Rating: 
Summary: was there a fire in the building?
Review: Things were going along fairly well. I was interested but then I suddenly realized, I was literally in the middle of the story and there were 30 pages to go. This book ends as though the building were on fire and PC had to run. One of the lamest attempts at an ending I've ever seen. Next time PC, spend a little more time wrapping it up. I have read every book and always buy hard cover because I'm too impatient to wait for paperbacks but I am seriously considering not going for the hard cover next time. PC what are you doing?
Rating:
Summary: The operative word is "Blow."
Review: No stars at all should be given here. All I can say is, Blow Fly blows compared to Patricia Cornwell's other Scarpetta books. I am so glad I borrowed it rather than spending my hard-earned money on it! I found nothing to like about this book. I suspected that Benton's death had been faked the first time I read about it. The plot jumped around WAY too much, I didn't like the third-person style instead of Kay in the first person, and it seemed that all the book was was a rehash of the last three Scarpetta stories with not much added. And, as usual, the ending came way too fast and read as though it had been cut and pasted willy nilly by some editor who has no feel for how to end a story!Patricia, you can do MUCH better than this. Go back and read your earlier Scarpetta stories like Postmortem, Body of Evidence, and All That Remains - and then write another Scarpetta novel wherein she actually solves a FRESH case without ruminating on her past or Benton. And for heaven's sake, do something with Marino! He has become an unlovely caricature of his former self. His unrequited love for Kay is really old, as is the Chandonne family story line. As for Benton, what was the point of bringing him back from the "dead"? He added nothing to the story. You wrote damn good Scarpetta novels before - you CAN do it again!
Rating:
Summary: As Bad as James Patterson
Review: I agree with all the reviews that said this book sucks. Instead of Serial Killer, this book can be summarized as "Serial Sequels". The only book in recent memory worse than Blow Fly is Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best
Review: I am a HUGE fan of Patricia Conrwell and was excited to see this book come out. However it just isn't up to her usual standard. I agree with the other posters, it seems like the end was hurried and just thrown together. I think the ending could have been better. So what if it they would have stretched the book out another 50 pages to finish it right. I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in two days. I could have handled a few more pages to wrap this book up right.
Rating: 
Summary: Its not the worst, OK?!
Review: ....it's just not quite up to par with the rest of the series. I got the book for christmas, and, as you can see by the date, read it immediatly. If you're a Scarpetta fan, you should read this, because some good things do happen and some things get explained that aren't covered in previous novels.
HOwever, I was disappointed, both by the plot (sorry, the hairy creep is getting old) and by the way all the characters, both new and old were written. Nobody has any fire, or seems to really care whats going on. Scarpetta, she seems tired of it all. Marino, the lovable grouch, is simply sloppy and mean. Lucy, instead of being the super intellegent uber-babe she was before, now just seems lost.
The plot is very spotty, actually kind of hard to follow cause it jumps around so much. The ending was very poorly edited, almost like the editor felt it was taking to long to get to the point and decided to cut a few whole chapters, leaving gapping holes that had the finale feeling flat. The last two chapters were like, after waiting for the fireworks, somebody shoots a popgun with a flag that says "BANG".
I have read everything Cornwell has written (some of it twice) and know how well she can write. This addition to the series seems like she is just trying to please her fans who are hollering for a new Scarpetta novel every 6 months. Personally, I would gladly wait a couple years for a new one, if only for the story to be a little more fresh and thought out, and the characters to be a little more like themselves, or at least growing with the series.
I still look forward for the next Cornwell novel, be it Scarpetta or not. The women has a talent, just not with this one.
Rating:
Summary: AWFUL! The worst!
Review: I must tell you I looked forward to the release of this book with great anticipation. I was never SO disappointed by a book in my life!! I am (was?) a great Scarpetta fan, and this time I just could not wait for a paperback edition because in the last book I was left hanging with what would happen to Scarpetta after the final upheavals in her life, losing her love, being forced to leave her job and her house at the same time, not knowing what will happen next...well, I'd be better left hanging, let me tell you!
