Rating: Summary: Another winner! Review: Black Notice by Patricia Cromwell 1999I have read and enjoyed the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell for several years and have been impressed with the high quality of the writing and the exciting stories she tells. This book is no exception and as the story flowed I found myself involved from beginning to end and had difficulty putting the book down. From the recovery of an unknown body in a container ships cargo to the streets of Paris the story moves swiftly and when it appears that a murderous psychotic has travelled to Kay's home town the intensity picks up and in the final chapters it is impossible to stop reading. The beautiful and vicious new police chief whose main purpose in life seems to be to get Kay fired provides the hurdles that Kay must jump in order to keep her job and bring the murderer to heel. Kay's niece, Lucy, whose career and love life form a significant subplot keep us engrossed in her development and we wonder if she will survive in the male dominated machismo climate in the ATF. The book opens with a letter from Kay's dead former lover Benton Wesley. Kay's struggle to deal with it forms a thread running through the story providing a sense of reality often missing in other mystery writer's works. And the burning question of all true Kay Scarpetta fans "Will Kay find a replacement for Benton Wesley?" may be answered.
Rating: Summary: An interesting development Review: I heard an interview with Patricia Cornwell about this book and was intrigued - and I haven't been intrigued by a Scarpetta novel for some time. Patricia said that in this book she wanted to explore Kay's own reaction to grief, bearing in mind that until now Kay has always dealt with the grief of other people. I thought this was an interesting idea and thus bought the book. My only complaint about this idea is that Scarpetta did not fall to pieces over the death of her beloved boyfriend Mark from an IRA bomb at Victoria station (one of the more sillier plotlines Cornwell has used, I might add) to the extent she has done so over Benton. But this is a minor quibble! Like many readers I share some of the criticisms about the "james bondisation" of the main characters and Cornwell's obsessions with the sexuality of her characters. It would be good if Kay could stay in Richmond for one novel at least! Lucy is no longer a credible character but Cornwell (at least) alluded to this via some of the comments made by Marino in Black Notice about Lucy's latest somewhat deranged escapades. The Diane Bray storyline seemed a bit pointless - I mean, why would Diane Bray give a rat's *** about Kay Scarpetta? She is just a forensic examiner for crying out loud!! And Jay was poorly characterised. It would also be good if next time Cornwell could drop the killer chasing after Scarpetta storyline - that really is tired now and we all know Kay will survive! There is absolutely no suspense in that route at all and as other reviewers have said, it was all so predictable. But for some reason I found Black Notice to be a compelling read and I enjoyed it much more than I have some of the more recent Cornwell fare. The murders were interesting and I did not spot the resolution of the baby hair. I think some of the reviewers have been a bit harsh on the technical aspects of this book which, as ever, were second to none. ANOTHER TIP - Patricia Cornwell said in the radio interview that she is developing an interest in archaeology and has been going on digs, looking at skeletons, etc. This reminded me of the Kathy Reichs novels where the main character is a forensic anthrolopolgist. Is this going to be a future Scarpetta storyline? Watch this space...
Rating: Summary: It's Not a stand alone book. Review: You have to read, "Point of Origin" in order to enjoy this book. The events of Point of Origin.......drive the story line, especially the first half of the book. If you read both books, you will enjoy both. If you read this one separately, you will be disappointed.
Rating: Summary: I think people are being a little too hard on this book Review: OK, so the book isn't perfect, but I was engaged and entertained for the duration of the book. I got the book from the library as a book on tape, so I haven't had the luxury to read the Scarpetta series in order. This was my second novel in the series (the first one being "Cause of Death"). One criticism is Cornwell's overly pessimistic view of humankind (people are evil and serial killers run rampant, etc). Also, I agree that she may have gone a little over-the-top in making Marino a caricature of himself, though, I thought a lot of his actions were understandable, given his personality and what he was put through in this book. Also, the relationship among the three main protagonists (Kay, Lucy and Marino) wasn't too sappy or glossed over... though Cornwell may have gone a little too far in seeing that they weren't. Also, the fate of Diane Bray was a little hard to swallow. But overall, the story was engrossing. Cornwell's prose creates a dark and gritty aura through much of the book; I thought the grieving bit was realistic, and, as always, the forensic details are well-researched and realistic as well. Not the best book I've read (listened to) but definitely worthwhile if you like dark, gritty mysteries with a lot of human drama.
Rating: Summary: It's Not a stand alone book. Review: You have to read, "Point of Origin" in order to enjoy this book. The events of Point of Origin.......drive the story line, especially the first half of the book. If you read both books, you will enjoy both. If you read this one separately, you will be disappointed.
Rating: Summary: Cussing ruined a good story Review: It's easy to see why Patricia Cornwell is such a popular author. She's a master of characterization and detail and suspense. I really enjoy her work--and the characters of Scarpetta and Marino. They seem like real people with real feelings and flaws. But what's with all the cussing in this book? A few well-placed words are enough to get across dialogue and personality. The cussing progressed as the book did; her two previous books weren't like this. It detracted from a good story, and took away my interest in reading any more of her books.
Rating: Summary: My least favorite Scarpetta Review: Of all the books in this series, this is my least favorite. The story was a bit too unbelievable, but it is more Kay Scarpetta for lovers of this series. At least I did finish the book so I'll say it's an okay read!
Rating: Summary: Kay Scarpetta series is excellent Review: You need to read them in order because the characters evolve in every book.
Rating: Summary: Too Many Coincidences is almost the undoing of this book. Review: There are a number of very glaring coincidences in this book and I think that this is the biggest problem with the book. For example, how could a case that Kay's Lucy is working for AFTA in Miami have anything to do with a homicidal maniac in Kay's town of Richmond? But in spite of this glaring inconsistency, I still enjoyed the book. We see Kay at her most vulnerable here and to those of us who have followed her story from the beginning, it is understandable. This book takes place a year after Kay's lover, Benton was killed in the line of duty, and in typical Kay fashion, she has really not dealt with her feelings about that. She has been burying herself in her work as usual. The killer that is stalking Kay's city forces her to deal with some "unlaid-to-rest" issues surrounding Benton's death. This is quite a dark book, but an edge-of-your-seat thriller that keeps the reader guessing until the end. We also see some real character development in some of the main characters; particularly Marino and Kay herself. It is so important that this series be read in order, and unless it is I don't think readers get the true scope of the series, and they certainly can't see the character development that occurs in each subsequent book.
Rating: Summary: Thrilling! Review: In BLACK NOTICE by Patricia Cornwell, Kay Scarpetta tries to outwit a serial killer unlike any other! The characters are exciting and the plot had me glued in my comfy chair all night! (Highly Recommended!)
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