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Kay Scarpetta #10
Black Notice
An intriguing Dr Kay Scarpetta novel which will take Kay an ocean's breadth away from home. The case begins when a cargo ship arriving at Richmond, Virginia's Deep Water Terminal from Belgium is discovered to be transporting a locked, sealed container holding the decomposed remains of a stowaway. The post mortem performed by the Chief Medical Examiner, Kay Scarpetta, initially reveals neither a cause of death nor an identification. But the victim's personal effects and an odd tattoo take Scarpetta on a hunt for information that leads to Interpol's headquarters in Lyon, where she receives critical instructions: go to the Paris morgue to receive secret evidence and then return to Virginia to carry out a mission. It is a mission that could ruin her career. In a story which crosses international borders, BLACK NOTICE puts Dr Kay Scarpetta directly in harm's way and places her and those she holds dear at mortal risk.
441 pages, Paperback
First published August 2, 1999
About the author
Patricia Cornwell
328 books17.9k followersPatricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, in 1990 while working as a computer analyst at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. Postmortem, was the first bona fide forensic thriller. It paved the way for an explosion of entertainment featuring in all things forensic across film, television and literature.
Postmortem would go on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure prize – the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. To date, Cornwell’s books have sold some 100 million copies in thirty-six languages in over 120 countries. She’s authored twenty-nine New York Times bestsellers.
Patricia’s novels center primarily on medical examiner Kay Scarpetta along with her tech-savvy niece Lucy and fellow investigator Pete Marino. Celebrating 25 years, these characters have grown into an international phenomenon, winning Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development.
Fox 2000 bought the rights to Kay Scarpetta. Working with producer Liz Friedman, Marvel’s Jessica Jones and fellow Marvel EP and Twilight Saga scribe Melissa Rosenberg to develop the film and find Scarpetta a home on the big screen.
After earning her degree in English from Davidson College in 1979, she began working at the Charlotte Observer.
Cornwell received widespread attention and praise for her series of articles on prostitution and crime in downtown Charlotte. From the Charlotte Observer, Cornwell moved to a job with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia – a post she would later bestow upon the fictional Kay Scarpetta.
When not writing from her Boston home, Patricia tirelessly researches cutting-edge forensic technologies to include in her work. Her interests span outside the literary: Patricia co-founded of the Conservation Scientist Chair at the Harvard University Art Museums. She appears as a forensic consultant on CNN and serves as a member of Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital’s National Council, where she advocates for psychiatric research. She’s helped fund the ICU at Cornell’s Animal Hospital, the scientific study of a Confederate submarine, the archaeological excavation of Jamestown, and a variety of law enforcement charities. Patricia is also committed to
funding scholarships and literacy programs. Her advice to aspiring authors: “Start writing. And don’t take no for an answer.”
Social and Digital Outlets
http://www.patriciacornwell.com
https://www.facebook.com/patricia.cor...
https://twitter.com/1pcornwell
https://instagram.com/1pcornwell/
Other areas of expertise & interests
Forensics | Forensic Technologies | Ballistics | Weapons | Explosives | Pathology & Autopsies | Crime | Historical and Unsolved Criminal Cases | Jack The Ripper | Helicopter Piloting | Suba Diving | Archaeological Excavation Experience |
Postmortem would go on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure prize – the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. To date, Cornwell’s books have sold some 100 million copies in thirty-six languages in over 120 countries. She’s authored twenty-nine New York Times bestsellers.
Patricia’s novels center primarily on medical examiner Kay Scarpetta along with her tech-savvy niece Lucy and fellow investigator Pete Marino. Celebrating 25 years, these characters have grown into an international phenomenon, winning Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development.
Fox 2000 bought the rights to Kay Scarpetta. Working with producer Liz Friedman, Marvel’s Jessica Jones and fellow Marvel EP and Twilight Saga scribe Melissa Rosenberg to develop the film and find Scarpetta a home on the big screen.
After earning her degree in English from Davidson College in 1979, she began working at the Charlotte Observer.
Cornwell received widespread attention and praise for her series of articles on prostitution and crime in downtown Charlotte. From the Charlotte Observer, Cornwell moved to a job with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia – a post she would later bestow upon the fictional Kay Scarpetta.
When not writing from her Boston home, Patricia tirelessly researches cutting-edge forensic technologies to include in her work. Her interests span outside the literary: Patricia co-founded of the Conservation Scientist Chair at the Harvard University Art Museums. She appears as a forensic consultant on CNN and serves as a member of Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital’s National Council, where she advocates for psychiatric research. She’s helped fund the ICU at Cornell’s Animal Hospital, the scientific study of a Confederate submarine, the archaeological excavation of Jamestown, and a variety of law enforcement charities. Patricia is also committed to
funding scholarships and literacy programs. Her advice to aspiring authors: “Start writing. And don’t take no for an answer.”
Social and Digital Outlets
http://www.patriciacornwell.com
https://www.facebook.com/patricia.cor...
https://twitter.com/1pcornwell
https://instagram.com/1pcornwell/
Other areas of expertise & interests
Forensics | Forensic Technologies | Ballistics | Weapons | Explosives | Pathology & Autopsies | Crime | Historical and Unsolved Criminal Cases | Jack The Ripper | Helicopter Piloting | Suba Diving | Archaeological Excavation Experience |
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 945 reviews
December 15, 2023
Just an episode.
Dr. Kay Scarpetta, obsessionally dedicates all her energies to her work as Chief Medical Examiner, without any kind of respite. Anything to keep her mind off the recent loss of Benton Wesley. Her so called life taking a turn when a deceased body arrives to the city in a sealed container from overseas, with highly mysterious implications. On another front, a shadowy figure relentlessly sabotaging and undermining her work in an attempt to get her fired. Scarpetta will have to desperately fight to keep her life together, and her career.
Well, this is what happens when you pick your first Reader’s Digest collection in a used bookstore and, after finishing it, realize it is not a novella as you initially thought, but #10 in a long running series of 27 books (so far!).
I suppose this can be read as a standalone, although I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m guessing everything I take as backstory here is actually significantly important events that happened in previous books, and the many characters involved, a cast that has come a long way since the beginning of the series, like Scarpetta, Lucy, Jo, Rose, and Marino, among others. Everything that transpires within this book should feel significant for someone already familiar with the series, but as a first timer for me felt rather unimpactful. Liked Scarpetta and Marino some, but not enough to grow on me. The beginning and middle were good, the ending sadly felt extremely abrupt, tying the bow in just the last two pages; and though it didn’t end in a cliffhanger, it didn’t really tie anything for me, or provided some good measure of closure. It didn’t feel like an ending to a book, but rather as an ending to a weekly tv show.
To my great disappointment this was actually good overall, so now my ever completionist brain is already bugging me to work my way up from the beginning. So with the best intentions at heart, I’m gonna do my best to try to forget I ever read this, and that I already downloaded the first three volumes, and possibly save myself from reading thirty books of a series I never asked to start. I can do it. I know I can!
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1999] [441p] [Crime] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Sólo un episodio.
La Dra. Kay Scarpetta obsesionadamente dedica todas sus energías a su trabajo como Jefa de Médica Forense, sin ningún tipo de respiro. Cualquier cosa para alejar su mente de la reciente pérdida de Benton Wesley. Su llamada vida teniendo un giro cuando el cuerpo de un muerto llega a la ciudad en un contenedor sellado desde el extranjero, con altamente misteriosas implicaciones. En otro frente, una figura entre las sombras incansablemente saboteando y socavando su trabajo con la intención de que la despidan. Scarpetta deberá desesperadamente luchar para salvar su vida, y su carrera.
Bueno, esto es lo que pasa cuando elegís tu primera colección de Reader’s Digest en una librería de usados y, después de terminarlo, te das cuenta de que no es una novela corta como inicialmente pensabas, sino el #10 en una muy larga serie de 27 libros (¡hasta ahora!).
