Status
Available
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Berkley (2012), Edition: Reprint, 544 pages
Description
Determined to find out what happened to her former deputy chief, Jack Fielding, murdered six months earlier, Kay Scarpetta travels to the Georgia Prison for Women, where an inmate has information not only on Fielding, but also on a string of grisly killings. The murder of an Atlanta family years ago, a young woman on death row, and the inexplicable deaths of homeless people as far away as California seem unrelated. But Scarpetta discovers connections that compel her to conclude that what she thought ended with Fielding's death and an attempt on her own life is only the beginning of something far more destructive: a terrifying terrain of conspiracy and potential terrorism on an international scale. And she is the only one who can stop it.
User reviews
LibraryThing member madamepince
Cornwell suffers from a lack of editing. Dreadful. I'm tired of the repetition (yes, we get it, Kay is a perfectionist and she oh-so-smart, and everyone is envious, blah-blah-blah) and the plot had red flags a mile wide. Yikes! Wait for the paperback. Or, better, switch to Linda Barnes who should
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be publishing more anyway. Show Less
LibraryThing member ChelleBearss
Cornwell and her Kay Scarpetta books have been some of my favorite books for many years, however the last couple books haven't been the same quality as previous books. Still enjoyable but not the same quality.
Set six months after the death of Kay's former Deputy Chief Jack Fielding Kay attends a
At almost 500 pages this is quite the chunster, but the first half of the book was quite slow with lots of detail on the background and history of the characters. Once the story actually got going it flew by.
Enjoyable but recommended only to people who have read the previous books as there is a ton of back history that will be hard to understand for anyone who has not read the rest.
Set six months after the death of Kay's former Deputy Chief Jack Fielding Kay attends a
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women's prison in Savannah, Georgia to speak with Kathleen Lawyer, a convicted sex offended who molested Jack as a youth and gave birth to his daughter and murderer Dawn. Kay is on a quest to find out the truth behind Jack's death and the details of what happened on the night that Dawn attempted to kill Kay. Determined to hear Kathleen out she attends the prison against the judgment and advice of her husband Benton, and in attending sets off a string of events that are quite possibly all connected. Kay is drawn into an investigation that comes perilously close to home.At almost 500 pages this is quite the chunster, but the first half of the book was quite slow with lots of detail on the background and history of the characters. Once the story actually got going it flew by.
Enjoyable but recommended only to people who have read the previous books as there is a ton of back history that will be hard to understand for anyone who has not read the rest.
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LibraryThing member frances24
Patricia Cornwall is now just churning them out... Her characters seem to becoming sanctimonious and just plain annoying
LibraryThing member LBM007
That the previously smart and savvy Kay Scarpetta got hoodwinked into traveling to Savannah and later took to cooking spaghetti over a Bunsen burner in her hotel room for fear that otherwise she would be poisoned makes me think it may be time to kill off the Dr. Scarpetta character. Better to stop
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a series while it is still (sort of) good than ruin it entirely by churning out books with utterly ridiculous storylines. Show Less
LibraryThing member DTChantel
I know the Scarpetta series has gotten a lot of criticism in recent years for various reasons. I too, thought some of the entries a few books back got a bit convoluted and hard to follow and a bit off-track. However, never once did I consider not reading the newest Scarpetta book. I eagerly devour
So I got to thinking, no matter what, I love this series. I love Patricia Cornwell's writing and Scarpetta's voice. This series has something that has compelled me to come back for more, without hesitation, and there are only a handful of authors who can consistently do that with me.
There are also very few who can instill such a sense of foreboding within the framework of, not exactly mundane circumstances, because let's face it, she investigates violent death, but day-to-day workday experiences. From almost the very first page of this book, I got a feeling of disquiet that steadily increased to the point of real creepiness. I just got an overall crawling feeling of impending doom and danger, and that's very hard for an author to instill and sustain.
While reading this book, I found myself, amidst my own mundane activities, randomly thinking of blood splatter across the walls, of a murderer lurking behind me, of some imminent danger about to occur. Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta books do this to me every time without fail.
If that doesn't deserve my continued devotion and a five-star rating, I don't know what does!
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each one and feel that Kay is a well-known, long-time friend, who I love to spend time with.So I got to thinking, no matter what, I love this series. I love Patricia Cornwell's writing and Scarpetta's voice. This series has something that has compelled me to come back for more, without hesitation, and there are only a handful of authors who can consistently do that with me.
There are also very few who can instill such a sense of foreboding within the framework of, not exactly mundane circumstances, because let's face it, she investigates violent death, but day-to-day workday experiences. From almost the very first page of this book, I got a feeling of disquiet that steadily increased to the point of real creepiness. I just got an overall crawling feeling of impending doom and danger, and that's very hard for an author to instill and sustain.
