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Review
Absorbing stuff, quite brilliantly demonstrated. Imitators now abound, but - pathologically speaking - nobody does it like Cornwell. (LITERARY REVIEW )
Urgent, zappy and efficent. (NEW WOMAN )
When she's on form, nobody is better than Cornwell at blending the details of leading-edge science and old-fashioned, blood-curdling horror. (EXPRESS ON SUNDAY ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Express on Sunday
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Customer Reviews
On the one hand it is another good solid addition to the Scarpetta series of thrillers. It has all the usual ingredients, gory discoverings, Scarpetta's scientific examinations, a ruthless killer and the usual accompanying characters.
One the other hand it is another good solid addition to the Scarpetta series of thrillers that offers nothing new to what has gone before. Indeed some of the regular characters are becoming so changed from their original conception you really wonder if you want to carry on with the series. There's not enough of Pete Marino in this book for a start, niece Lucy is still an enormous pain in the neck and Benton Wesley seems to be becoming a needy wimp with his constant whinging to Scarpetta. Scarpetta herself is so driven at times she must be an absolute nightmare to work for.
What the series really needs is an insertion of some new blood, or at the very least the re-introduction of some the excellent minor characters we saw in previous offerings. Why can't sister Dorothy, who has only made one actual appearance in "The Body Farm", or even lawyer Nicholas Grueman who appeared in "Cruel and Unusual" reappear in some form or another to give the series a much needed injection of life.
Once again, Dr. Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner, finds herself on the hunt for a serial killer, when the body of an elderly, dismembered woman is discovered in a Virginia landfill. Moreover, a mutated, high tech, small pox variant virus appears to be on the loose, and Dr. Scarpetta finds herself receiving taunting emails from the alleged killer, signing as "deadoc". Couple all this with an overly ambitious and unscrupulous law enforcement agent named Percy Ring who arrests an obviously innocent man for the elderly woman's death, and the reader has an intriguing mystery to unravel.
Homicide Detective Pete Marino is pivotal to the success of this book. His relationship and repartee with Dr. Scarpetta contribute to many of the book's highlights, and it is he who gives dimension to the book, as he is simply a wonderful, down to earth character. Dr. Scarpetta's relationship with FBI Agent Wesley Benton is less memorable, as he is on the periphery of the story, for the most part, though in the end he provides closure for the torch Dr. Scarpetta was carrying for her ex-lover, Mark.
The only real fly in the ointment, however, is the continued appearance of Dr. Scarpetta's niece, Lucy, who is an obnoxious character. In the real world, Lucy would not be allowed to hold the positions of responsibility that she does in the book, due to her compete immaturity. She is a loose cannon waitng to misfire at any moment. It flies in the face of her professionalism that Dr. Scarpetta seems unable to fathom this, but blood is thicker than water.
The ending is somewhat surprising, though in retrospect, the clues are, in fact, there for the reader to discern the identity of the killer. The problem is that the resolution occurs almost too abruptly, as if the author had only a limited number of pages in which to wrap it all up. While the book moves somewhat slowly for the most part, the last few chapters move at lightening speed. A better editing job may have helped make this book into a more cohesive, better written mystery. Still, Kay Scarpetta fans will find something to enjoy in this offering.
It's poorly written, humourless, and unengaging. I'm afraid I just couldn't get interested. Read more
This is the straw that breaks the camel's back. Read more
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