Rating: 
Summary: Hornet's Nest: writer's manual on how NOT to write a novel.
Review: You know, I used to love Patricia Cornwell's books. When the first "Kay Scarpetta" novel arrived, I devoured it in one sitting and eagerly awaited the next. The first several were great, but then the law of diminishing returns set in. And now we have HORNET'S NEST (a non-Scarpetta book). Sigh. What can I say? This is the most dreadful novel I have read in the past twenty years. And I read a book every two days or so. The only redeeming quality that can possibly save this rambling, inconsistent, tedious piece of work is the fact that it is a veritable "how-not-to" book: namely, a treatise on how NOT to write a good novel. For example, the characters are cardboard, the plot is dull, there's no dramatic tenstion, and the point-of-view (POV) meanders all over the place. Now, there's nothing wrong with shifting POV per se, but you have to know how to do it properly. In HORNET'S NEST, you not only get the POV of the three main characters, you get the POV of almost every single other person who even makes an appearance. If the chapter is being told from John Doe's POV, then we shouldn't be getting the inner thoughts of some guy crossing the street in front of John Doe. It's confusing. It's irritating. It's just plain bad writing. Clearly Cornwell has become such a populist bestseller than no one dares edit her work any more. This is a shame, as she is, or rather, WAS, a gifted writer. Remember, no book is inviolate. Not even the Oxford Dictionary. And there isn't a writer, dead or alive, whose work couldn't have been improved, even a little, by the input of a good, thorough, diligent editor. That said, I think one star is too high a rating for this book, but there isn't a lower option. However, HORNET'S NEST should be purchased by every beginning writer, just so they can see how it shouldn't be done.
Rating: 
Summary: Hornet's Best
Review: Highly literate, exciting, and funny. The characters are alive and fascinating. I want to see more of them.
Rating:
Summary: Product Placement
Review: This is the most disappointing Patricia Cornwell novel I have read. Any plot in this novel is secondary. Her main purpose seems to be in describing in great detail what her main protagonists are wearing and how stunning they look, and in making money from sponors from product placement. If the endless references to Blockbuster Video, Shoney's, KFC, Izod shirts and to the extensive selection of cars from the Crown Victoria, to various Toyota Camry's, Honda Preludes, Lincolns etc. were removed, there would be very little of the novel left. The ludicrous antics of two menopausal high flying female police officers as they try to discretely engage with a 22 year old blond adonis junior reporter who is totally unaware of his sexual allure, defies description. I only perservered to the end to find how the killer was apprehended.
Rating: 
Summary: Kay Scarpetta it ain't... or is it?
Review: Even though Cornwell's bread and butter isn't present in fact in this book, the gutsy Chief and Assistant Chief of the Charlotte Police Department are cut from the same mold. If you like Kay, you'll like West and Hammer. Twisted serial killers, strange personal relationships, and typical Cornwell plot devices make this a good read, if a shallow one.The cassette version (abridged) leaves a little of the continuity out, but even there the color comes through.
Rating: 
Summary: Hornet's Nest
Review: I love Patricia Cornwell's books, but was disappointed with "Hornet's Nest." Dr Scarpetta was not in it which was a dissappointment in itself. It had a good plot, but seemed rushed and thrown together. She has the talent to do much better.
Rating:
Summary: Ehh....not nearly as good as Scarpetta novels
Review: I'm not going to say that this was the worst book I've ever read because it wasn't. I have read almost every single Cornwell novel and this certainly was not one of her best. The plot moved like molasses in some parts and then moved so fast that you didn't have a clue to what was going on. Though I have to say I was impressed by Chief Hammer, Virginia West, and the very interesting Andy Brazil. These characters all had faults and were very human. The love/hate relationship between West and Brazil is a large part of this book's plot. So, this is a book that you have to read for yourself to see if it's for you.
Rating:
Summary: This book gives one star a bad reputation!
