Rating: 
Summary: blow off
Review: This book was engaging but annoying. Too much like the Dallas season opener where we find out it was a bad dream. Resurecting past characters they way Cornwell did was silly. But I would have still said read it if it hadn't been for the ending. I was listening on tape and at the end I felt maybe I had skipped a tape. Was I missing something??? I still feel like I didn't get my "monies worth" in this novel.
Rating:
Summary: I'm Sorry I Spent the Money to Buy This Book
Review: I have been an avid fan of the Scarpetta series and enthusiastically recommended these books to friends. My only word of caution was "They are so good, you'll have to keep reminding yourself that Scarpetta isn't a real person."Now I have to ask...did Patricia Cornwell write this book? Where are these beloved characters? I couldn't find them. What happened to the intelligent, strong, opinionated, decisive Kay Scarpetta? Where is the brash Lucy who's secure in her sexuality, something thrown about here like dice in a craps game. And an assassin? Please. Then there's Marino, less than his methodical yet sure self. All, though, pawns in the hands of Jean Baptiste Chandonne and Wesley Benton. Ms. Cornwell can do us all a favor and dispense with Jean Baptiste, Wesley and Rudy in the first couple of pages of the next book. I won't even mind if she describes the weaponry ad nauseum. Wesley is a boring, plodding character who has betrayed Kay in love and life, someone undeserving of so much as a passing glance from her. I'm beginning to wish for a Scarpetta/Marino pairing. He is, I'm convinced, the only man who has ever truly loved her. Has Cornwell also paid no attention to her timeline? In "Postmortem", Kay is 40 years old, established when she's traveling to Lori Peterson's crime scene and thinking about the killer most likely being less than her (Scarpetta's) 40 years. Lucy is 10. By "Blowfly", however, Lucy has aged 18 years to her aunt's 6. How is that? Will someone point me to that fountain of youth? Lucy pointedly tells her aunt in "Blowfly" that she (Lucy) is 28, and in another place reminds Kay that she (Scarpetta) is still a "package" at 46. Shouldn't Kay be 58 years old? I understand artistic license, but shaving 12 years off Scarpetta's age is unbelievable. If these were stand-alone novels, this wouldn't bother me at all, but Ms. Cornwell has decided to write Scarpetta in serial fashion. Given that 6-year time span, Wesley Benton would have had to have been "killed off" in "Postmortem", since in "Blowfly" he's been "dead" 6 years. Ah well, since there is nothing consistent with these individuals in "Blowfly" when compared to their previous characterizations, one cannot expect consistency with smaller details. I will add my voice to others when I say I will wait to read the reviews of the next one before I waste another dollar. Ms. Cornwell, did you simply think "it was time" for another Scarpetta novel? Is that why this one was knocked off? Next time - please wait until you hear the strong, sure voice of Kay Scarpetta speaking to you before you attempt to put her story to paper once more.
Rating:
Summary: Cornwell's worst yet
Review: If you loved the "old" Kay Scarpetta novels by Cornwell (as I did!), you will find this one the biggest disappointment yet. I kept reading, thinking that it HAD to get interesting, but no dice. It was almost as if the author had to adhere to a set number of pages, then suddenly realized she only had 5 pages to go, so wrapped up the story quickly & inefficiently. The book was a waste of my money & time. I think I'll just stick with Kathy Reichs and determine that Cornwell has "lost" her past talent.
Rating:
Summary: What happened to my favorite author?
Review: I am so dissapointed in Blow Fly. It seems like P.C. rushed thru the writing of this book. I am only 3/4 of the way thru and I can't wait to be done with it. The content is very graphic and violent and is not the creative work we are used to from P.C. There is no character development, because she is recycling the old characters, the chapters are only 2 to 2 pages long which makes the book very choppy and there is no "meat" to the storyline. I hope P.C. has a better book in the works. I used to wait with baited breath for her latest novel to come out and would shell out the $$ for the hardcover. I think I'll wait for her next one to come out on paperback.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than expected -
Review: I've read a slew of negative reviews of Blow Fly, but I bought it anyway. I read it through in two evenings. It's a Scarpetta book, I had no choice but to read it because I need to know what's next in life for Kay, Marino, and Lucy. Yes, this story is written in third person and that's hard to get used to. Kay is only one of several main characters this time. The most important player is Benton, who I just CANNOT have any sympathy for. We've suffered along with Kay through 4 novels; she cannot let go of him. Now we find out that Marino and Lucy both helped him fake his death, the only two people that Kay trusts.... both betrayed her. But, it's wrapped up nicely in the final few pages when Benton explains why, and his expanation was plausible, so I garnered up a little sympathy for him..... we'll see how he and Kay interact in the next novel.
