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Unnatural Exposure

Unnatural Exposure

List Price: $7.99
Your Price: $7.19
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Did I miss the ending somewhere?
Review: I'd say the first half of the book was headed down the typical Patricia Cornwell road: Well-crafted plot details, intriguing characters, and interesting sub-plots. After that, it was all downhill. Several story lines were left hanging, Kay Scarpetta turned into a wimpy, whining, drag, and when I found out who the killer was, I had to flip through the rest of the book to remember who she/he was. (The problem was, I never did figure it out!) Patricia Cornwell has gotten too comfortable with her character and her writing, and this story is the result. Save your money and wait for the next one!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Dull.
Review: At least we were spared what has become the usual Scarpetta heroics in the end. A simple arrest that would have happened whether or not she was at the scene.

The more I read Cornwell, the more I realize that, except for Marino, her characters have no substance. It's becoming more noticeable now because the plots are getting less interesting. Most of Cornwell's details pertaining to Scarpetta are about whatever food or wine she is drinking. Lucy has improved, at last. She is less petulant and moody than usual. Wesley is just as personality-less as Kay (what is the attraction between them, dullness?).

I think I would find Cornwell's books more interesting if she kept Kay at the local level with only minimal dealings with the FBI. I'm sure she'd have plenty to keep her busy in Virginia instead of traipsing all over the country and interfacing with a zillion government agencies (with their zillion acronyms and abbreviations). Making her a government agent does not add to the interest of the books. It's the medical examiner work that has made the books interesting. She's at her best in her lab, not hopping military planes.

I'm annoyed by the serial aspect of the book. Yes, characters do grow and I like seeing that happen, but must we re-visit criminals (especially when it's merely a teaser for upcoming books and has no relevance to the current plot) as well?

I wish Cornwell would take a break from Scarpetta and not try so hard to crank out one book per year. It's apparently too much of a strain on her creativity, and I don't mean that unkindly.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I will wait for paperback version of next Scarpetta book....
Review: I was such a fan of Cornwell's when she started the Kay Scarpetta books. The forensics, plots and characters were terrific. The last couple have gone downhill and this one hit bottom. Scarpetta, instead of coming across as intelligent, interesting and human is boring and tiresome. Can this woman never have, even a modicum of a sense of humor? Personally I don't know how she can be an M. E. and not have any light moments in her life in which to keep her sane. As far as the plot goes, there was a lot to be desired here. If you were not paying close attention, you would not know who the "killer" was, as they were mentioned very casually earlier on. There didn't seem to be much motivation for said killer to do what was done. I am not motivated to recommend this book.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: What happened to Cornwell's white knuckle suspense?
Review: Particia Cornwell's previous books touched upon my favorite topic, forenics. This last book, Unnatural Exposure was a great let down.Too much time was skipped with little explaination and important moments, such as the experiment with virtual reality went away, never to be mentioned again. The book was printed with a large amount of space between the lines and, all in all, I felt as if I have read a quickly written short story that missed hanging together with the suspense of the previous books. No stars for this one.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Classic Cornwell writing style
Review: I enjoy almost anything Cornwell writes, but my complaint is this: at the end of a novel, it's as though she suddenly decides, "Hey, I have to finish this!" then BOOM! it's over & I'm left feeling as though I missed something. I think this novel is the epitome of this writing syle. Maybe had I paid more attention to the story line, I would realize "who-done-it" but I got wrapped up in the personal lives of the characters and forgot I was reading a mystery. I think this is her attempt to bring back Kay Scarpetta after fans were angered at her departure in "Hornets Nest". As someone from Richmond, I enjoy reading her novels to follow Kay throughout Richmond. This is a good start at returning to Kay, but am left wanting more books like the early ones!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Overall, I was disappointed
Review: I think that Patricia Cornwell is heading downhill. I was very disappointed with Hornet's Nest but I hoped with a return to her regular character, she would regain her prior form. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The first half of the book was fine, with lots of detail, but in the second half I felt like she was rushing and left out every other sentence. At one point Kay Scarpetta was in Utah, and in the next sentence KS was in Virginia. What happened to transitional sentences, like, "I got on the plane and flew home."? Major plot lines were left hanging; many characters were introduced but issues were never resolved. Some characters were introduced--as if they were important--and then never visited again. I felt like the whole book was rushed and not well researched. On the issues of virology, it is clear that Ms. Cornwell is not an expert--and when the writing gets technical, she just skips over details big and small. Overall, I was disappointed.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Nice to have Kay back, but she's fading
Review: Having been hooked on Cornwell's books ever since her first, I've often thought that her otherwise great books would be even better if she parked her paranoia for a while. Cornwell can craft an interesting story, but I get so sick of her "The whole world is out to get Dr. Kay" sub-plots.

This book had the dual benefits of less paranoia and not being Hornet's Nest, yet it just wasn't up to her previous works. Maybe it's because so much of it read like setting up loose ends for sequels, or maybe the paranoia really does belong in there.

Either way, it was nice to have Dr. Kay back.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Killer has little to do with the story
Review: As usual, Patricia Cornwell writes a great story that seems to be moving towards a very climatic finish -- only to produce an obscure killer who had little or nothing to do with the plot. This is a tremendous let down for the reader. In "Unnatural Exposure" this is particularly frustrating. The ending happened so quickly, I went back to see if I had missed something significant (like a clue) that would have let me know that the killer was actually tied to the plot. Someone needs to instruct Ms. Cornwell as to the importance of character development and relevance to the storyline.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Patricia Cornwell, you are the best!!!
Review: I have read all of Patricia Cornwells books and all of them are very good. I enjoyed every single one of them and I think she is the best writer in that field. I hope there is many more where these came from! Keep up the good work!!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Disappointing, slow-moving,far-fetched Kay Scarpetta tale!
Review: Thank goodness I'm not the only one becoming disillusioned with Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta character. As oftentimes happens, her first novels were much better than the last several published. Are they just being turned out for their dollar return. Unnatural Exposure reached midpoint in the book before it gained any interest for me. The story line is so unbelievable it makes one wonder that we should reclassify Cornwell's tales as Sci-Fi. The ending was just as anticlimatic as the entire book. Bring back the interesting, thought-provoking tales of years gone by. The only interesting character remaining is Det. Marino


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