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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Murder gets personal for Scarpetta, Jun 24 2004
Cornwell's seventh Kay Scarpetta novel opens with Virginia State Pathologist Scarpetta insisting on a New Year's Eve dive in a frigid murky river where a diver's body has been found caught on a decommissioned sub in an unused Navy Yard. An odd hostility from local police and Navy officials only makes her more assertive and determined.The diver is a journalist Scarpetta liked and the autopsy - colorfully described, as always - reveals murder. Scarpetta quickly finds herself and, inadvertently, her brilliant, difficult niece (a recent FBI graduate and computer wonder), in the center of a maelstrom of menace which soon includes her protective friend, police captain Pete Marino and her erstwhile, married lover, FBI brass Wesley Benton. Meanwhile the journalist's apartment turns up an arsenal and a book - the "bible" of a right wing cult, full of recipes for murder and terrorism. Then another murder occurs, even closer to Scarpetta, and conspiracy and intimidation loom larger. Cornwell's writing is vivid and Scarpetta is a prickly, sharp-edged heroine who exudes authority and keeps her private fears hidden. The story will keep you turning pages as Cornwell ratchets up the suspense but the explosive ending is jarringly sudden - never giving the reader much chance to put a human face on evil or comprehend its motives. Still, this is Cornwell in her prime.
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