Rating: 
Summary: "Blow Fly" Big Disappointment
Review: I have no idea whether Patricia Cornwell simply became tired of writing this book or her publisher told her "times's up" for finishing it. Whichever, "Blow Fly" leaves the reader high and dry -- hardly the reward one hopes for after sticking with Cornwell on a plot line that's every bit as chopped up as the victims of one of her villains. This book starts with plenty of promise . . . a major new character introduced, the surprise that Benton is still alive, the promise that the evil Chandonne empire is about to be dismantled. Yet just when you expect a cogent explanation of all that's transpired (who actually sent the mysterious letters? how did Kay wind up on an airplane between two key characters? and why?) as well as a rousing finish, you realize there are only five pages left to read! There's no way Cornwell can possibly convey all this information in just five pages, and by gum, she doesn't. We are told that major players are dead. Who killed them? What were they doing in a cave? Why were they together? What's the connection between all of these people? What was the point of introducing the coins in the parking lot? Just as Benton went MIA a couple of books ago when faithful readers were told he had burned to death, Cornwell herself went MIA on about page 50 of this one. My recommendation: do not read this book unless you like feeling cheated.
Rating: 
Summary: Blow Fly Blows
Review: I love the Scarpetta books, however Blow Fly was really disappointing. Two thirds of the book was good, the ending was really horrible. I had to go back a couple pages to find out what happened to a character and there was nothing. When I continued reading "Oh he's dead, I shot him". What? Did PC actually write this book? I did like the explaination of how she brought a character back, but the ending was so chopped up and nothing was in detail like her other books with Scarpetta. This was a waste of money. I should have rented it. haha
Rating:
Summary: Who wrote this ? Bring back Patricia Cornwell !
Review: I have to agree with the reviews i have read here. I have read every one of the Kay Scarpetta novels, and most of the other books she has published.
But when I opened the first page of Blow Fly, and began reading, immediately I knew something was wrong. A previous post described it as written in the first person, present tense. This was not how the other Scarpetta books were written, and it is like someone else wrote this book. Wrong, all wrong. It didnt flow.
The characters were doing things that they would never do, and reacting in a way to each other that is totally off. Example, Lucy seeks out and murders Marino's son, Rocco, in cold blood. Barely a reaction from Marino when he finds out. Ditto for Kay. Hardly any time spent addressing this. COME ON !!! And for us to find Kay so far gone in this novel, supposedly because of the death of Wesley Benton ?? Umm, he died several books ago. She has slept with other men since then, and gone on to succesfully solve other murders, etc, and she is just now sinking into life-altering, career-ending despair over his death ?? We dont get any insight to what Kay is thinking, feeling, or her viewpoint on the events occuring. No details, just as if someone were carelessly observing the characters going through these motions.
All in all, the events in this book just dont jive with the previous books, the characters are not themselves, even their dialoge with one another is wrong. The ending was a let down. Can I say anything nice about this book ?
There was a lot of anticipation for the next Kay Scarpetta novel after Last Precinct, but I dont know what Patricia Cornwell was thinking when she wrote Blow Fly. I am a huge fan, and this is the first time I have been let down.
It just seems that someone else wrote this. I would rather wait longer for the next book to come out, than have another one like this one. I couldnt help but to think several times as I read this, that perhaps Patricia Cornwell spent so much time and money researching the "Jack the Ripper" murders, and then writing the book, and doing publicity, etc regarding that case, that because of that, when she got around to writing the next Kay Scarpetta book that her heart was elsewhere, and it became a rush job, to satisfy her publisher or her fans.
This book left us hanging, with a lot unexplained and unresolved. All I can ask is please make it up to us readers with the next Kay Scarpetta novel.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointment Reigns
Review: Patricia Cornwell used to write terrific books about Kay Scarpetta, filled with action, suspense and science. Her latest effort, Blow Fly, is terribly disappointing. For two thirds of the book the main characters stumble and bumble their way through the plot, lost in self-pity and paralyzed by neurotic worries. They have become pathetic caricatures, and fill the pages with anxiety and meaningless dialogue. Dr. Scarpetta half-heartedly investigates a brutal murder that turns out to be irrelevant to the flow of the narrative. The book comes to an unsatisfying, sudden ending, as if the author remembered that she had another engagement and had to abruptly end her writing.
