Black Notice (A Scarpetta Novel)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
The postmortem is in--Black Notice, the 10th in Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta series--is a gore- splattered, intensely exciting read.
As winter grips Richmond, Virginia, an air of sombreness pervades chief medical examiner Kay Scarpetta's world. Her beloved niece Lucy is involved in a dangerous undercover police operation in Miami, and auntie fears for her life. A tyrannical new deputy chief, Diane Bray, wants to get Kay's department under her jurisdiction. Meanwhile, back at the office, someone has tinkered with the e-mail system, stealing Kay's identity and sending off slanderous and hurtful messages. Emotionally battered, Scarpetta fears she is going insane. Or, could it be that someone is deliberately sowing this harvest of sorrow?
Despite her personal problems, Scarpetta is still the reigning diva at the department of death. She is sent to investigate the purified remains of a man found inside a container ship, "eyes bulged froglike, and the scalp and beard were sloughing off with the outer layer of darkening skin." Kay finds strange, animal-like hairs on the man's clothing--the same hairs that she discovers on a murdered store clerk a few days later. In actuality, the bizarre killings extend well beyond Virginia; whoever killed the Richmond victims also butchered people in France. Kay and police captain Pete Marino are whisked off to Paris where they must collect top-secret information from a Paris morgue, and avoid becoming victims themselves.
This macabre tome is the stuff that classic Scarpetta tales are made of: creepy but compulsive autopsy scenes, plentiful plot twists and the compelling, if slightly more vulnerable, chief medical examiner herself. --Naomi Gesinger --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Cornwell's books run on high octane fuel, a cocktail of adrenalin and fear. BLACK NOTICE is no exception (THE TIMES )
BLACK NOTICE is undoubtedly her best book for some time: not only because of some excellent scalpel work, but mainly because it is not so much about crime as about Scarpetta. (EVENING STANDARD )
She's a wonderful writer. (DAILY MAIL )
Imitators now abound, but - pathologically speaking - nobody does it like Cornwell (LITERARY REVIEW )
BLACK NOTICE is undoubtedly her best book for some time: not only because of some excellent scalpel work, but mainly because it is not so much about crime as about Scarpetta. (EVENING STANDARD )
She's a wonderful writer. (DAILY MAIL )
Imitators now abound, but - pathologically speaking - nobody does it like Cornwell (LITERARY REVIEW )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Could it be with this, the tenth, book in the Dr Scarpetta series that Patricia Cornwell has just begun to scrape the bottom of the barrel with both plot ideas and character progression?
I'd given the previous offering, Point of Origin, a lukewarm reception and accused Cornwell of not being able to offer Scarpetta fans anything new. For the first half of this book I was pleasantly surprised as there seemed to be a lot more pace and punch to the opening chapters. There was some great Lucy and Marino interplay and some great dialog between all the main characters. There was also an insight into how the ultra-professional and seemingly mechanical Scarpetta was hurting from the death of Bentley in the previous book. What was also great was to see another appearance of Scarpetta's nasty sister Dorothy who at the very least is great entertainment value.
Alas it then went rapidly downhill extremely quickly. The main storyline of the book is a real half baked and half produced idea of yet another motiveless serial killer. He's just thrown into the plot with no reason other than to produce another book. There's no significance and no consequence. What is even worse though is the absolutely absurd affair that Scarpetta carries out whilst in Paris. Apart from the fact it is extremely unbelievable, it is so poorly presented I would expect this style of writing and dialog more of a soap opera or Mills and Boon romance.
Finally just went I thought with the amount of pages left in my right hand there was no way this book could be brought to conclusion but would be strung over to the next one, the whole story is wrapped up in one final crazy chapter. Scarpetta let's the killer into her house like a naïve pensioner, Lucy arrives in the nick of time, gun-toting and screaming and final Marino screeches around the corner just in time to slap on the handcuffs. What rubbish, we really deserve better.
