The Last Precinct (A Scarpetta Novel)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
What is peculiarly impressive about Patricia Cornwell's new addition to her popular series about the pathologist Kay Scarpetta, The Last Precinct, is that it is a book in which everything is up for grabs and all is at stake. Murders we thought settled for good in previous books, with guilt allocated and people arrested or killed, suddenly come bubbling to the surface again. Kay finds herself accused of the killing of difficult Deputy Police Chief Diane Bray, and of framing the deformed psychopath who killed Diane and burst into Kay's home with murderous intent. Even the hideous death of Kay's lover Benton, several books ago, turns out to have been more complicated than we thought. Kay finds herself in jeopardy several times over with her headstrong lesbian niece, her only entirely reliable ally. This is a book in which Cornwell takes her heroine into new areas--we get the same amount of complicated forensic lore, but there is a new personal urgency to it, a sense that detection is not a game. Kay's relationships with colleagues have always been prickly, but here they become more problematic than ever before; Cornwell's admirers will be pleased by this, her most tense and nervy book for years. --Roz Kaveney This review refers to the hardcover edition of this title.
Review
Imitators now abound, but - pathologically speaking - nobody does it like Cornwell (LITERARY REVIEW )
What is peculiarly impressive about Patricia Cornwell's new addition to her popular series about the pathologist Kay Scarpetta, The Last Precinct, is that it is a book in which everything is up for grabs and all is at stake. Murders we thought settled fo (Roz Kaveney, AMAZON.CO.UK )
When she is this good, she is hard to beat. (New Stateman )
Forget the pretenders. Cornwell reigns. (MIRROR ) --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
What is peculiarly impressive about Patricia Cornwell's new addition to her popular series about the pathologist Kay Scarpetta, The Last Precinct, is that it is a book in which everything is up for grabs and all is at stake. Murders we thought settled fo (Roz Kaveney, AMAZON.CO.UK )
When she is this good, she is hard to beat. (New Stateman )
Forget the pretenders. Cornwell reigns. (MIRROR ) --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Finishing one of Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta novels is never a cathartic experience and this certainly holds true for this one. "The Last Precinct" is unusual because it picks up within 24 hours of where the previous Scarpetta novel, "Black Notice," left off (usually much more time has passed with things happening like people getting blown up by bombs or something equally significant). Scarpetta is still reeling from the attempt by Jean-Baptiste Chandonne, a.k.a. Le Loup-Garou or The Werewolf." It is insufficient to say that you if you have not read "Black Notice" you will have trouble following the events in this novel, because "The Last Precinct" does some major revisionist history on virtually every major person and event in Scarpetta's life, particularly Benton. The main narrative thread in this novel is that, in a grotesque turn of events, Scarpetta is implicated in the brutal murder of Diane Bray, Chandonne's previous victim and one of Scarpetta's many nemises. It seems Scarpetta is not going to get away from being victimized from this most recent deranged killer to cross her path.
As always, the forensic details in Crowmell's novels are fascinating. Most crime fiction glosses over such things and even in Scarpetta's world rather obvious scientific facts have to be hammered home to the idiots in power over and over again. But these novels are always much more are Scarpetta's relationships with the people around here than the demented killers she is helping to track down. I always look forward to finding out what is up with Lucy in each novel: having given up on the FBI and now ATF, Lucy is ready to enter the private sector (it seems she's been doing some interesting things in her spare time). The novel's title refers to a newly formed investigative unit run by Lucy's old ATF boss, Teun McGovern. But the name takes on darken significance as more of this immense and convoluted plot are revealed. Like Scarpetta, we are asked to reconsider some of the major events in these novels in light of new and most revealing information.
In "The Last Precinct" the pivotal characters are a pair of women the professional equals of Scarpetta and the best parts of the book are her interactions with them. The first is a familiar face, Dr. Anna Zenner, who becomes Scarpetta's de facto counselor, a move that could end up hurting our heroine as much as it helps. The second is Jaime Berger, a first-rate prosecutor from New York who will apparently be handling much more than the Chandonne case, which is being moved to NYC for the worst of political reasons. This also a shadowy behind the scenes figure who has a big impact: Pete Marino's estranged son Rocky, a New York lawyer with mob connections who will be defending Chandonne, just to make things really interesting.