Supongo que esto puede ser leído como un libro solitario, aunque no lo recomendaría. Puedo adivinar que todo lo que tomo por trasfondo acá es en verdad significativamente importantes eventos que sucedieron en libros anteriores, y los muchos personajes involucrados, un elenco que recorrió un gran camino desde el inicio de la serie, como Scarpetta, Lucy, Jo, Rose, y Marino, entre otros. Todo lo que transcurre dentro de este libro se debería sentir significativo para alguien ya familiarizado con la serie, pero como primerizo para mí se sintió algo como lo contrario. Me gustaron Scarpetta y Marino algo, pero no lo suficiente como para encariñarme con ellos. El comienzo y la mitad estuvieron bien, el final lamentablemente se sintió extremadamente abrupto, sellando el pacto en tan sólo las últimas dos páginas; y aunque no termina con un gancho, tampoco realmente ató los cabos de nada para mí, o proveyó una buena medida de cierre. No se sintió como el final de un libro, sino más bien como el final de un episodio de una serie semanal de tv.
Para mi gran decepción esto estuvo dentro de todo bien, así que ahora mi siempre completante cerebro ya me está molestando para trabajar mi camino desde el comienzo. Así que con las mejores intenciones en el corazón, voy a hacer mi mejor esfuerzo de olvidar que alguna vez leí esto, y que ya bajé los primeros tres volúmenes, y posiblemente salvarme de leer treinta libros de una serie que nunca pedí comenzar. Puedo hacerlo. ¡Sé que puedo!
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1999] [441p] [Crime] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Dr. Kay Scarpetta, obsessionally dedicates all her energies to her work as Chief Medical Examiner, without any kind of respite. Anything to keep her mind off the recent loss of Benton Wesley. Her so called life taking a turn when a deceased body arrives to the city in a sealed container from overseas, with highly mysterious implications. On another front, a shadowy figure relentlessly sabotaging and undermining her work in an attempt to get her fired. Scarpetta will have to desperately fight to keep her life together, and her career.
Well, this is what happens when you pick your first Reader’s Digest collection in a used bookstore and, after finishing it, realize it is not a novella as you initially thought, but #10 in a long running series of 27 books (so far!).
I suppose this can be read as a standalone, although I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m guessing everything I take as backstory here is actually significantly important events that happened in previous books, and the many characters involved, a cast that has come a long way since the beginning of the series, like Scarpetta, Lucy, Jo, Rose, and Marino, among others. Everything that transpires within this book should feel significant for someone already familiar with the series, but as a first timer for me felt rather unimpactful. Liked Scarpetta and Marino some, but not enough to grow on me. The beginning and middle were good, the ending sadly felt extremely abrupt, tying the bow in just the last two pages; and though it didn’t end in a cliffhanger, it didn’t really tie anything for me, or provided some good measure of closure. It didn’t feel like an ending to a book, but rather as an ending to a weekly tv show.
To my great disappointment this was actually good overall, so now my ever completionist brain is already bugging me to work my way up from the beginning. So with the best intentions at heart, I’m gonna do my best to try to forget I ever read this, and that I already downloaded the first three volumes, and possibly save myself from reading thirty books of a series I never asked to start. I can do it. I know I can!
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1999] [441p] [Crime] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Sólo un episodio.
La Dra. Kay Scarpetta obsesionadamente dedica todas sus energías a su trabajo como Jefa de Médica Forense, sin ningún tipo de respiro. Cualquier cosa para alejar su mente de la reciente pérdida de Benton Wesley. Su llamada vida teniendo un giro cuando el cuerpo de un muerto llega a la ciudad en un contenedor sellado desde el extranjero, con altamente misteriosas implicaciones. En otro frente, una figura entre las sombras incansablemente saboteando y socavando su trabajo con la intención de que la despidan. Scarpetta deberá desesperadamente luchar para salvar su vida, y su carrera.
Bueno, esto es lo que pasa cuando elegís tu primera colección de Reader’s Digest en una librería de usados y, después de terminarlo, te das cuenta de que no es una novela corta como inicialmente pensabas, sino el #10 en una muy larga serie de 27 libros (¡hasta ahora!).
Supongo que esto puede ser leído como un libro solitario, aunque no lo recomendaría. Puedo adivinar que todo lo que tomo por trasfondo acá es en verdad significativamente importantes eventos que sucedieron en libros anteriores, y los muchos personajes involucrados, un elenco que recorrió un gran camino desde el inicio de la serie, como Scarpetta, Lucy, Jo, Rose, y Marino, entre otros. Todo lo que transcurre dentro de este libro se debería sentir significativo para alguien ya familiarizado con la serie, pero como primerizo para mí se sintió algo como lo contrario. Me gustaron Scarpetta y Marino algo, pero no lo suficiente como para encariñarme con ellos. El comienzo y la mitad estuvieron bien, el final lamentablemente se sintió extremadamente abrupto, sellando el pacto en tan sólo las últimas dos páginas; y aunque no termina con un gancho, tampoco realmente ató los cabos de nada para mí, o proveyó una buena medida de cierre. No se sintió como el final de un libro, sino más bien como el final de un episodio de una serie semanal de tv.
Para mi gran decepción esto estuvo dentro de todo bien, así que ahora mi siempre completante cerebro ya me está molestando para trabajar mi camino desde el comienzo. Así que con las mejores intenciones en el corazón, voy a hacer mi mejor esfuerzo de olvidar que alguna vez leí esto, y que ya bajé los primeros tres volúmenes, y posiblemente salvarme de leer treinta libros de una serie que nunca pedí comenzar. Puedo hacerlo. ¡Sé que puedo!
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1999] [441p] [Crime] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
April 29, 2023
Book Review
3.5 of 5 stars (rounded up due to the topic in the book) for Black Notice, the 10th book in the "Kay Scarpetta" thriller and suspense series, written in 1999 by Patricia Cornwell. For me, this was a transitional book in the series, not so much from good to bad, but in the terms of who Kay Scarpetta is and what happens with the people in her life. If you are still reading the series, or think you will, don't read the next few lines... then skip ahead to the next paragraph where it will be spoiler free. *** SPOILER *** Kay has lost Benton... and she needs to re-evaluate her life. Knowing what happens later in the books, and thinking about what we learn in this one and the previous one, I really questioned what Cornwell was doing in the series... and if it was just too many directional changes *** SPOILER END ***
So... the best part about this book is that there is the possibility of a werewolf. No... Cornwell didn't delve into fantasy, but there is a disease that could make someone look like a werewolf and that's where we go in this installment. Rather than cover the actual details of the story... think about the amount of effort and work Cornwell had to put into this book in order to write this story. It's highly focused on extreme medical conditions, takes you across the continent, involves shipping procedures, politics, FBI investigations. This is not a normal everyday writer's story... Cornwell may have a few downs in some of her books, but you can never question her ability to write a good story and to put the effort into surprising her fans. She excels in this area, and this book is one of those reasons for me. You don't want to stop turning the pages and will end up reading it in one rather long sitting, just to understand what this werewolf thing is all about!
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
3.5 of 5 stars (rounded up due to the topic in the book) for Black Notice, the 10th book in the "Kay Scarpetta" thriller and suspense series, written in 1999 by Patricia Cornwell. For me, this was a transitional book in the series, not so much from good to bad, but in the terms of who Kay Scarpetta is and what happens with the people in her life. If you are still reading the series, or think you will, don't read the next few lines... then skip ahead to the next paragraph where it will be spoiler free. *** SPOILER *** Kay has lost Benton... and she needs to re-evaluate her life. Knowing what happens later in the books, and thinking about what we learn in this one and the previous one, I really questioned what Cornwell was doing in the series... and if it was just too many directional changes *** SPOILER END ***
So... the best part about this book is that there is the possibility of a werewolf. No... Cornwell didn't delve into fantasy, but there is a disease that could make someone look like a werewolf and that's where we go in this installment. Rather than cover the actual details of the story... think about the amount of effort and work Cornwell had to put into this book in order to write this story. It's highly focused on extreme medical conditions, takes you across the continent, involves shipping procedures, politics, FBI investigations. This is not a normal everyday writer's story... Cornwell may have a few downs in some of her books, but you can never question her ability to write a good story and to put the effort into surprising her fans. She excels in this area, and this book is one of those reasons for me. You don't want to stop turning the pages and will end up reading it in one rather long sitting, just to understand what this werewolf thing is all about!
