- Hardcover: 1 pages
- Publisher: GP Putnam And Sons; First Edition edition (Oct 25 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0399152830
- ISBN-13: 978-0399152832
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.7 x 3.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 658 g
- Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #426,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
It's not often a crime novel offers such a smorgasbord of oddball elements, including autopsy advice, methods of combating tree blight, the use of spiders in sadomasochist torture and couples covering the sexual and psychological waterfronts. There's even a little nasty fun at the expense of television psychoanalysts. With geographic locations switching slightly faster than the speed of sound, it's to Reading's credit that she smoothes out the ultra rumpled excesses of Cornwell's mind-boggling plot and takes full advantage of the yarn's narrator-friendly present tense. Having given voice to several earlier books in the series, she's got the main characters down cold. Her Dr. Kay Scarpetta is all snarky professional reserve and personal insecurity. Self-loathing lesbian niece Lucy, sounds properly troublesome and troubled, with an added catch in the throat due to a secret she's keeping. Pete Marino, the bullet-headed, gym rat security chief of the Lucy-originated National Forensic Academy, sounds so gruff and aggressive, he should be kept on a chain leash. And Scarpetta's inamorato, Benton Wesley, whose study of mass murderers' brain patterns gives the novel its title, is, as his name suggests, the very model of a dry, annoyingly passive-aggressive personality. The joke here-intended or not-is that the novel's protagonists are almost as mentally or emotionally disturbed as its homicidal villains. Cornwell seems to have grown weary of the lot of them. But there's still a flicker of life left and Reading has the skill to make the most of it.
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.
Review
** 'Totally compelling with lots of twists and turns.' WOMAN ** 'As ever the atmosphere is brooding, the tension highly spun and engaging, the psychology subtle and the wealth of anatomical detail enough to make any bloke hide behind the sofa.' THE TIMES ** 'This book is sensationally plotted, with a twist at the end that will leave you gasping for breath.' DAILY EXPRESS ** 'Another first-class forensic thriller.' CRIME CONFIDENTIAL
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Most helpful customer reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
What happened?,
By
This review is from: Predator (Hardcover)
I am a long time Cornwell fan but I must agree with many of the other reviewers that this book is not up to the author's standards. I have enjoyed the Scarpetta series from the start. Here the complex character of Kay is lost to the rapid pacing and short chapters-I felt like I was reading a James Patterson Novel (who I can't stand!). All the great descriptions of Kay working at the crime scene, the great CSI stuff is all missing. I hope this is just blooper and not indicative of future works. I sometimes wonder if authors are being pushed to hard to produce and this might be the result?If you are looking for an interesting thriller/mystery try the underground hit "Tourist in the Yucatan!"
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
The cover is all right.....I guess.....,
By Delia (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Predator (Mass Market Paperback)
I just dont know what happened. I've bought all the Scarpetta books since the 80's, eagerly awaiting book release dates - counting down weeks before they came out. These were the only books for years that I bought in hardcover the day they were released. My loved ones knew not to bother me until I came up for air, closed the book and set it on my Cornwell shelf with a satisfied sigh.But then, somewhere along the line, it all changed. She lost me about 3 or 4 books back. I don't know if it was the weird plots (is there plots?), or the new writing style (I hate the new writing style most of all - all present tense - sounds like script directions or Cliff notes or something - eg..... She thinks about Marino and wonders if she is going to have to fire him...). With her earlier books, I read every single word and I learned a lot with each book. I liked the first person, past-tense style and I understood what was going on, what Scarpetta was feeling and thinking and I was constantly shocked and delighted by the twists along the way. I liked Scarpetta, I rooted for her and cared what happened to her. I was never bored. Now, I don't have a clue what's going on most of the time, and worse still, I mostly don't care. Maybe the reason I don't know what's going on is that I am so bored by the story and so distracted by the writing tense. I barely even like the characters any more. I mean what's happened to Marino? Will Lucy be all right? I don't know, and I am not sure that I care. I think the majority of the main characters need therapy. Lots and lots of therapy. But please don't share their therapy sessions with us. Just make them all better and get back to the forensics and crime solving. I am sad to say, that not only did I wait until Predator was marked way down in price to buy it, but I didn't even end up finishing it. (Not even to see if Lucy is all right). I don't know how it ended, or even if it ended. My son, upon seeing me spend a few hours trying to get through the first part of the book finally said, "What is wrong with that book? I've never known you to sigh, mumble and shake your head so often while reading before." I finally just gave up and put it back on my book shelf, where it now looks very nice with all my other Patricia Cornwell books. A splash of colour among the mostly black spines. I am sad to know that this is probably the last book that will ever go on my Cornwell shelf. I just don't think I can give them any more chances. I need to move on and find another author to love now. Oh well, if desparate, I can always go back and re-read the early ones again - they were worth reading over and over again. I'll think I'll just stop the re-reads at Point of Origin though and call it a day. But Ms Cornwell, if you ever return to your former writing style, I'll buy the books the day they come out - just like the good old days.
1.0 out of 5 stars
She wrote this?,
By
This review is from: Predator (Mass Market Paperback)
Horrible, what a disappointment! Seems like there were more than one author's hand in this book. Bad, Bad, Bad. She'd better get her act together or she's going to lose a huge readership.
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