Hornet's Nest

by Patricia Cornwell

1996

Status

Available

Publication

Berkley Publishing Group (1996), Edition: Reissue, 369 pages

Description

Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:Patricia Cornwell turns from forensics to police procedures in her latest novel, Hornet's Nest. This book is less a thriller than a character study of the main characters: Judy Hammer, chief of police in Charlotte, North Carolina; Hammer's deputy, Virginia West; and Andy Brazil, a young reporter assigned to ride with the police as they go about their jobs.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Crewman_Number_6

Readable, but disappointing compared to Patricia Cornwall's other works. The subplots with the main character's psychic cat and her stormy romance with a young writer detracted a lot from an otherwise interesting plot.

15 more

LibraryThing member Djupstrom

Just like all the rest of her books. No big surprises.

LibraryThing member babemuffin

A book that I absolutely could not put down! I have to admit that I've read it years ago but have completely forgotten of. Patricia Cornwell is more well known for her Scarpetta series but the characters in this book & the plot are mesmerising.

Andy Brazil is a reporter (just!) and a volunteer

copper. Virginia West is the Deputy Chief of Police. How then did they end up riding a beat together? He's young, he's built, healthy & a looker. She's 42, refused to exercise (anymore), smokes abundantly but still a very attractive woman. How are they going to relate to each other? Furthermore, what kind of relationship will they have?

Show Less

LibraryThing member jepeters333

This was an Andy Brazil (not Kay Scarpetta) mystery. Female police chief and deputy chief try to solve hourglass murders with help of newspaper reporter.

LibraryThing member Rhea1023

HUH!?! How did this book get on the bestseller list? It was choppy and sporadic; thoughts were incomplete and too busy jumping from one character and scene to another that you never got a complete image of what the author was trying to get across. Then the main character was so overly emotional and

sensitive that you just wanted to slap him. And don't get me started on the cat who was getting subliminal messages from the building and talking to its owner to pass on the important information. WOW!?! Talk about fiction.

Show Less

LibraryThing member amacmillen

Andy Brazil is working as a news paper reporter in connection with the Charlotte police department to try and solve several crimes in the city. The is a comedy of the interworkings of an all female political system.

LibraryThing member abycats

Will freely admit that the interactions in the book are highly unlikely as are the characters but weeks after putting the book down they still stay in my mind. Certainly evokes a sense of place. Will be interested to read what she does with the successors.

LibraryThing member bookwyrmm

For a suspense novel, the crime in Hornet's Nest really takes a back seat to the main characters' everyday problems. This reads more as a bad TV drama than a crime novel. Cornwell jumps between characters way too often and goes into too much depth for minor players. By the time the climax arrives,

it seems rather anti-climatic, and the deus-ex-machina ending is very abrupt.

Show Less

LibraryThing member delphimo

A relative sent me the whole collection of Patricia Cornwell, so I have quite a bit of reading. I have read the first two of the Scarpetta series, so I picked the first of the Andy Brazil series. The writing is good with vivid characters and settings. I was mildly surprised that the setting is

Charlotte, NC, until I discovered that Cornwell grew up in North Carolina and worked at The Charlotte Observer. Cornwell presents the problems and joys of Charlotte, such as prostitution and the banking monopoly. The main character, Andy Brazil, is a likeable boy-toy that appeals to both men and women. But Andy seems to revolve in a different orbit than his peers and employers. Andy is intent on writing and on finding criminals. The story ends with Andy solving the Black Widow case, but with many questions still present. I am anxious to begin the second book of the series, Southern Cross.

Show Less

LibraryThing member CloggieDownunder

I read the 3 Andy Brazil books against advice from more than one person. I wanted to see for myself if they really were that bad. I liked the Scarpetta books (although I thought that the endings of some of those books were too rushed, too contrived). The Andy Brazil books are nothing like those!