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
May 13, 2014
If you ever want a prime example of a book series that has taken a sharp nosedive in quality, this is the one.
Kay Scarpetta is the chief coroner for some place, somewhere in Virginia and consequently sees her share of unusual murders that need to be solved. The early books were clever variations on the procedural genre and are entertaining reading. Then things went south.
Shifts in narrative, from first person to third person, from book to book, didn’t work and were jarring. She stretched plotlines and subplot lines over books and then wrapped them up in the most head scratching perfunctory way.
Her niece was ten when she was first introduced in the series and Scarpetta was in her early fifties. As her niece ages into her late twenties, Scarpetta pulls a Benjamin Button (or Dorian Gray) and now seemingly ages backward or not at all.
At least Agatha Christie aged her characters normally. If she were alive, I’m sure she would bitch slap Patricia Cornwell.
The one positive constant throughout the books is the character of Marino, a police officer who is mixture of a drunken circus bear, Archie Bunker and Columbo. This guy is about as un-PC as a character can get and breathes a little corrosive energy into the stale air of the later series.
This particular book is an odd one (a wolf like guy kills people) and the storyline will get stretched over several books like your Christmas sweater. You can stretch it out, but it looks like crap when you actually wear it.
Sadly, I bought a box of books at a library sale and threw in several Scarpetta books. They now clutter my shelves.
Kay Scarpetta is the chief coroner for some place, somewhere in Virginia and consequently sees her share of unusual murders that need to be solved. The early books were clever variations on the procedural genre and are entertaining reading. Then things went south.
Shifts in narrative, from first person to third person, from book to book, didn’t work and were jarring. She stretched plotlines and subplot lines over books and then wrapped them up in the most head scratching perfunctory way.
Her niece was ten when she was first introduced in the series and Scarpetta was in her early fifties. As her niece ages into her late twenties, Scarpetta pulls a Benjamin Button (or Dorian Gray) and now seemingly ages backward or not at all.
At least Agatha Christie aged her characters normally. If she were alive, I’m sure she would bitch slap Patricia Cornwell.
The one positive constant throughout the books is the character of Marino, a police officer who is mixture of a drunken circus bear, Archie Bunker and Columbo. This guy is about as un-PC as a character can get and breathes a little corrosive energy into the stale air of the later series.
This particular book is an odd one (a wolf like guy kills people) and the storyline will get stretched over several books like your Christmas sweater. You can stretch it out, but it looks like crap when you actually wear it.
Sadly, I bought a box of books at a library sale and threw in several Scarpetta books. They now clutter my shelves.
August 16, 2008
The best thing about Black Notice are the many white pages between the short chapters. My copy doesn't even have any contents or a blurb, just the author's picture covering the back, underlining that she's sold as a must to a certain group of people I guess.
As predicted, now that Cornwell "killed" off Benton, he's suddenly much more beloved and gets more space. Kay is exactly the same, but her frequent crying and "feeling depressed" is now attributed to his loss (I will never ever buy another so I skimmed wikipedia with one eye - I'll never get to see his resurrection and omg engagement). Lucy is exactly the same, ie. not really there except in illogical bits of annoying-her-aunt (her relationship with Marino would have been the only interesting one but, as usual, off-screen).
All conversations are monologues of people talking apart from each other, which sadly does not seem to be an intentianal post-p-p-modern statement since Cornwell has never managed dialogue, though if she enhances her incompetences to make them work for her, I guess one has to give her cudos, just don't think the target audience (see above) even recognises that.
Everyone is out to harrass and hurt dear Kay, as usual, until in the end she calls in a few favours of her thousands of powerful friends that come out of nowhere, just like the many luxury items she buys in some limbo time. I've tried hard to stop rereading paragraphs to make sense of mistakes, not just in missing sentences or information, but also in contradicting descriptions of place, all the more annoying because detailing every move always made up most of Cornwell's novels. She still phones up a French restaurant owner at home instead of googling a word, so it's no surprise she skips over to Europe for a bit again.
The weird erroneous lecturing this time was about tattoos, where she tries to make a respectable parlor sound like a depraved dark den of perversion, and even then the tattooist comes across as sensible. As with e-mail, remember that in 1999 tattoos were at their new mainstream height, with every little girl and every run of the mill secretary having one, yet here this renowned crime author says it's only for criminals and gangs.
The title is once again misleading and a wasted opportunity, the Black Notice that interpol uses for unknown victims seems as irrelevant as loup-garou. Instead Cornwell spends the whole first half of the book, at least 200 pages, to rehash how many envious bad people under Kay make her life difficult. In the first novel, the backstabbing and politics were just awfully realistic, later they became grating, the pervasive bitterness that is suffered for too long and then always finally handled with a friend in a high place, unsatisfactory in both respects. Now it's another set-piece she pointlessly repeats, and of Kay's employees bound to be traitors or victims or both.
There is more oh-godding and yay-death-penalty, but again, just an escalation of her norm. Added up, I think she must do some political free lancing since she doesn't do regular work otherwise yet harps on and on about success-less people undermining the great.
The funniest line of the book was when she shouts (again) that she just doesn't cry, what with crying all the time.
Cornwell had so obviously seen the French films about perverted mishapen murderers shielded by their rich families that I couldn't believe she added nothing at all of herself, just subtracted, less than nothing. Interpol and all Europeans are idiots, it needs her flown in via Concorde (with the usual useless and unexplained Marino) to stipulate what I thought had been obvious from chapter one, ie. that the straight human hair found on the scenes signed by "werewolf" were obviously body hair. Duh?
The second to last incredulous laugh escaped me when she fucks the stunningly beautiful rich young ATF guy with the sculpted body who finds her so beautiful, sucks on her big breasts and is helpless in the face of her sexual expertise. She just uses him, but after telling him to leave her alone she then pines for his sexual expertise (yeah, what?) and then he moves to the USA.
The last laugh was when she of course lets the killer into her house again. Sadly they never succeed. The end.
As predicted, now that Cornwell "killed" off Benton, he's suddenly much more beloved and gets more space. Kay is exactly the same, but her frequent crying and "feeling depressed" is now attributed to his loss (I will never ever buy another so I skimmed wikipedia with one eye - I'll never get to see his resurrection and omg engagement). Lucy is exactly the same, ie. not really there except in illogical bits of annoying-her-aunt (her relationship with Marino would have been the only interesting one but, as usual, off-screen).
All conversations are monologues of people talking apart from each other, which sadly does not seem to be an intentianal post-p-p-modern statement since Cornwell has never managed dialogue, though if she enhances her incompetences to make them work for her, I guess one has to give her cudos, just don't think the target audience (see above) even recognises that.
Everyone is out to harrass and hurt dear Kay, as usual, until in the end she calls in a few favours of her thousands of powerful friends that come out of nowhere, just like the many luxury items she buys in some limbo time. I've tried hard to stop rereading paragraphs to make sense of mistakes, not just in missing sentences or information, but also in contradicting descriptions of place, all the more annoying because detailing every move always made up most of Cornwell's novels. She still phones up a French restaurant owner at home instead of googling a word, so it's no surprise she skips over to Europe for a bit again.
The weird erroneous lecturing this time was about tattoos, where she tries to make a respectable parlor sound like a depraved dark den of perversion, and even then the tattooist comes across as sensible. As with e-mail, remember that in 1999 tattoos were at their new mainstream height, with every little girl and every run of the mill secretary having one, yet here this renowned crime author says it's only for criminals and gangs.
The title is once again misleading and a wasted opportunity, the Black Notice that interpol uses for unknown victims seems as irrelevant as loup-garou. Instead Cornwell spends the whole first half of the book, at least 200 pages, to rehash how many envious bad people under Kay make her life difficult. In the first novel, the backstabbing and politics were just awfully realistic, later they became grating, the pervasive bitterness that is suffered for too long and then always finally handled with a friend in a high place, unsatisfactory in both respects. Now it's another set-piece she pointlessly repeats, and of Kay's employees bound to be traitors or victims or both.