Rating:
Summary: benton is a stiff dead or alive & enough animal torture
Review: i have just finished blow fly.....in the audio version....it seemed as though it was a cast of characters looking for a story....i guess everyone is going to relocate...but is that enough for a novel?...benton is the most self absorbed,pompous cold fish i have ever heard of....i almost rejoiced when his face was in the jar in that fridge......and to ms cornwell...please enough with the animal torture...cute dogs drowned in pools...helpless horses burned to death....poor pound dogs used as alligator bait...good grief...a mystery is supposed to be a thrill ride not a depressing dose of reality....i am a pet owner and have owned rescue dogs....the mention of the caged dogs at the end of blow fly was distracting...i was hoping that i would not be treated to a discription of more animal horrors......i still am a fan....hope the next one is back on track..
Rating:
Summary: she must be out of her mind
Review: I liked her former novels a lot, they were suspenseful, and I couldn't stop reading till I read them all, but this is the worst book I've ever read, honestly. Half of the book is senselessly violent and the other is about how everybody is ridiculously enamoured with Scarpetta (which by the way looks just like Cornwell, according to the descriptions). Every third sentence is a praise to her soft flesh and her elegant demanour and how courageous she is...I had to put it away half-read, it's so childish. I just couldn't stand it.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, it blows alright..
Review: I was really looking forward to this book. How disappointing it was! The characters, all of them so believable in her earlier works, are now caricatures of themselves. They are all behaving like idiots and doing things that are just not in synch with their previous personalities. Sub-plots abound and then fizzle out, as if Cornwell repeatedly wrote herself into a corner and just abandoned the storyline when it was clearly going nowhere. One MORE gratuitous dog killing?? What is with her and the canine-icide?
Some of the most intriguing new characters, such as Nic, the young female detective from Louisiana, start out well enough and end up doing little more then pointing to the dead body in the middle of the floor and saying "Hmm. Looks like a homicide". This character is even featured on the dust jacket copy so you would think she would have a better role then that of a slightly smarter Barney Fife.
The only part I was relieved about was that she cut short the usual graphic descriptions of sadistic sexual predation. I get the point, no need to go on and on.
Save your money and wait for the next one.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't understand the Criticism--This book was Great!!
Review: I cannot believe how many people did not like this book. I don't understand the criticism. I found it exciting, a real page turner, I liked the short chapters (to keep the complexity of the plot a litle simpler) and I especially liked the cast of characters. I can't wait for Ms. Cornwell's next book. If you've read the other Scarpetta books and want to see what happens to your favorite characters, this book is great! Don't listen to the critics.
Rating: 
Summary: Did We All Read the Same Book?
Review: I read the reader reviews before I read Blow Fly, and I have just re-read them. I wonder what the majority of the readers are talking about? The main departure from the usual Cornwell entry in the Scarpetta series is the shift in point of view. Rather than use Scarpetta's first-person narrative style, the author gives us many points of view: Lucy's, Marino's, Benton Wesley's. etc. While it may have been disconcerting to long-time fans, a change in point of view does not make for bad writing. The plot unfolds unlike Cornwell's previous ones, also. Again, many points of view show readers many "spins" on the same goings-on. Readers see Scarpetta not as a proactive figure acting on information she has gathered, but as an individual acted upon by factors she does not control. Again, a shift in the treatment of the main character does not make for bad writing. Bad writing is characterized by plot contrivances, stilted dialogue, stereotyped characters, and formulae. I see few, if any, of these pitfalls in Blow Fly. What I did get was a bit confused as I tried to tie plot threads together. I expect this from a mystery novel. I also notice that Cornwell is exposing sides of her characters' personalities that we have not seen before,as we have always seen through Scarpetta's eyes. I have the distinct impression that the novel is introductory, that the next installments of Kay Scarpetta's life may shift back to first person. I am excited and curious as to how Ms. Cornwell will handle her character's future.
Rating:
Summary: Anything is better than Isle of the Dogs
Review: I bought this book even after reading all the terrible reviews it got from everyone else. After reading it, I can see where most people got their ideas from. This book wasn't the worse book I have ever read. It was definately not the best. Not even P.C.'s best. Not her worse either. Isle of the Dogs gets that reward. My problems with this book were that I never really cared about any of the characters, the characters did things completely against their character, too many things seemed to be going on at once that never really came together, and the reader seemed to be heading towards a great big BANG of a conclusion only to have everthing happen out of our view and then the book to just end. It was such a let down at the end, I am not even sure I am glad at all that I read this book. Her books were such a great read, the kind you can't put down till it is over. Now, I am not sure what the writers motivation is for even writing the books. I feel like I am reguirgitating the same stuff over and over again, something that is no longer satisfying. I have to say I am considering never reading another P.C. book again. A book that is a chore to read is not entertaining to me. My suggestion would be......if you really consider yourself a P.C. fan, get this book from the public library or buy it used.
|
