This, alas, will likely be the last Patricia Cornwell book I ever buy. I said that the last time, but after reading a few initial good reviews, hope conquered experience and I bought Red Mist. I shouldn't have. I've read all of the Scarpetta novels over the years and loved the earlier ones. The last few have been bad and getting worse. I couldn't help thinking as I plowed through Red Mist, that if this had been a first book submitted to publishers it would have received nothing but rejection slips. The plot was not believable, the characters have one emotional speed (angry/irritable) and there was little or no real tension. There's no mystery - the foreshadowing (if you can call it that) was more like being hit over the head with a mallet. And motive? Who needs a compelling motive? Add to that, just plain lousy writing, which seemed to indicate that Cornwell's editor(s) seem to give her carte blanche these days. Either that, or she's trying very hard to get out of a long contract with her publisher. Either way, don't waste your money. There are far, far more compelling mystery writers out there worth your time and attention. (Lisa Gardner, Greg Iles, Harlen Coben, Michael Connelly...)