There is more oh-godding and yay-death-penalty, but again, just an escalation of her norm. Added up, I think she must do some political free lancing since she doesn't do regular work otherwise yet harps on and on about success-less people undermining the great.
The funniest line of the book was when she shouts (again) that she just doesn't cry, what with crying all the time.
Cornwell had so obviously seen the French films about perverted mishapen murderers shielded by their rich families that I couldn't believe she added nothing at all of herself, just subtracted, less than nothing. Interpol and all Europeans are idiots, it needs her flown in via Concorde (with the usual useless and unexplained Marino) to stipulate what I thought had been obvious from chapter one, ie. that the straight human hair found on the scenes signed by "werewolf" were obviously body hair. Duh?
The second to last incredulous laugh escaped me when she fucks the stunningly beautiful rich young ATF guy with the sculpted body who finds her so beautiful, sucks on her big breasts and is helpless in the face of her sexual expertise. She just uses him, but after telling him to leave her alone she then pines for his sexual expertise (yeah, what?) and then he moves to the USA.
The last laugh was when she of course lets the killer into her house again. Sadly they never succeed. The end.
August 16, 2014
I'm starting to be disillusioned with the Scarpetta series. The characters are getting harder to like--including Kay Scarpetta herself--and the plots are just so-so. We have a bad guy, he kills a lot of people, Marino and Scarpetta go after him, Kay has a brief fling, the killer tries to kill Kay, the end.
I didn't like the abrupt ending of this book, and I didn't buy Kay's feelings for Tally. Two business meetings, a one-night stand, and a lovers' spat, and suddenly she can't get him off her mind and is desperate to find him. Yet nothing ever comes of it. It was disappointing.
I think Cornwall leaves a lot of questions unanswered, and a lot of the plot points dangling. I never did get a sense of why this killer kills--only that he does, and very violently. What happened to Chuck? What about Joe? And why does Cornwall make a smart woman like Scarpetta so dumb that she keeps letting the bad guy into her house?
This book kept my attention throughout, but when I finished it, I felt a little cheated. It just didn't all add up.
I didn't like the abrupt ending of this book, and I didn't buy Kay's feelings for Tally. Two business meetings, a one-night stand, and a lovers' spat, and suddenly she can't get him off her mind and is desperate to find him. Yet nothing ever comes of it. It was disappointing.
I think Cornwall leaves a lot of questions unanswered, and a lot of the plot points dangling. I never did get a sense of why this killer kills--only that he does, and very violently. What happened to Chuck? What about Joe? And why does Cornwall make a smart woman like Scarpetta so dumb that she keeps letting the bad guy into her house?
This book kept my attention throughout, but when I finished it, I felt a little cheated. It just didn't all add up.
February 27, 2024
Story 3.75 stars**⬆️
Audio 4 stars**
Narrator Kate Reading
Audio 4 stars**
Narrator Kate Reading
May 25, 2014
It never ceases to amaze me how Cornwell can spend four hundred pages setting up complex cases and building suspense and then blow it all in the last three pages like a case of explosive flatulence. It doesn't help that the narrative arcs of her books all follow the identical repetitive sequence of evil, evil criminals and corrupt bureaucrats gunning for the noble, studiously moral Kay Scarpetta, who spends ninety percent of the time being a complete jackass and pettish, needy judgmental harridan, only to have everyone trip over themselves to defend her at great cost to themselves. Cops, ATF agents, senators, Interpol agents, other MEs, they all feel deep and abiding affection for a cold person who has done nothing to deserve such constant and consistent emotional largesse. It's ludicrous, exhausting, and, after nine tedious iterations, boring.
October 28, 2022
Patricia Cornwell’s forensic mystery cases are my rare exception of reading thrillers but oh, the previous was violent and bleak. I dislike her serial killer arcs, taking three novels to be rid of them. Having dispensed with that arc and unexpectedly losing a good character, “Black Notice”, 1999 is a novel I wanted to get over with as well, for mourning him. Now, we move on to new mysteries and I hope, a happier Kay Scarpetta. As it is, this protagonist is too fucking morose in personality, in her home life: never mind the grimness of her job. A person in tough careers spruces up to a favourite song, or lights up before a spouse, relatives, and friends.... She was too often downcast about her niece, Lucy or lover, Benton over nothing. It is a sad state of affairs when sour, mouthy police officer, Pete, supplies the sole humour.
Putting aside my wish for a colourful character; I was impressed with the originality of the premise, which swept me to France. I proudly had the inner track over the novel on knowing what the words “Loup Garous” mean. A perplexing suspense ambiance approached the supernatural, even though we expect a medical precedent. Mysteriousness in mysteries is the tone I always hope for, even if the question to solve pertains to a crime. I was more intrigued than usual. All Patricia had to do was not dilute interest by packing in Lucy’s or Kay’s drama, nor incongruous Rambo action that fumbled the ending.
No dice. Lucy was more dour than Kay. Do you know the cheap shtick where a villain gains sanctuary access despite major precautions? I cut a star for “Give me a break!” scenarios entirely; like tripping, even though the one with a gun should have the upper hand!
Putting aside my wish for a colourful character; I was impressed with the originality of the premise, which swept me to France. I proudly had the inner track over the novel on knowing what the words “Loup Garous” mean. A perplexing suspense ambiance approached the supernatural, even though we expect a medical precedent. Mysteriousness in mysteries is the tone I always hope for, even if the question to solve pertains to a crime. I was more intrigued than usual. All Patricia had to do was not dilute interest by packing in Lucy’s or Kay’s drama, nor incongruous Rambo action that fumbled the ending.
No dice. Lucy was more dour than Kay. Do you know the cheap shtick where a villain gains sanctuary access despite major precautions? I cut a star for “Give me a break!” scenarios entirely; like tripping, even though the one with a gun should have the upper hand!
August 21, 2023
The storyline between Black Notice and The Last Precinct wasn't my favorite of what I've read in the Kay Scarpetta series so far. I gave a more thorough review for The Last Precinct. So I won't repeat it here. Let's just say I'm hoping for a better storyline in the upcoming books of the series. I'll keep reading. This storyline wasn't horrible. But I didn't find it very compelling, either.
February 28, 2023
Scarpetta on Marino:
“I thought if I did not have even a few moments away from him I might become violent.”
Same.
“I thought if I did not have even a few moments away from him I might become violent.”
Same.
November 28, 2020
Scarpetta books come in three (3) particular flavors:
1. Serial Killers Are Super-Violent, Yo.
2. Scarpetta's Co-Workers All Want to Destroy Her Career (Because She's So Awesome)
3. Scarpetta's Terrible Family & Friends
Books of the first stripe have always been the most interesting to me, so much so that it's been tolerable / interesting when they stray into the second area. While I completely understand that there's an appreciative audience for the third kind, they leave me cold: Scarpetta is a deeply unpleasant person, and so is her best friend, Pete Marino, and it turns out that the niece she raised as her own daughter is likewise terrible.
These people do not a fun time make.
This book is an equal mix of all three kinds. First it's unhappy families time, but with Scarpetta finally losing it at some of Lucy's shenanigans, then doing absolutely nothing to intervene as the shenanigans continue. Then just like clockwork, a third of the way through the book, everyone hates Scarpetta and are trying to destroy her professional reputation.
At the -- no kidding -- THREE HUNDRED PAGE MARK, we turn to serial killing.
Oy vey.
With so many competing plot elements, no one wins. Least of all the reader.
That said, with the book before this, Point of Origin, there's at least some hint that Scarpetta's starting to understand the impact of keeping her sense of moral indignation running on high, 24 / 7:
Will Scarpetta begin to grasp the impact of her belt-sander personality sometime soon? Let's stay tuned.
Because that's the kicker: as unpleasant as these characters are and as predictable as the plots go (oh, you and your unpleasant family have attracted yet another psychopath? Some might call that a clue, Kay!) there's something very easy and readable about the whole mess.