Review: I picked up this book because it was left at our house by a visitor. I lived in Charlotte, NC for several years, so I was curious as to how this city was represented. Honestly, this book was so bad that I couldn't even finish it. I read more than half way and was so startled and confused by how bad it was I am truly convinced that this book is in fact an experiment by Ms. Cornwell to see if she can make money without having to actually write a novel. I am a huge fan of the police procedural genre and mysteries in general. But, this "book" is neither. It is rather a large description of mainly three very pitiful human beings who live totally fabricated lives that are founded upon thier own beauty and desirability. They are two dimensional and trite and I was actually hoping at least one of them would die, but I couldn't withstand the punishment any longer and decided my time was more valuable doing something else - like cleaning out my gutters! This is the kind of writing that gives women authors a bad name. Cornwell is so wrapped up in how these people look in their uniforms that we never even come close to getting wrapped up in something as minor as a plot. If this book was written to be a romance or even a human interest story, it is still horrible, but at least I would see what she was shooting for. But it isn't. It's supposed to be a mystery based on a senseless string of serial killings. Agghhhh!! Do not buy this book. For the love of all that is worth reading, do not buy it. Unless of course you want to read 300+ pages about two beautiful people who've been hurt before and don't want anything to do with the opposite sex, who happen to be chasing a serial killer between their visits to the firing range, after one of them writes 3 articles for the paper and helps his drunk of a mother into bed. Ridiculous. The only reason I chose to write this review is to help others not make the mistake I made. If this book is sitting anywhere near you unread, run as fast as you can and throw it into the trash, better yet, burn it. That way not even the sanitation workers would be at risk of reading this horrible novel.
Rating:
Summary: Hornet's Nest
Review: Patricia Cornwell's book, Hornet's Nest, was an incredible adventure that let your imagination reach it's full potential. It has been one of the most entertaining books I have ever read. It is set in the large city of Charlotte, North Carolina. In the book, the main character, Brazil, is always changing the actions of the story. Brazil is a newspaper reporter that becomes a volunteer cop to write about what happens in the real world. Deputy West is assigned to have Brazil as her tag along. Brazil is struggling in life with emotional problems caused by his mother who is an alcoholic. He is with West when the serial killer violently murders his first victim. The book is based around the police trying to find their serial killer before it is too late, but there are many other events that change the outcome of the book. The chief of police, Hammer ,is a very power-hungry woman. She has an emotionally unstable husband, Seth, who fakes killing himself because Hammer has caused him such pain he wanted to give her a little taste of what he has went through all those years. This book has to be read more than once to catch onto all the little details subtly given throughout the entire story. If you like mystery and suspense then you will love this adventurous tale of love and everything that could possibly go wrong in life.
Rating:
Summary: Not up to her usual high standard
Review: Patricia Cornewell made her reputation of a series of murder mysteries featuring a medical examiner Fay Scarpata. These books were dark and brooding and had a sense of realism no doubt because they were. Cornwell worked in a medical examiners office and would have had access to the mechanics of autopsies and murder investigations. Her earlier books were not only good to read but were important. They were part of a wave of detective novels which lifted women from decorative parts to being at the centre of the action and in control of events. This book is a departure from these books and does not use Scarpata as a character. The book also a different style of narrative and tries to blend humor into the story telling. There is one central mystery that, of yet another serial killer. Despite this the book has a fragmented narrative structure. That structure deals with the lives of three characters, two high ranking female police officers in their forties and the other a young male journalist who plays the role once reserved for females. That is a Mills and Boon love interest who has the main characters having their blood pressure increased with sexual passion. The stories move around and interconnect and involve a sort of buddy relationship between the journalist and one of the police officers. The plot mechanics are that the journalist is assigned to cover the beat. There are early disagreements but over time they develop help each other and develop a relationship. One can imagine that the book was written with a film deal in mind. The books is not nearly as good as the Cornwell's earlier efforts. The humor is particularly painful. For example there is one courtroom scene in which a judge called Bovine enters with her herd. (Bovine means cow get it yuk yuk a pun) The police want a certain outcome and are able to do it by keeping the judge on the bench when she wants to urinate. She becomes upset and does what they want. Cornwell's other books at no point attempt to be light hearted and this book struggles when it tries to be light hearted. Crime novels generally tend to be right wing. The reason for it is relates to the mechanics of plot construction. Authors want people to cheer for the main characters who are the police or detectives who solve the crime. Criminals are painted in a way to lessen any sympathy for them and to get the reader cheering for the police. Whilst one can understand that this underlies the structure of any crime novel, there is often a variation in the realism portrayed. Some of them will speak about some of the real issues the poverty and despair in areas in which crime occurs, police corruption and incompetence. Other novels tend to have the realism of a Batman comic. This novel tends to fall more into the Batman comic class presenting a simple message with simply drawn evil villains. Despite all this it is an easy book to read and ideal for plane and bus trips. My daughter loved it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hornet's Nest
Review: I just finished the book and I loved it. I am surprised so many others were so negative about it. I have read many of her books and have enjoyed them all. I feel the characters in this book were real as they protrayed people with real problems and complicated lives, just like life is. I thought is was very funny in parts and would like to read more of her work with these characters.
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