This book does not even TRY to follow the steps of the great, wonderful previous books! Everything is sadly bi-dimensional, the whole thing does not belong to its characters anymore, Scarpetta herself plays a SMALL, sad, wimpy second-hand role, her life does not make sense, friend and foe around her appear flat, lifeless and downright ridiculous most of the time.
Cornwell tries to catch some loose ends from previous plots, messing up everything, trying to tie ends at every cost, mindless of the style of the first, successful books. Old characters whose complex personalities we've learned to love are here introduced with few words and left there, lost and lifeless, almost ludicrously preposterous, meaningless. New characters that show promise are never developed, and remain in the background forever, some old that were considered pivotal before are mysteriously left out.
Plotlines that show promise are abandoned in favour of very silly ones introduced only to squash things together to make them fit somehow: awful.
I REALLY and SERIOUSLY wonder if the person who wrote this book is the same writer of the previous ones: it just does not fit.
I also agree with some reviewers about the ENDING of the plot: this is the most enraging thing of the whole book...where was the editor?!? Did somebody - anybody - realize that a very complex situation, one that previously required *a couple of books* to be successfully delineated is brought to an end in less than 10 pages!!!!! Basically we are left with a list of people who died or were killed (without spoilers for the next unlucky reader, the list contains a repetition of dialogue such "Did you kill him? I had to"), without spending few words on a confrontation that is brewing from two books before (at least)! It was so depressing, I saw the pages left to read and could NOT believe that things would be brought to an end before the last page, but thanks to an appalling editing of what I suppose was a load of pages, all the loose ends are crammed and tied in a couple of pages where a bare, boring list of dead bodies is deemed enough to satisfy the reader's thrilling suspense - what thrill, what suspense, WHAT READER?
I'm still shocked I paid full hardcover price for an appallingly depressing book that did a good job of ruining my fascination with previously well defined individuals I came to love, reducing them to two-dimensional puppets that APPEAR to be named after the characters I knew but actually do not have everything to do with them.
Depressing, I will not buy the next one.
Rating:
Summary: Eh...its ok?
Review: I've been a devoted fan of Cornwell's work from the beginning. With that said, I thought this book should never have been written. The way she brought past events into the storyline made no sense and the characters were superficial. How do you explain the tie-up of the Talley & Chandonne characters? How does Lucy go from being a computer geek to somekind of superspy vigilante? And Marino..he used to have some really good depth to his character, now it seems like he's comic relief. Would someone please explain how can you bring back a character like Wesley on such a lame premise?!? C'mon Cornwell, stay true to your fans, don't just write a book to make money.
Rating:
Summary: it SUCKED
Review: This was one of the most self indulgent pieces of garbage i have ever suffered through. her reputation is shattered!. previous novels were excellent (except the Andy Brazil series) but even in the last couple, Cornwell's ego started to dominate her good judgement. this book is filled with needless ego boosts for the characters and the author. it appears cornwell was either intoxicated or lazy. either way do not pick up this book and pray that her editor gets the guts to tell her to clean up her act before she tries writing again. the story was also absolutely incredulous and read more like James Bond. Unfortunately Kathy Reichs will be left to dominate the Genre until Cornwell finds her marbles!
Rating:
Summary: The worst
Review: I read Isle of Dogs and thought it was the worst book that Cornwell ever wrote. Move over Isle, Blow Fly has you beaten by a mile. At least I was able to finish Isle of Dogs, but I will never finish this one. I wish I had read all the reviews first at this site before I wasted my time and money.
Rating:
Summary: In a word: Disappointing
Review: I love Patricia Cornwell, I began reading her books because I enjoy thrillers and live in VA, making it easy to follow along. But the last few Scarpetta books have gone down hill. The latest, Blow Fly was horrible. I could normally get through a Cornwell novel in a day, it took me 2 weeks to get through Blow Fly and then the end felt like it was rushed, as though she was pushing to make a deadline. If this is the kind of Scarpetta novels we can expect in the future, she should just save it, I won't buy the next!
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