On to Book 11.
1. Serial Killers Are Super-Violent, Yo.
2. Scarpetta's Co-Workers All Want to Destroy Her Career (Because She's So Awesome)
3. Scarpetta's Terrible Family & Friends
Books of the first stripe have always been the most interesting to me, so much so that it's been tolerable / interesting when they stray into the second area. While I completely understand that there's an appreciative audience for the third kind, they leave me cold: Scarpetta is a deeply unpleasant person, and so is her best friend, Pete Marino, and it turns out that the niece she raised as her own daughter is likewise terrible.
These people do not a fun time make.
This book is an equal mix of all three kinds. First it's unhappy families time, but with Scarpetta finally losing it at some of Lucy's shenanigans, then doing absolutely nothing to intervene as the shenanigans continue. Then just like clockwork, a third of the way through the book, everyone hates Scarpetta and are trying to destroy her professional reputation.
At the -- no kidding -- THREE HUNDRED PAGE MARK, we turn to serial killing.
Oy vey.
With so many competing plot elements, no one wins. Least of all the reader.
That said, with the book before this, Point of Origin, there's at least some hint that Scarpetta's starting to understand the impact of keeping her sense of moral indignation running on high, 24 / 7:
"You're awfully straight and narrow, aren't you, Kay?" McGovern stated. "Unlike the rest of us, you never seem to use poor judgment or do anything wrong. You probably never overeat or get drunk. And to be honest, it makes the rest of us schleps feel afraid to be around you, afraid you'll look at us and disapprove."
"Good Lord, what an awful image," I exclaimed. "I hope that's not how I'm perceived."
She said nothing.
Will Scarpetta begin to grasp the impact of her belt-sander personality sometime soon? Let's stay tuned.
Because that's the kicker: as unpleasant as these characters are and as predictable as the plots go (oh, you and your unpleasant family have attracted yet another psychopath? Some might call that a clue, Kay!) there's something very easy and readable about the whole mess.
On to Book 11.
March 2, 2020
Lucy goes undercover to bring down a cartel. Scarpetta and Marino investigate the supposed decomposed corpse of a stowaway that turns out to be much more. As ever in this series the action, drama and menace from the case invades Scarpetta and co's personal lives. With a shocking antagonist and a return to some great plotting, Cornwell brings the series back to its best. 7 out of 12
December 23, 2022
My reread continues and this was a great one! If you're not reading this series you're missing out. This series has so many standout books and moments in the series in I would count this as one of them.
September 23, 2021
Definitely one of the better Scarpetta novels. A rich mix of forensic science, gruesome murders and drama drama drama. I was reminded how much I hate waiting to meet the killer until the end of the book.
In this one, Scarpetta and Merino are called to check out a container from a cargo ship. Sealed inside is a corpse wearing Armani shoes next to the words bon voyage, le loup-garou. Back at the morgue, Kay can't seem to find anything. Items from lunches to equipment to confiscated drugs have been turning up missing for days, and she suspects it's someone on her team. Merino has been busted down to street patrol thanks to new police chief Diane Bray "cleaning house." She doesn't like Merino and is suspicious of his close friendship with Scarpetta. Officer Anderson, Bray's lackey, turns up everywhere and reports back on what she finds. Killings similar to man in the shipping container start cropping up around Richmond. Kay's niece Lucy goes under cover on a DEA case in Miami, but the sting goes sideways and Lucy's girlfriend is badly hurt.
The mood of this one is decidedly maudlin, with Scarpetta grieving over the pre-novel death of His absence is constantly felt since Kay, Merino and Lucy always bring him up.
In this one, Scarpetta and Merino are called to check out a container from a cargo ship. Sealed inside is a corpse wearing Armani shoes next to the words bon voyage, le loup-garou. Back at the morgue, Kay can't seem to find anything. Items from lunches to equipment to confiscated drugs have been turning up missing for days, and she suspects it's someone on her team. Merino has been busted down to street patrol thanks to new police chief Diane Bray "cleaning house." She doesn't like Merino and is suspicious of his close friendship with Scarpetta. Officer Anderson, Bray's lackey, turns up everywhere and reports back on what she finds. Killings similar to man in the shipping container start cropping up around Richmond. Kay's niece Lucy goes under cover on a DEA case in Miami, but the sting goes sideways and Lucy's girlfriend is badly hurt.
The mood of this one is decidedly maudlin, with Scarpetta grieving over the pre-novel death of His absence is constantly felt since Kay, Merino and Lucy always bring him up.
February 7, 2009
Overall - 1/5 : Dog catching its tail !
Plot - 1/2/5 : Good start, but disappointing finish. Kay and Marino come together to solve the mystry behind a unidentified body found in a container, which leads them to France to unreveal a horrible serial killer who calls himself Le Loug Garou - The Werewolf. Kay is again put down when she choses to flirt and Lucy irritates me that i feel I have reached my limit. And the way Marino is treated shows clearly that the series has started to sink.
Writting - 4/5 : Still strong in Forsenic and pathologic details.
Heroine - 2/5 : Kay Scarpetta. She thinks she can do anything and cryout. Just wanted to say that it does not work all the time. I remember in the middle of the series, I really felt for her. Now she has really turned into some stranger to me.
Villan - 1/5 : Chandonne - loup-garou - Poor fellow.
Description - 4/5 : Detailed description of each and every event.
Violence - 5/5 : what else did you expect !
Romance - 1/5 : I start to think does a women really need to be this of a kind.
Philosophy - 0/5 : Nothing useful.
Art - 1/5 : Nothing useful.
History - 0/5 : None
References - 2/5 : Nothing useful.
Humour - 1/5 : None.
Dialogues - 3/5 : Saves the day.
Characters - 3/5 : No new one, just turning good to bad and bad to worse, and if that is called a twist, I do not accept.
Positive - Interesting to see Kay moving forward always.
Negative - Really do not understand, why there is so many thing going on and are connected, but has not been well climaxed. At points, you feel like the scenes are rushed and should be finished as its already 300 pages and we have hit nothing.
Comments : Needs some good solid characters, some new and comical ones then and there, just to bring down the very dark atmosphere !
What I learned from this book : Watchout for Loup-Garou, no one knows what happened (including himslef) !
Plot - 1/2/5 : Good start, but disappointing finish. Kay and Marino come together to solve the mystry behind a unidentified body found in a container, which leads them to France to unreveal a horrible serial killer who calls himself Le Loug Garou - The Werewolf. Kay is again put down when she choses to flirt and Lucy irritates me that i feel I have reached my limit. And the way Marino is treated shows clearly that the series has started to sink.
Writting - 4/5 : Still strong in Forsenic and pathologic details.
Heroine - 2/5 : Kay Scarpetta. She thinks she can do anything and cryout. Just wanted to say that it does not work all the time. I remember in the middle of the series, I really felt for her. Now she has really turned into some stranger to me.
Villan - 1/5 : Chandonne - loup-garou - Poor fellow.
Description - 4/5 : Detailed description of each and every event.
Violence - 5/5 : what else did you expect !
Romance - 1/5 : I start to think does a women really need to be this of a kind.
Philosophy - 0/5 : Nothing useful.
Art - 1/5 : Nothing useful.
History - 0/5 : None
References - 2/5 : Nothing useful.
Humour - 1/5 : None.
Dialogues - 3/5 : Saves the day.
Characters - 3/5 : No new one, just turning good to bad and bad to worse, and if that is called a twist, I do not accept.
Positive - Interesting to see Kay moving forward always.
Negative - Really do not understand, why there is so many thing going on and are connected, but has not been well climaxed. At points, you feel like the scenes are rushed and should be finished as its already 300 pages and we have hit nothing.
Comments : Needs some good solid characters, some new and comical ones then and there, just to bring down the very dark atmosphere !
What I learned from this book : Watchout for Loup-Garou, no one knows what happened (including himslef) !
May 3, 2015
Even a fortress can't protect the stupid.
1) Learn how the murderer approaches the victims.
