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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Bestseller Cornwell's 15th novel to feature Dr. Kay Scarpetta (after 2005's Predator) delivers her trademark grisly crime scenes, but lacks the coherence and emotional resonance of earlier books. Soon after relocating to Charleston, S.C., to launch a private forensics lab, Scarpetta is asked to consult on the murder of U.S. tennis star Drew Martin, whose mutilated body was found in Rome. Contradictory evidence leaves Scarpetta, the Italian carabinieri and Scarpetta's lover, forensic psychologist Benton Wesley, stumped. But when she discovers unsettling connections between Martin's murder, the body of an unidentified South Carolina boy and her old nemesis, the maniacal psychiatrist Dr. Marilyn Self, Scarpetta encounters a killer as deadly as any she's ever faced. With her recent switch from first- to third-person narration, Cornwell loses what once made her series so compelling: a window into the mind of a strong, intelligent woman holding her own in a profession dominated by men. Here, the abrupt shifts in point of view slow the momentum, and the reader flounders in excessive forensic minutiae.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
It's hard to fault Cornwell for trying to redeem herself after missing the mark with her last few Kay Scarpetta novels, but this new one won't do the trick. The frosty forensic pathologist and her entourage remain as annoyingly self-absored and screwed up as ever, and their emotional baggage once again gets in the way of the story. A lengthy, vivid scene during which a young tennis star is slowly and brutally tortured sets up the mystery, which unfolds in artless leaps, mostly through halting dialogue and occasional forays into the mind of the killer. Once again Cornwell trots out venal characters from previous Scarpetta books; prominent here is psycho-bitch teleshrink Dr. Self (Predator, 2005), who is hoarding information about what turns out to be a string of loosely related murders. Then there's Scarpetta's longtime investigator, Pete Marino, foulmouthed and crude but tolerated, who reveals true ugliness in what may be the best scene in the book. As to forensic detail, it seems right up to the minute, and Scarpetta uses it often in her search for the killer, all the while trying to preserve balance in her personal life. Only for diehard Cornwell fans, of whom there are still many, despite the author's continued slump. Zvirin, Stephanie
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Very apt title,
By Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Book Of The Dead (Hardcover)
This fifteenth Kay Scarpetta adventure is unfortunately not one of Cornwell's better books. Relocating to South Carolina and going into private practice has a detrimental effect on the main characters, all of whom become more and more unlikeable as the book progresses.To be fair, it does have three murders, each involving torture in most ingenious ways, but even this barely registers among the flotsam. You know you have a problem when the murderer is much more interesting than the good guys, but at least somebody's getting the job done while the others fret, moan, get jealous and either go ballistic or melt down. The story seems to go on forever, the book of the title appearing almost as a secondary thought to facilitate a cool title. To add to the foregoing, after you work your way through the 387 pages of the hardcover version, the story just stops. No cliffhanger - it just stops! ..and with that, so will I Amanda Richards
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Terrible,
By
This review is from: Book Of The Dead (Hardcover)
Probably not the worst book I've ever read, but surely the worst by a "name" author. Amazingly, on amazon.com over 40% of the people rated this with 5 stars.I used to love this series. Scarpetta and Marino were characters that I cared about. The last couple of books were disappointing, but this one was close to being unreadable. After wading through 400 pages the "climax" takes less than a paragraph. It doesn't even make much sense, almost like it was thrown in because she knew the book had to end. Cornwell leaves loose ends involving some of the major characters. I assume she thought this would be the only way to keep her loyal readers interested in this dreck.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
NOT ONE OF HER BEST,
By LMS "Book lover" (ONTARIO) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Book Of The Dead (Hardcover)
Her latest is not one of her best. Very confusing and choppy. Story jumps all over the place. Left feeling like I needed to read it again.
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