everyday life. 'The past is the past', as Jaime Berger puts it. This is a totally different person we have read about in the past. Not the Kay we all know. Pete Marino- Poor Pete. He's so worn out by now, with the whole Jean-Baptiste mess still going on. He seems so fed up and sick of life, but especially with trying to keep the secret of Benton's "death". And while we're on the subject... Benton Wesley- Good Lord, I don't even know where to start. He has no, whatsoever, emotions or feelings for Kay anymore. He doesn't think about her, and can't even speak her name. He lives in Boston under the name of "Tom", everyday trying to convince himself that "Benton" is dead. And from a die-hard Scarpetta fan's point of view, Benton's definitely dead. Lucy Farinelli- The brilliant woman who at the age of 10 reprogrammed Scarpetta's UNIX-based computer. Well... in this book we find Lucy trecking all over Europe hunting down the Chandonne cartel. I really thought she was the only normal character in this book, until she turns out to be some cloak-and-dagger killer. Her and Marino especially anger me, all because they keep the secret of Benton. Kay has a right to know. She trusts Lucy and Marino most, yet they live with this secret everyday of their life. I, personally, would just like to forget about this book for now. Maybe erase it from the Kay Scarpetta Résumé. I hope Cornwell, in the future, will restore our beloved Kay Scarpetta to the person we once knew her to be.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: I too was kind of surprised by the switch to third person, but once I started getting into it, there was really no other way to have it. This is a different Scarpetta than in the other books. There is so much going on in this book, my heart was racing the whole time. I thought it was one of the best. I was upset when it was done with it (in 1 day!) because now I don't know what to do with myself until the next one comes out!
Rating:
Summary: Good book, great author, but broke my heart
Review: Her earlier books were so nimble, and her love and passion of forensic science and discovery made the pages fly. But this book, and the last Scarpetta novel, were so heavy and dull! I wonder if the fault lies with the old adage that we become what we focus on. There is so much darkness in this that there is no thrill, and certainly no joy in discovery. The characters are so coarse and you don't even care if anyone is redeemed or redeemable; and that's just not real life. I couldn't even finish the book.
Rating:
Summary: I can't believe I fell for this again
Review: Cornwell's last book sucked big time. Still, I bought this one thinking that Scarpetta would be her redeeming. Wrong. None of her characters are a) believeable or b) worth caring about. If I ever buy a Cornwell book again (and she used to be one of my favorites), it will be in paperback and after I've read every review on Amazon.
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