2) Conveniently ignore all common sense.
3) ???
4) Might as well fire half of detective division and simply keep watch on Scarpetta. Every major criminal ends up near her sooner or later.
Not marking this as spoiler because every Scarpetta book ends this way. This one is just more blatant and even more stupid than usual. It never ceases to amaze me how Cornwell spends time and effort on establishing a bizarre, intriguing case, then buries everything under Scarpetta's boring monologue and increasing soap-opera-like drama, and cuts to an abrupt ending in the last ten pages that almost never is a result of the characters' investigative effort.
1) Learn how the murderer approaches the victims.
2) Conveniently ignore all common sense.
3) ???
4) Might as well fire half of detective division and simply keep watch on Scarpetta. Every major criminal ends up near her sooner or later.
Not marking this as spoiler because every Scarpetta book ends this way. This one is just more blatant and even more stupid than usual. It never ceases to amaze me how Cornwell spends time and effort on establishing a bizarre, intriguing case, then buries everything under Scarpetta's boring monologue and increasing soap-opera-like drama, and cuts to an abrupt ending in the last ten pages that almost never is a result of the characters' investigative effort.
September 9, 2014
Kay Scarpetta has not handled Benton Wesley’s death well. She has worked herself into the ground. She has distanced herself from her friends and employees. She has even started smoking again. She is mired in guilt and regret over every unkind word she ever spoke to Benton. No, Kay Scarpetta is not handling her grief well at all.
Now, just before the second Christmas since Benton’s death, Senator Frank Lord, one of Kay’s oldest friends and professional confederates, delivers to her a letter from Benton, a letter he left with Lord specifically for Kay in the event of his death. In that letter he asks her to remember their life and love together and believe that he is still somehow able to be aware of her and look after her. Then he asks her to metaphorically take his hand and walk with him, through memories, into her new life.
Upon reading the letter, Scarpetta loses it completely. But even as Senator Lord comforts her, he tells her that he must now distance himself as she has become a political liability to him. Lucy refuses to talk to her, not about the letter, not about anything else. Marino will not listen to her either, only talking about some decomposed body that has been found in a cargo container unloaded from a Belgian ship at Richmond’s port. So, feeling abandoned by all and in a frantic attempt to belay the emotional pain, she drives herself to the docks, ready to immerse herself in yet another case.
The body of the man in the cargo container has a note with it. This note bids farewell to “le loup-garou,” a French phrase that translates as “werewolf.” However, this cryptic note is just one of the increasingly perplexing problems that will confront Kay within the next 24 hours. First, when she arrives on scene, there are none of the typical responders present, no CSI people, no ambulance, no recovery team, no one but a lone female rookie detective with a surly attitude. Secondly, when Marino arrives at the scene, Kay learns that he is no longer a homicide detective and has been reassigned as a night shift watch commander and, thus, shouldn’t be there at all.
Thirdly, the four-months new Deputy Chief, Diane Bray, arrives on scene, oozing power, seduction and entitlement with every step, the epitome of sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace. Bray makes it clear to Kay that she is responsible for the new protocols at the crime scene and that she has deliberately reassigned Marino so as to break up the professional relationship between Marino and Kay. And Bray goads her about Benton’s death.
Unfortunately, these situations are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Before she can finish the autopsy on “Container Man,” Kay discovers that her grief-driven blinders have hidden from her several very serious problems that have occurred over the last few weeks in her own office. One is the almost daily theft of everything from cell phones to paper clips from the more open areas of the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Secondly, someone has hijacked Kay’s online account information and is posing as her on an Internet medical advice website. The “advice” being disseminated is sarcastic in tone and marginal in truth. And it has become an embarrassment to her employees and her superiors.
Thirdly, someone has hijacked her office email account and is sending directives to both her employees and her superiors, directives clearly designed to get her in trouble with the media, with the public and with her bosses.
When the murder of a convenience store operator takes place shortly after finding Container Man and the crime scene contains trace evidence identical to that recovered in the cargo container, Kay fears that an international serial killer is at large in Richmond. But, more immediately troubling, she finds that Bray has ordered the CSI team to begin processing the clerk’s body prior to the arrival of a medical examiner.
This action on Bray’s part is actually illegal according to Virginia state law and makes any evidence obtained from the body now inadmissible in court. When Kay informs Bray that the State Prosecutor’s Office will take a very dim view of her illegal actions, the gauntlet is thrown and we know that only one of the two will survive – professionally, personally or both.
While the mystery that is Container Man is both convoluted and medially unique, it is only the vehicle by which the real purpose for this novel is transported. The true focus appears to be the grief and the guilt over Benton’s death that is slowly destroying Kay, Marino and Lucy at their very cores. In this novel, Benton’s death suffuses every page. In fact, the first two pages of the book are so emotionally charged that tears would fail to flow from someone only if they were truly made of stone.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOLLOW:
For the third book in a row, Cornwell intimates that Benton’s death would be more accurately described with quotation marks around the word, that something is seriously amiss despite the autopsy report. While the behavioral symptoms expressed by Kay are primarily those of grief, the behaviors exhibited by Marino and Lucy are more exactly attributed to guilt, to the keeping of secrets. And those secrets are eating them alive.
Everyone who has read “Point of Origin” knows that both Marino and Lucy disappeared for the entire day on which the remnants of Benton’s “body” were found. Every reader knows that Benton deliberately avoided Kay before all three went off the grid.
Now, go back to the first page and read Benton’s letter again, particularly the last few paragraphs. Then go back and read the scene between Marino and Kay in the hotel room in France when Marino brings up the very idea that Benton could be alive, that a cover-up could be in place, that she needs to study the autopsy report for “errors.”
Maybe the letter was written several years ago. Maybe Marino is really trying to help Kay get over her grief by using a type of reverse psychology on her. Maybe Lucy is genuine when she repeatedly tells Kay that she needs to find someone else. But with all this “advice” coming back to back now, after more than a year has passed without any such encouragement, I tend to think Cornwell has written a case of “Methinks thou dost protest too much.”
Now, just before the second Christmas since Benton’s death, Senator Frank Lord, one of Kay’s oldest friends and professional confederates, delivers to her a letter from Benton, a letter he left with Lord specifically for Kay in the event of his death. In that letter he asks her to remember their life and love together and believe that he is still somehow able to be aware of her and look after her. Then he asks her to metaphorically take his hand and walk with him, through memories, into her new life.
Upon reading the letter, Scarpetta loses it completely. But even as Senator Lord comforts her, he tells her that he must now distance himself as she has become a political liability to him. Lucy refuses to talk to her, not about the letter, not about anything else. Marino will not listen to her either, only talking about some decomposed body that has been found in a cargo container unloaded from a Belgian ship at Richmond’s port. So, feeling abandoned by all and in a frantic attempt to belay the emotional pain, she drives herself to the docks, ready to immerse herself in yet another case.
The body of the man in the cargo container has a note with it. This note bids farewell to “le loup-garou,” a French phrase that translates as “werewolf.” However, this cryptic note is just one of the increasingly perplexing problems that will confront Kay within the next 24 hours. First, when she arrives on scene, there are none of the typical responders present, no CSI people, no ambulance, no recovery team, no one but a lone female rookie detective with a surly attitude. Secondly, when Marino arrives at the scene, Kay learns that he is no longer a homicide detective and has been reassigned as a night shift watch commander and, thus, shouldn’t be there at all.
Thirdly, the four-months new Deputy Chief, Diane Bray, arrives on scene, oozing power, seduction and entitlement with every step, the epitome of sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace. Bray makes it clear to Kay that she is responsible for the new protocols at the crime scene and that she has deliberately reassigned Marino so as to break up the professional relationship between Marino and Kay. And Bray goads her about Benton’s death.
Unfortunately, these situations are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Before she can finish the autopsy on “Container Man,” Kay discovers that her grief-driven blinders have hidden from her several very serious problems that have occurred over the last few weeks in her own office. One is the almost daily theft of everything from cell phones to paper clips from the more open areas of the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Secondly, someone has hijacked Kay’s online account information and is posing as her on an Internet medical advice website. The “advice” being disseminated is sarcastic in tone and marginal in truth. And it has become an embarrassment to her employees and her superiors.
