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Summary: Gault is Back
Review: A Christmas Eve murder in New York bears a haunting resemblance to the work of Tempe Gault (The Body Farm) and the NYPD calls in Dr. Kay Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Virginia and a consultant to the FBI. Of course, the Xmas Eve murder is just the beginning of Gault's spree and hard as Scarpetta and her associates try, Gault remains just a step ahead of them. Kay, tenacious as she is, does some investigating on her own and naturally finds clues that lead her to Gault.I was on the edge of me seat with this five star thriller. PC just keeps getting better and better. By now I know everybody in Scarpetta's world, but somehow her characters continue to surprise. Reviewed by Vesta Irene
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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!
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Summary: From Potter's field, buried with no name
Review: Christmas is always a notoriously bad time for Kay Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia and consulting forensic pathologist for the FBI. When Temple Gault, a cunning serial killer whose killing spree began in Richmond several years earlier, resurfaces in New York with the murder of a female transient left in frozen Central Park, Scarpetta jumps head first into the investigation. The identity of the homeless woman becomes top priority, and when it is discovered who she is, the investigation is spun into a radical new direction. Meanwhile, Gault has set his sights on Scarpetta herself...leading to one final, terrifying encounter in the fetid tunnels below the city.
A fascinating book with wonderful characterization, grisly accuracy and a high-voltage, suspensful ending. The Scarpetta series is the best! When it comes to crime fiction, no one does it better than Cornwell.
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Summary: Entertaining, but one major quibble.
Review: I listened to the tape version, which is pretty good for getting you to the beach, etc. There is a strong narrative drive that carries you along. However, having the text read to you highlights some of the lack of "tightness" that good editing could have fixed. Also, please don't TELL us that Gault is the worst murderer of the century, SHOW us. Prove it! My personal quibble is that when our heroine is talking with a woman's father and he asks if his daughter is dead, Kay answers with a flat yes, when at most she's got a hunch as to the identity of the dead woman. This is inconceivable for a forensic pathologist whose specialty is not only what she knows, but what she can prove. I'd probably listen to another Scarpetta book on tape, if I got it from the library.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but one major quibble.
Review: I listened to the tape version, which is pretty good for getting you to the beach, etc. There is a strong narrative drive that carries you along. However, having the text read to you highlights some of the lack of "tightness" that good editing could have fixed. Also, please don't TELL us that Gault is the worst murderer of the century, SHOW us. Prove it! My personal quibble is that when our heroine is talking with a woman's father and he asks if his daughter is dead, Kay answers with a flat yes, when at most she's got a hunch as to the identity of the dead woman. This is inconceivable for a forensic pathologist whose specialty is not only what she knows, but what she can prove. I'd probably listen to another Scarpetta book on tape, if I got it from the library.
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Summary: Do we Finally See the End of Temple Gault?
Review: I read a lot of the reveiws, and I don't agree with quite a few of them. I thought this book was pretty good, and exciting. Yes, the plot is a little thinner than previous books, and yes Kay does wear on one after a time, but the forensics are awesome, and the suspense keeps on and on. I do have to admit that I do tire of Lucy somewhat. To me the books would be better without that added character. In this book Kay, Marino and Wesley are on the trail of the infamous Temple Gault (Kay's long time nemesis). The story is set around the week from Christmas Eve to New Year's Eve, but a lot happens in that short time. We see Kay, Marino and Wesley panicking as they try to nail down what seems to be the most notorious serial killer in the country at that time. Pretty good stuff!
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Summary: Terrific again!! Keep them coming!!
Review: I've read all of the Kay Scarpetta books up to this one and I was so glad the villian was foiled!! I love these books!! I recommend them to anyone enjoying mystery series books!
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Summary: Mixed Feelings
Review: Like the reviewer from Nova Scotia, this was my first Patricia Cornwell novel. I found myself liking the characters, especially Kay Scarpetta, and the plot's good, as is the writing. But I felt that it was a bit like arriving half way through a party. Everyone seemed to know each other and I had a bit of catching up to do (since it was my first time). It was also quite detailed, and I found myself looking back to pick things up. Perhaps I didn't read it quickly enough. But on the other hand that might have been because it wasn't quite as absorbing as it might have been. I'll try another Cornwell book in a few weeks and see how I feel.
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Summary: Predictable but Good
Review: Most of the story you could have guessed at and unless you were deaf, dumb and blind you were not really shocked as to how the story ended.
Still not a bad little book. I would recommend it. I still like Dr. Kay even after all this time.
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Summary: The Manhattan Sanction
Review: This 1996 book starts on a cold and snowy Christmas Eve; Santa Claus is handing out presents on an urban reservation. Suddenly there is a shooting, and a night forever silent for an intruder. ME Scarpetta has another customer for the morgue. Afterwards they learn that a serial killer has struck again in New York. Scarpetta and Captain Marino are then summoned from Richmond to work with the FBI. This book gets up to speed in the first pages, unlike a Hammett or Chandler. The author also tells more of the personal life of the fictional heroine, and her faults. Times have changed. A known serial killer is operating in NYC, and is stalking the police who are searching for him! Quite a change from the usual story. [Is this believable?] The computer used to track killings has a virus in it; this mirrors the real-life serial killer. Scarpetta's niece is involved with this computer system, and is searching for the virus. [Could someone just out of college be hired for this seemingly important job?] The serial killer then plays games in the morgue! Scarpetta locates the serial killer's parents, and learns how they wire money to one location. A trap is set but the serial killer at first eludes it. But in the last pages the killer is found and eliminated. The book moves as fast as an action movie.
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