Hornet's Nest is probably the best of the three, although the characters are shallow and unconvincing and the plot is weak and implausible. There is some humour and some sexual tension which is frustrating for lack of relief. 5/10. Southern Cross degenerates from this. Ms Cornwell seems to be having fun at our expense, but the result isn't really funny or vaguely satisfying. 3/10. Isle of Dogs, well, how much lower can you go? What were you thinking, Ms Cornwell? Or what drugs were you on? This book was ridiculous! I persisted to the end of these books because I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. Not sure why I bothered. Even if one reads these as tongue-in-cheek romps through the workings of a Police Dept, the final book is hugely disappointing. 1/10. Scarpetta fans who pay full price for these books will feel angry and very much cheated. Luckily I bought mine 2nd hand. Readers whose first taste of Cornwell is one of these books will never buy another. Whatever you do, don't pay full price for these books!

Show Less

LibraryThing member sturlington

Hornet’s Nest is a sloppy mess that doesn’t at all resemble Cornwell’s more mature Kay Scarpetta novels. I wouldn’t even think that it was written by Cornwell if it didn’t contain all of her amateurish idiosyncracies that can usually be overlooked in favor of a strong story, but not here.

The story jumps from point of view to point of view without warning, sometimes within the same paragraph, getting into the brains of the most minor characters (even the cat!). The vague plot bumps and ambles along, wandering off along uninteresting side paths at the slightest provocation. The characters are emotional maelstroms, whirling from extreme to extreme at the drop of a hat. And the worst offense of all – Cornwell calls my hometown of Chapel Hill a “big city” when it is, of course, a “village.” The entire book resembles its title – a buzzing, chaotic mess, but with nothing at the center to hold it together. In fact, it reads like a first draft that Cornwell didn’t care enough about to whip into shape; unfortunately, she didn’t care enough about her readers to refrain from publishing it.

Show Less

LibraryThing member ninadangelo

Not as great as the Kay Scarpetta series but enjoyable, as it is a little different.

LibraryThing member AliceAnna

Very good, very entertaining. A good mystery, good characters and a good sense of humor.

LibraryThing member Carol420

enjoyed this departure from the Kay Scarpetta stories. The theme that persisted through this book was the inability of any of the characters to say what they were thinking. They were all so obsessed with their own feelings and images that they missed important clues as to what was going on around

them. Even the most honest and sensitive person, Andy Brazil, seemed to be lost at times in his own miserable world and incapable of admitting his feelings.
The serial killer/murder mystery was of secondary importance in this story. The real tragedy was the way intelligent, reasonably likable people completely misread each other's needs and feelings. I actually was hoping to see more of Hammer and West in future stories; as improbable as it might seem to have women in a major city occupying such authoritative positions, it was refreshing to see police work done with a degree of sensitivity.

Show Less

LibraryThing member readingover50

I picked this up thinking it would be a Kay Scarpetta mystery, and it took me a couple of chapters to figure it out. I enjoyed meeting new characters and found this book to be a refreshing change from the Scarpetta series. The characters were very complex. The budding relationship between Virginia

West and Andy Brazil was fun to watch develop. But by the end of the book, I was tired of the constant miscommunications and misunderstandings between them. I get that they are both emotionally damaged individuals, but do they have to keep thinking the other one was using them and/or ignoring them? I also didn't like the way the author kept saying that others thought the main characters were gay, when neither of the were. Is this a particular pet peeve of the author? Still, I really enjoyed this book, and want to read the next in the series. I want to find out what happens to Brazil and West.

Show Less

LibraryThing member PaulaGalvan

I started reading this book expecting a high-powered police thriller but—after a few chapters— was surprised to find it more of a hilarious satire on the entire political system in the city of Charlotte, Virginia. The main characters are hysterical. First, there’s Andy Brazil, a young,

athletic reporter who is intelligent and driven yet nieve and sulky. His sometimes partner, Deputy Chief, Virginia West, is an older woman who’s attractive, challenging, and knows how to handle herself. The two are drawn together yet always at odds. Next is Judy Hammer, the Chief of Police. She is often described as an angel by the public and is known for her fairmindedness and ability to get things done. What happens in this story is comparable to blind people stumbling around in the dark and occasionally solving crimes. Patricia Cornwell has a knack for getting into people’s heads and demonstrating their vulnerabilities. The result is very entertaining.

Show Less

Fewer