Thirdly, someone has hijacked her office email account and is sending directives to both her employees and her superiors, directives clearly designed to get her in trouble with the media, with the public and with her bosses.
When the murder of a convenience store operator takes place shortly after finding Container Man and the crime scene contains trace evidence identical to that recovered in the cargo container, Kay fears that an international serial killer is at large in Richmond. But, more immediately troubling, she finds that Bray has ordered the CSI team to begin processing the clerk’s body prior to the arrival of a medical examiner.
This action on Bray’s part is actually illegal according to Virginia state law and makes any evidence obtained from the body now inadmissible in court. When Kay informs Bray that the State Prosecutor’s Office will take a very dim view of her illegal actions, the gauntlet is thrown and we know that only one of the two will survive – professionally, personally or both.
While the mystery that is Container Man is both convoluted and medially unique, it is only the vehicle by which the real purpose for this novel is transported. The true focus appears to be the grief and the guilt over Benton’s death that is slowly destroying Kay, Marino and Lucy at their very cores. In this novel, Benton’s death suffuses every page. In fact, the first two pages of the book are so emotionally charged that tears would fail to flow from someone only if they were truly made of stone.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOLLOW:
For the third book in a row, Cornwell intimates that Benton’s death would be more accurately described with quotation marks around the word, that something is seriously amiss despite the autopsy report. While the behavioral symptoms expressed by Kay are primarily those of grief, the behaviors exhibited by Marino and Lucy are more exactly attributed to guilt, to the keeping of secrets. And those secrets are eating them alive.
Everyone who has read “Point of Origin” knows that both Marino and Lucy disappeared for the entire day on which the remnants of Benton’s “body” were found. Every reader knows that Benton deliberately avoided Kay before all three went off the grid.
Now, go back to the first page and read Benton’s letter again, particularly the last few paragraphs. Then go back and read the scene between Marino and Kay in the hotel room in France when Marino brings up the very idea that Benton could be alive, that a cover-up could be in place, that she needs to study the autopsy report for “errors.”
Maybe the letter was written several years ago. Maybe Marino is really trying to help Kay get over her grief by using a type of reverse psychology on her. Maybe Lucy is genuine when she repeatedly tells Kay that she needs to find someone else. But with all this “advice” coming back to back now, after more than a year has passed without any such encouragement, I tend to think Cornwell has written a case of “Methinks thou dost protest too much.”
August 23, 2012
My friend periodically gives me bags full of books she's read and I found this one in the last batch. It's been ages since I've read a Cornwell/Dr. Scarpetta book, just long enough for me to miss them and really enjoy this one.
The mystery in this case begins with a decomposing body found in a cargo container that docks in Richmond. The murderer's trail will lead Scarpetta and Marino to France and back again and will be very difficult to solve. Meanwhile, it has been one year since her FBI lover Benton's death and she has kept herself too busy to grieve, but suddenly a final goodbye letter from him is delivered to her, and she is forced to face up to her grief.
In another storyline, her niece Lucy hasn't found a way to grieve Benton's death either and is courting danger as she usually turns to violence to solve problems. And if that weren't enough, a sexy-looking cop with connections is taking over the police department and threatening to take over the medical examiner's office as well. Her name is Bray, and she's determined to get rid of both Marino and Scarpetta. You can imagine, if you're familiar with the character, how Marino reacts to this.
Finally, is there a new love interest for Scarpetta? Stay tuned. I had almost forgotten how caught up in this series I can get. I'm back on the Cornwell bandwagon again.
The mystery in this case begins with a decomposing body found in a cargo container that docks in Richmond. The murderer's trail will lead Scarpetta and Marino to France and back again and will be very difficult to solve. Meanwhile, it has been one year since her FBI lover Benton's death and she has kept herself too busy to grieve, but suddenly a final goodbye letter from him is delivered to her, and she is forced to face up to her grief.
In another storyline, her niece Lucy hasn't found a way to grieve Benton's death either and is courting danger as she usually turns to violence to solve problems. And if that weren't enough, a sexy-looking cop with connections is taking over the police department and threatening to take over the medical examiner's office as well. Her name is Bray, and she's determined to get rid of both Marino and Scarpetta. You can imagine, if you're familiar with the character, how Marino reacts to this.
Finally, is there a new love interest for Scarpetta? Stay tuned. I had almost forgotten how caught up in this series I can get. I'm back on the Cornwell bandwagon again.
July 6, 2023
A shipping container arriving with a dead body inside is just the start of a killing spree in Richmond, VA. What are all the fine pale hairs left on the victims? Why are they so brutally killed? How is the killer getting into their homes? Scarpetta and gang are swooped into the investigation involving interpol and ATF. Will Scarpetta be the next victim?
I enjoyed this one because I feel the writer captured the emotional turmoil that Scarpetta and the rest feel since the death of Benton Wesley and how it would affect their reactions and decisions. The storyline was interesting and captured my attention even when I would normally have not been listening to the book because of being busy with work. I do recommend this series.
I enjoyed this one because I feel the writer captured the emotional turmoil that Scarpetta and the rest feel since the death of Benton Wesley and how it would affect their reactions and decisions. The storyline was interesting and captured my attention even when I would normally have not been listening to the book because of being busy with work. I do recommend this series.
August 18, 2013
This book was exactly what I needed. Mystery.. excitement..suspense. I was sitting on the edge of my seat speculating most of the time. I didn't want to put it down. It was not boring in the least!
There is an international killer on the loose in Richmond and this killer is leaving behind some strange evidence. There are dirty cops in high places on the force. It's up to thorough Chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta and her watchdog/best friend tough detective Captain Marino to get to the bottom of things. From Richmond to Florida to Paris..Local police, FBI, ATF, Interpol this is a crime mystery not to be missed.
I haven't read a full fledged crime mystery in a long while. I needed a little excitement in my reading so I decided to jump back into this genre for a little while. I really enjoyed the suspense and the sense of constant "who done it". This is actually book #10 in the Scarpetta series and it's my first book by Patricia Cornwell. I like the fact that even though I have never read any of the previous books, I felt as though the author quickly brought me up to speed and the majority of the book was moving forward with only slight reminiscence on the past. Being that my first love is actually Historical fiction and I read that because I enjoy learning with my fiction, I was glad that I felt enlightened by the author's expertise in the field of medical examination. I learned so much about this field that I knew nothing about. So, along with everything that comes along with a crime novel, I also learned something. I also liked how the author broke up the seriousness of crime, the rawness of the examinations, the mystery of the investigation with Captain Marino's wry humor. He cracked me up on many an occasion and I think it helped attract me to this book.
Yes I do recommend to my crime, thriller and mystery readers. This is a goody. Four and a half stars because I usually save five or more for greatest books of all times. I will be going straight to the next book... NOW!
There is an international killer on the loose in Richmond and this killer is leaving behind some strange evidence. There are dirty cops in high places on the force. It's up to thorough Chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta and her watchdog/best friend tough detective Captain Marino to get to the bottom of things. From Richmond to Florida to Paris..Local police, FBI, ATF, Interpol this is a crime mystery not to be missed.
I haven't read a full fledged crime mystery in a long while. I needed a little excitement in my reading so I decided to jump back into this genre for a little while. I really enjoyed the suspense and the sense of constant "who done it". This is actually book #10 in the Scarpetta series and it's my first book by Patricia Cornwell. I like the fact that even though I have never read any of the previous books, I felt as though the author quickly brought me up to speed and the majority of the book was moving forward with only slight reminiscence on the past. Being that my first love is actually Historical fiction and I read that because I enjoy learning with my fiction, I was glad that I felt enlightened by the author's expertise in the field of medical examination. I learned so much about this field that I knew nothing about. So, along with everything that comes along with a crime novel, I also learned something. I also liked how the author broke up the seriousness of crime, the rawness of the examinations, the mystery of the investigation with Captain Marino's wry humor. He cracked me up on many an occasion and I think it helped attract me to this book.
