Customer Reviews

Blow Fly

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(45)
2 star:		(105)
1 star:		(294)

 

 

This was the first time reading this author, and I did not enjoy it one bit. None of the characters had any redeeming qualities, and I could not sympathise to any degree with any of them. I did not finish the novel, as it just seemed like a neverending stream of dark and grotesque characters, with not a glimmer of light. No real plot line, no interesting twists, just bleak and depressing throughout. Never again.

I enjoyed this novel very much. I enjoyed the different writing style she utilized in this book, the simultaneous time lines and different perspectives. It was an interesting departure from her normal style. I also liked that a number of long arching story lines were tied in and explained better. My only complaint is the ending, I wanted to keep going and read more, find out more, but the book ended like hitting a wall at high speed. And unfortunately, I'm very impatient and hate to wait for the next installment. I want to know what happens to Kay, Benton, Lucy, Nic...

I don't like "To be continued."

The early Scarpetta novels were ground breaking. Since the appaearance of the WolfMan and his jolly family, this series has gone down hill and beyond. It is doubtful that had this been an unknown author's work, any publisher would have picked it up.

The plot, such as it is, is nonsensical. We are supposed to believe that Benton Wesley's death was faked, for the benefit of Scarpetta, with the long term aim of using Kay to bring about the demise of the Chardonneau family by means of convoluted false messages, red herrings etc. At the end of the day, Welsey simpy goes to their home in Baton Rouge and kills some of them - why did he need to forge various pretexts to get Kay there etc, when all he had to do was burst in a la Rambo and shoot 'em up?

Underneath this slapdash writing lurks some dodgy political views, namely that good people are justified in doing bad things to bad people if it removes the bad guys (the references to Iraq and 9/11 telegraph this unsavoury viewpoint several times).

Clearly Cornwall has nothing more to say about Scarpetta, Marino, Lucy et al and should stop this series now. Sadly, the ludicrously unlikely escape of the Wolf Man means that more yawn inducing antics involving Wolfie going after Kay will ensue..

SPOILERS AHEAD

I normally enjoy Cornwell's novels as light relief on a plane, but this one was seriously disappointing. There's only one crime scene investigation, towards the end, of a largely irrelevant murder, and the rest of the book seems to be made up of the guilt and neuroses of the central characters as they all move away from the professional orbits that (once) made them so interesting. The Wolfman (yawn!) and his twin brother Jay are trotted out YET AGAIN as the bad boys of the piece, only to be despatched 'offscreen' at the end. I agree with other readers that the ending was sudden and flat - I convinced myself that I had missed a chapter and resorted to shaking the novel to see if the extra pages would suddenly materialise, explaining what went down at the shack and how Benton killed Jay and what happened to the Wolfman. No such luck. This didn't seem like a cliffhanger, more like a "I can't be bothered" from the author. I shall seriously debate buying any future Cornwell books - "Jack The Ripper" was a shoddy piece of scholarship, and this was lazily written throughout, lacking the taut plot and original characterisation that made the others in the series so enjoyable. A real shame.

I purposely did not read the reviews on this one before I gave it a read. Patricia Cornwell has certainly disappointed her fans. The characterization was flat throughout. I kept thinking this has to get better. The ending came abruptly, and afterwards I felt cheated! I have read all of Cornwell's novels and this by far ranks as the worst ever. I think a lot popular authors become more concerned with pumping books out for the (...) than anything else. I mean when you are already rich and famous...why bother entertaining others? I will read reviews on the next Cornwell novel before I plop down my good money.

Ok, apparently this book isn't as good as her others. I've heard, mostly, positive things about the Scarpetta series and hadn't read anything by her before. I also read this book while dealing with a bad case of the flu. Maybe it was the medication BUT I thought it was a decent book. The main criticism I've been reading is that there is too much looking back at previous books. I can see why that might annoy avid fans but for a first-timer it was actually helpful.

This book truly does blow.
I have been a pretty loyal fan, although I was getting really tired of Scarpetta letting every psychopath & his dog into her impregnable fortress of a home. But reading this took away several hours of my life that I'll never get back. I kept reading, waiting for something to happen...but I was disappointed. The plot was contrived, the characters absolutely unlikeable, and the ending...where was it? The whole book was leading to a showdown in Baton Rouge, but we never see it. Benton just goes in & shoots them up, & we hear about later? What's that?
Truly, save your money & read Kathy Reichs if this genre is your thing.

I have read this series from the beginning and have been disappointed the past several years. But this book redeems those bad ones. Kay Scarpetta is back, stronger than ever. Although the reason for Benton Wesley's "fake murder" didn't ring real, I for one am glad for his return. Lucy is more likeable in this book - a real tough computer geek. And so is Scarpetta. She seems more like the Scarpetta of old. And of course Marino never changes, thank goodness. The story line was good, the characters great, and this was one good read.

I disagree with most of the other reviewers here! I enjoyed this book thoroughly. If you follow Kay Scarpetta then this book serves not only to answer some questions but to set the scene for the next novel. It was a bit darker than some of her work and a little more difficult to read because there are many, many short chapters. You have to be prepared to switch gears between characters every few pages. If I hadn't read her other works it wouldn't have made sense at all. If you are a fan then don't let the other reviews discourage you- go for it!

Early Scarpetta novels were gruesome yet literary. Kay was likeable, human. In this latest novel, Cornwell seems absolutely obsessed with torture and sex, preferably together. I couldn't finish this and I usually have a pretty strong stomach.