Rating:
Summary: A pathetic attempt.
Review: This so called book was a pathetic attempt to milk money from Cornwall's loyal readers. The only reason she wrote this garbage was she needed the money. The publishers went along with because of greed. This book was short choppy gobbledygook. What was this with 90 million 3 or 4 page chapters. Cornwall wrote her own death warrant for this series when she killed off a main character. This was a pathetic attempt to "write" that wrong. She has lost this loyal reader for good. Hasn't she heard of letting the hero riding off into the sunset. Let's hope she has learned her lesson.
Rating: 
Summary: I guess some readers just don't get it.
Review: Although I read these reviews frequently, I am now (for the first time) prompted to write! I want to scream, "It's the characters, stupid!" As a huge Cornwell/Scarpetta fan, I was leary about reading this book due to the poor reviews. Admittedly, this one seems to have a "style" different from the ones in the past, the focus being on the characters more than usual. (Usually, the focus is on the "action.") I really thought Cornwell did a fine job here. I was glued to the book like I usually am to a Cornwell/Scarpetta story. So I respectfully disagree with the negative reviews. For the first time, I'm glad I didn't adhere to the advice.
Rating:
Summary: A really awful book
Review: BLOW FLY
A really awful book
We got this book on tape on sale at Sam's Club to keep us awake on a 14 hour drive. To see what the book was about, we read the first page of a paper copy. It sounded a lot like the TV program CSI. This is an alert that book is not like CSI and deserves an R rating for language, violence, and sexual content. My main problem with the book is that it is too gross, wordy, and slow-moving. There are too many banal similes and too much boring detail. There is also too much extended, graphic descriptions of sex and violence. After six hours of it I was attempting to fast forward through the second digression into the thoughts of one of the psychopathic killers. The first time we were dragged through what he intended to do to his next victim. That was more than enough to convince me that he was crazy and awful. I didn't need the later diversion into his memories of victims past and what he did to them. I wanted to like the main character, but she did not appear often and was rather pitiful due to losing her job as the result of making a bad mistake at the end of the previous book. I wanted to like at least two other characters, but they turned out to be people who often behaved in ways that were not to like. We finally gave up on the book. Since the author had by then set up two characters with plans that were converging to impact the main character, I wondered how the story ended. Surely it had to end badly for many of the characters, since they were mostly behaving badly. I thought I could find out how the plot worked out by looking in a printed copy in a book store. However, what would normally be a rather large display of the book was sold out. I could not understand how such an awful book could be selling so well, so I read the reviews on Amazon. I found that many fans of the author's previous books in the series bought the book but hated it. Most telling was that they also hated the ending. One reviewer described throwing the book across the room out of disgust with the ending. At that point I did not care about the ending any more.
Rating:
Summary: What? No Scarpetta? What is Cornwell thinking?
Review: But, but, but...well, damn. Scarpetta really is not in Blowfly. Instead, Cornwell turns the spotlight over to her smart-mouthed, perennially angry niece and Marino, the perennially angry cop. Toss in a few psychopaths from previous books, several plot lines that Cornwell is a little too obviously struggling to keep under control, and some gruesome details, however, and it's still pretty good...tho I DO miss Scarpetta and her sassy lines and Attitude with a capital A.
Rating:
Summary: Blow Fly
Review: After spending three days reading this book, I simply cannot tell you how annoyed I was at the ending and the book in general without foaming at the mouth. Of all the lazy ass, stupid, arrogant ways to end a book. I'm so grateful this was a free book club book, otherwise I'd be utterly pissed if I shelled out the full price for admission. Who in their right mind thinks the reader will not be upset if you allow most of the action to occur off the page, while leaving major story threads dangling? This book was poorly planned, poorly written, and so shortchanged fans that I can't imagine myself ever reading another book in the series. For my part, this book is the end of Scarpetta's journey. I wanted to leave zero stars for this book, but unfortunately Amazon won't let you post without a star rating of at least one, which is far more generous than I feel at the moment!
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