Yes I do recommend to my crime, thriller and mystery readers. This is a goody. Four and a half stars because I usually save five or more for greatest books of all times. I will be going straight to the next book... NOW!
March 25, 2019
*GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS REVIEW TO READ JUST THE REVIEW FOR THIS NOVEL *
I'm repeating my reviews primarily for readers who haven't read Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series of novels yet.
First and foremost, this series should be read in sequence to get the most out of them as the characters are tightly connected together.
After reading book one, Post mortem, starring Kay Scarpetta & Pete Marino I was absolutely hooked and
I read them back to back as soon as the next in the series was released. It was a favorite series and I enjoyed them immensely.
*So on to this book. Once again, the premise for the storyline remains great including a surprising ending. Still, Kay Scarpetta's character continues being very depressing. Which nearly ruins the book for me.
It's my understanding that Patricia Cornwell's life in reality is not going well, though I don't know any details, but it is most certainly showing up in her novels, as well. It's really too bad because she is a brilliant writer who can spin excellent, twisty, and suspenseful novels.
I'm repeating my reviews primarily for readers who haven't read Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series of novels yet.
First and foremost, this series should be read in sequence to get the most out of them as the characters are tightly connected together.
After reading book one, Post mortem, starring Kay Scarpetta & Pete Marino I was absolutely hooked and
I read them back to back as soon as the next in the series was released. It was a favorite series and I enjoyed them immensely.
*So on to this book. Once again, the premise for the storyline remains great including a surprising ending. Still, Kay Scarpetta's character continues being very depressing. Which nearly ruins the book for me.
It's my understanding that Patricia Cornwell's life in reality is not going well, though I don't know any details, but it is most certainly showing up in her novels, as well. It's really too bad because she is a brilliant writer who can spin excellent, twisty, and suspenseful novels.
January 9, 2014
A great Scarpetta novel with an intriguing twist to leave the reader excited and curious at the same time. When a body turns up in a shipping crate, Scarpetta is called to look into what might have happened. Odd French writing on the side of the crate adds to the mystery, especially once it has been translated. Are authorities looking for a man or beast? Clues left at the scene do not help clarify this conundrum, nor does liaising with officials on either side of the Atlantic. As Scarpetta delves deeper, she must face the loss of a recent lover as well as the continued issues surrounding her niece's life and employment decisions. Will it all be too much, with a crazed maniac on the loose? How will Scarpetta piece it all together, and yet keep her sanity?
A new twist brings readers back into the fold, especially those who may begin to see Cornwell cookie-cuttering her books. This book is a great new look at the crime thriller novel and is sure to keep readers new to Scarpetta and old vets like me from getting too bored. Adding more dimension to her already developed characters and new introductions to a fresh cast, Cornwell keeps the reader intrigued in both the main plot and back stories alike.
Kudos Madam Cornwell. Another successful thriller!
A new twist brings readers back into the fold, especially those who may begin to see Cornwell cookie-cuttering her books. This book is a great new look at the crime thriller novel and is sure to keep readers new to Scarpetta and old vets like me from getting too bored. Adding more dimension to her already developed characters and new introductions to a fresh cast, Cornwell keeps the reader intrigued in both the main plot and back stories alike.
Kudos Madam Cornwell. Another successful thriller!
September 9, 2016
It's hard for me to get into books when I know what happened. Even though I read these books out of order, it still was a good read from start to finish.
There's a killer on the loose that no one seems to understand his motives. He's vicious and very destructive to his victims body. He started his murders in Paris and has now transferred his evil doings into the United States, particularly the state of Virginia. However, there's something strange about this killer. He has a rare disease called hypertrichosis; his body being fully covered with hair. At each of the crime scenes this hair has been found on the victims. One victim was able to escape his torture but can't describe his features. The things that he does to his victims leaves them unidentifiable.
Kay is still suffering from the loss of Benton but needs to pay attention to the drama in her office. Things are going missing and no one has a clue. Her office manager is being insubordinate & lackadaisical. The deputy chief of police is harassing not only Marino but has her sights on Dr. Scarpetta as well.
Lucy has turned gun happy & willing to kill every bad man she thinks she sees. Marino is balled up in knots in regards to Benton.
The book drags somewhat. I would suggest not reading them out of the sequence.
There's a killer on the loose that no one seems to understand his motives. He's vicious and very destructive to his victims body. He started his murders in Paris and has now transferred his evil doings into the United States, particularly the state of Virginia. However, there's something strange about this killer. He has a rare disease called hypertrichosis; his body being fully covered with hair. At each of the crime scenes this hair has been found on the victims. One victim was able to escape his torture but can't describe his features. The things that he does to his victims leaves them unidentifiable.
Kay is still suffering from the loss of Benton but needs to pay attention to the drama in her office. Things are going missing and no one has a clue. Her office manager is being insubordinate & lackadaisical. The deputy chief of police is harassing not only Marino but has her sights on Dr. Scarpetta as well.
Lucy has turned gun happy & willing to kill every bad man she thinks she sees. Marino is balled up in knots in regards to Benton.
The book drags somewhat. I would suggest not reading them out of the sequence.
June 23, 2022
4,25 stars - Dutch paperback
Remains were all that was left of the stowaway. He arrived in Richmond’s Deep Water Termina. The ghastly cargo of a ship from Belgium.
The decomposed body gives Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta no clues to its identit, or the cause of death. But an odd tattoo soon leads her on an international search to Interpol’s headquarters in Lyon, France and towards a confrontation with one of the most savage killers of her career.
Theor is a forensic sequences boom with authority in this book; the brief action sequences explode of the pages.
A thunderhead of disquietude hangs over this compulsively readable novel, sometimes loosing storms of suspense.
The unease arises ultimately not from the steady potential for violence, but from a more profound horror: the vulnerability of a good woman like Kay to a world beset by the corrupt, the cruel and demonic.
She could be you....
Remains were all that was left of the stowaway. He arrived in Richmond’s Deep Water Termina. The ghastly cargo of a ship from Belgium.
The decomposed body gives Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta no clues to its identit, or the cause of death. But an odd tattoo soon leads her on an international search to Interpol’s headquarters in Lyon, France and towards a confrontation with one of the most savage killers of her career.
Theor is a forensic sequences boom with authority in this book; the brief action sequences explode of the pages.
A thunderhead of disquietude hangs over this compulsively readable novel, sometimes loosing storms of suspense.
The unease arises ultimately not from the steady potential for violence, but from a more profound horror: the vulnerability of a good woman like Kay to a world beset by the corrupt, the cruel and demonic.
She could be you....
May 8, 2018
Cornwell sembra proprio che non sappia cosa farci con i suoi cattivi, che di solito muoiono (forse, spesso resuscitano) nelle ultime pagine, non parlano mai, non si spiegano, non hanno spessore.
June 16, 2009
Nophoto-f-25x33 Patricia Cornwell's books get more and more painful to read. Kay Scarpetta's friends and family angst intrude too much in this story. Police Captain has got to be the worst of his breed acting in a manner so unprofessional as to be ludicrous. And her neurotic niece acts in a way that belies her profession.
I used to just love Cornwell's books, but I have begun to think that I am watching the worst soap opera in the world. This is a shame, because the early books were so good I couldn't put them down.
I used to just love Cornwell's books, but I have begun to think that I am watching the worst soap opera in the world. This is a shame, because the early books were so good I couldn't put them down.
August 16, 2014
Filled with unnecessary chunks, irrelevant to the actual story!
Slow-paced and tiresome read!
Slow-paced and tiresome read!
June 8, 2022
Wow!
I am re reading the series and even though parts of this one were familiar, it kept me guessing. Great pacing, great story.
I am re reading the series and even though parts of this one were familiar, it kept me guessing. Great pacing, great story.
September 3, 2022
per cambiare, ci ho provato. mi interessa la scoperta dell'identità del cadavere, non le beghe politiche dei dipartimenti di polizia. amen.
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