When you finish reading "The Last Precinct" you will certainly not feel a sense of cleansing relief. It is not because of the violent deaths and the detailed autopsies, but rather because with Cornwell it is never really over. At best Scarpetta has a chance to catch her breath before the next round of horrors for which she is the inevitable focal point begins again. Maybe this is just the middle part of an epic trilogy that will finally get us to the point where we can believe justice has been served, but I really have to doubt it given every other book in the series.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Cornwell has suceeded in writing another good novel, but it is certainly not her best. The plot is somewhat duboius and some of the characters such as Marino and Lucy have become more extreme to the point of unbelievable in some parts of the story. Lucy is continuing to develop into the law enforcement wonder woman we have seen from previous episodes - and that is starting to stretch credibility.
That said, the novel provides a good read which will give Cornwell fans the fix they have been waiting for. The forensic details are as good as ever and Cornwell is continuing the dark atmosphere of previous books. However one wonders if the character of Kay Scarpetta and her unshakable belief in herself is getting a bit worn.
The book picks up immediately from where the last one in the series left off. As this was some time ago, unless you have just finished 'Black Notice', then the start could be a little confusing. The advice to Cornwell fans is to re- read the previous book and then start the new one - it might make a bit more sense, and provide a more enjoyable read.
Overall a good read and great to meet up with the familar characters again, however Cornwell can do better.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Having received 'The Last Precinct' as a Christmas present, I decided to re-read all the Kay Scarpetta novels again straight through. The process took me a number of months as I can only read late at night and I really wanted to savour them all again ( some of them for the third time ). At last I came to Last Precinct and I was really quite excited at embarking upon a new story. I was quite disappointed. It was as though someone was impersonation Patricia Cornwell and was trying to write like her. The relationships were definitely not the same, particularly the descriptive elements of her relationship with Pete. It was as if she really did not care enough any more. Even her relationship with Lucy was different. As I had read all the series one after the other, it was particularly noticable. Please, please, get back to the old emotional Kay. I am waiting eagerly for the next book. I have, by the way just started reading Kathy Reichs and I do not as yet agree with the critics that she is 'better than Cornwell'. I think that ,like me, she has read all Patricia Cornwells series because some of the descriptions are so similar in their outline. However she has not even started to get close to the relationship descriptions that epitomise Patricia Cornwells books. Her characters are real to me.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Book review
Am a fan of Patricia Cornwell, although as I go through her books in order, I am beginning to find them quite dark. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Misty
excellent
I have become a fanatical reader of Patricia Cornwell after receiving a hardback copy of
Scarpetta for Christmas. Read more
Scarpetta for Christmas. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mrs. Jennifer P. Baker
Complete change of writing style - very disappointing
I must confess I have not yet finished this book, and I'm writing this review now because I'm not sure I will indeed finish the book. Read more
Published on 28 July 2009 by N. Kristensson
The Last Precinct
This is the 11th in Cornwell's long running Kay Scarpetta series and it is a complete extension of her previous novel 'Black Notice' which is the 10th in the series. Read more
Published on 22 Jun 2009 by molko
Poor
This is one of the worst books that I have ever read. Cornwell seems bereft of new ideas and the increasingly ludicrous plot and characterisation is breathtaking. Read more
Published on 26 Feb 2009 by Wadsy
Not The Last
As this book unfolds you realise that it is part of a trilogy, and in that lies a problem: the reader becomes aware that the overarching story will not be completed, the answers to... Read more
Published on 26 Jan 2009 by M. J. Saxton
complete anti-climax
If like me you are gradually working your way through the Scarpetta novels then I'm afraid you will still need to read this one to continue understanding everyone's private life! Read more
Published on 30 Sep 2008 by DWM
New readers introduction to Scarpetta, Marino and Lucy
I enjoyed this book as much as all the others, but I felt the story line pulled too much on the other Scarpetta novels rather than having a good plot of its own. Read more
Published on 22 July 2008 by J. Sumner
Disappointed
I have read all of this series and I am sorry to say but this is the worst book I have ever read. Not only did nothing happen AT ALL, but the story did not even seem finished when... Read more
Published on 2 Aug 2006 by S. Coates
The Last Precinct
Considering the length of the book, very little actually happens. Scarpetta again finds herself in the middle of another campaign to destroy her. Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2006 by Rich
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