From Publishers Weekly
At the start of bestseller Cornwell's plodding
16th thriller to feature Dr. Kay Scarpetta
(after Book of the Dead), the forensic
pathologist—who recently relocated to
Belmont, Mass., with her forensic psychologist
husband—is called to Manhattan's Bellevue
Hospital for reasons that don't become clear
until she gets there. Oscar Bane, who
voluntarily committed himself to Bellevue
while denying he brutally murdered his
girlfriend, refuses to speak to anyone except
the high-profile Scarpetta. Bane, Scarpetta
discovers, is obsessed with her. Meanwhile,
someone masquerading as Scarpetta is lurking
in cyberspace and supplying an online gossip
site with dirty secrets about the doctor. For
help on the murder case, Scarpetta turns to
her computer whiz niece and a macho former
colleague whose shocking actions in Book of
the Dead severely damaged his relationship
with Scarpetta. With a plot full of holes and
frustrating red herrings, this entry falls
short of the high standard set by earlier
volumes in this iconic series. (Dec.)
From Bookmarks Magazine
Critics agreed that readers familiar with
Cornwell's series will find Scarpetta
a weak addition; novice audiences will
certainly want to skip over this one and start
with Postmortem (1990), Cornwell's
award-winning debut. Although Scarpetta
is not one of the better entries to date, the
thriller contains Cornwell's meticulous
attention to detail (from autopsies to
investigations) and edge-of-your-seat
plotting. However, reviewers cited too much
backstory, overly complex twists, and only
mediocre characterization. The Rocky
Mountain Newseven accused Scarpetta of
becoming "something of a cipher,"
while the Guardianfound nothing to
like at all. The bright spot? A thrilling,
unpredictable ending.
Shopping Cart