One last point, please please please, can we stop all the pathetic relationship psycho-analysis between the characters. Unfortunately with the book ending with the return of Scarpetta's toy boy, Jay Talley, it looks like we're in for some more self pitying outpourings from this bunch of supposedly "talented" people.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am an avid fan of Cornwells novels and have read them all...over and over ! I have introduced many friends and family to the intricate world of Kay Scarpetta and like most i rushed out to buy Black Notice. Oh dear..... i got the impression that Cornwell was in one big rush to finish this. There were several plot elements that could have been expanded in more detail, which would have improved the overall read. In my opinion, there is too much in too little detail.Which is a shame as the rest of the series are EXCELLENT ! But maybe this almost lack of enthusiasm from Cornwell reflects Scarpetta's lack of enthusiasm at everything that is so familiar but no longer holds the same intrigue or purpose (since Benton's death). But i live in hope that the next one will be better and that Scarpetta will cheer up ! I much prefer it when the atmosphere is a little more upbeat and not so dark and depressing ! Come Scarpetta...look on the bright side ! you still have Lucy and Marino ! (although i fear that Marino may not last much longer, especially as we are constantly reminded of all his bad habits ! ) So fingers crossed for the next installment and i promise you it'll all work out ok in the end !
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I used to love the Scarpetta novels, especially the first few. Then Kay Scarpetta seemed to disappear up her own arse. Does this woman possess a sense of humour? My friends and family became used to hearing my screeches of anguish as I read yet another passage in which Kay makes fresh pasta or cooks some amazing stew from scratch. I thought she was supposed to be a busy woman! Now I find Cornwell's written a book called "Scarpetta's Winter Table", which appears to include a collection of recipes. Either Cornwell's got a better sense of humour than her protagonist, or she's totally gone insane. Anyway, as for Black Notice - I was relieved to find myself enjoying it, after the astonishingly anti-climatic ending of "Point of Origin", but once again, the ending left a lot to be desired. There's no interplay between heroine and villain like we used to get, just the obligatory break-in and the chase through the various rooms of the house. Ho-hum, seen it all before. Hey Patricia, how about a nice prolonged confrontation scene? Pretty please?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Black Notice - Excellent
I really enjoyed this book. I am aware of some criticism of Patricia Cornwell for some of her later Scarpetta novels, but for me this is a really interesting story and captures the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. Andrew R. Wortley
Black Notice
The book is an excellent read,even if you have not read any of Patricia Cornwell's novels before.
I am a huge fan of her books.
I am a huge fan of her books.
Published 11 months ago by Nickyd
Ok but sloppy.
I haven't yet finished this, though not long to go. I haven't read any cornwell in years but I remember her books as being engaging and well written, thrillers are escapism so I... Read more
Published 22 months ago by M. Doyle
The worst of the Scarpetta books so far
When reading other Amazon reviewers' comments about some of Patricia Cornwell's more recent Scarpetta novels, I couldn't see how they could be right when they gave them below... Read more
Published on 22 Jun 2009 by KM
Black Notice
This is the tenth in Patricia Cornwell's long running, best selling Kay Scarpette series. The synopsis has been covered numerous times here on amazon so i shant delve into that too... Read more
Published on 22 April 2009 by molko
Black Notice
This is easy reading. Not one of the best Scarpetta books. It takes too long before the story gets interesting.
Published on 7 Jan 2009 by Monia
The Best of all the Scarpetta Books
The discovery of a decomposed body in a locked container on a cargo ship is going to set Dr. Kay Scarpetta against the most dangerous killer she has ever faced. Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2008 by Laurel Whitehead
Better than the last
I agree with the majority of you that this book is definitely better than the last but not as good as the first Scarpetta novels - I will say that the REMAKE review - this is what... Read more
Published on 2 Mar 2006 by "sugarplumcp"
Better than the last but...
This gets three stars mainly because it was a better book than the previous one 'Point Of Origin'
This sees Scarpetta and the gang mainly dealing with the emotional fallout from... Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2004 by Rich
Increasingly Ludicrous
I have read a lot of Patricia Cornwell's books, and even though I find the main characters shallow and increasingly annoying, I can't help but keep reading them because of the... Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2004 by Missy M
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