While reading this book, I found myself, amidst my own mundane activities, randomly thinking of blood splatter across the walls, of a murderer lurking behind me, of some imminent danger about to occur. Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta books do this to me every time without fail.
If that doesn't deserve my continued devotion and a five-star rating, I don't know what does!
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LibraryThing member delphimo
I thoroughly enjoyed this book since the medical technology was not as heavy as in past novels. I had a premonition that Lady Grimm might be mixed up in the killings, and this is partly true. Kay's feeling for Marino seems strange at times. Cornwell does an excellent job with setting and
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characters, but the plot sags a little. I enjoyed the foray into deciphering the clues in the murder of a family in Savannah. Kay starts following the clues and the photographs of the scene to determine what really happened. As usual, Cornwell slips in little clues throughout the story. This story centered mostly on Kay with very little inaction from Benton and Lucy. The interplay between Marino and Kay progresses the story, but in this book, I felt Marino was not in his usual mode. Show Less
LibraryThing member phoenixcomet
I have come to conclude that I positively hate Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta. Analytical, humorless and quite the manipulative bitch. I can't stand the way her characters have developed, going from good guys to psychos. That being said, her novels are always well-written and compelling. This
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time, Kay is looking at the death of Jack Fielding, her former deputy chief at the hand's of his love child, Dawn Kincaid. This is tied in with the Georgia Correctional Facility for Women and the murder of the Jordan family 9 years ago by a nearly retarded girl, Lola Daggette. 500 well written, tedious pages, devoid of personality. I wish she'd give this series up. Show Less
LibraryThing member hemlokgang
Okay...now that's the way I expect a Kay Scarpetta story to unfold. I like it when the focus is the team, Kay, Marino, Lucy & Benton!
LibraryThing member SalemAthenaeum
The new Kay Scarpetta novel from the world's #1 bestselling crime writer.
Determined to find out what happened to her former deputy chief, Jack Fielding, murdered six months earlier, Kay Scarpetta travels to the Georgia Prison for Women, where an inmate has information not only on Fielding, but also
Determined to find out what happened to her former deputy chief, Jack Fielding, murdered six months earlier, Kay Scarpetta travels to the Georgia Prison for Women, where an inmate has information not only on Fielding, but also
Show More
on a string of grisly killings. The murder of an Atlanta family years ago, a young woman on death row, and the inexplicable deaths of homeless people as far away as California seem unrelated. But Scarpetta discovers connections that compel her to conclude that what she thought ended with Fielding's death and an attempt on her own life is only the beginning of something far more destructive: a terrifying terrain of conspiracy and potential terrorism on an international scale. And she is the only one who can stop it. Show Less
LibraryThing member dickmanikowski
It's been a few years since the last time I read a Patricia Cornwell novel. I've always enjoyed them, but I simply haven't run into them at the library. It turns out that I've missed several of them.
Red Mist is a typical Scarpetta novel, meaning that it has an intricate plot, fleshed out
When I return it, I need to around to see which recent ones I've missed.
Red Mist is a typical Scarpetta novel, meaning that it has an intricate plot, fleshed out
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characters, and plenty of suspense. Nothing special about this one. Simply another 4-1/2 out of 5 stars.When I return it, I need to around to see which recent ones I've missed.
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LibraryThing member dekan
i just love the scarpetta series. i love the character and the intriguing story. i like the side characters as well. i always get absorbed in this particular series of patricia cornwell. this is the newest book in the series. alot happens, to entice those of you who read the series.
LibraryThing member StarrReina
Cornwell’s nineteenth Scarpetta novel and she hasn’t lost her touch.
Dr. Kay Scarpetta is as engaging now as she ever has been. Never mix business with pleasure, that’s the motto most live by, but that line is crossed in “Red Mist.” Scarpetta’s latest case is very personal, one in which
Lola Daggette is on death row for the murders of the Jordans. It’s an open and shut case, or so they say. Scarpetta doesn’t believe it and tries to find the truth, but must do so without bringing more unwanted attention to herself. In the past, Dawn Kincaid attempted to kill Scarpetta, who defended herself and for which defense she is now being ‘watched.’
A convoluted but entertaining entwining of personal issues with professional mayhem is what Cornwell pens in this distinctive narrative. It is well written and will be, I’m sure, very well read by many of her fans.
Reviewed by Starr Gardinier Reina, author of “One Major Mistake”
Dr. Kay Scarpetta is as engaging now as she ever has been. Never mix business with pleasure, that’s the motto most live by, but that line is crossed in “Red Mist.” Scarpetta’s latest case is very personal, one in which
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she herself may be investigated by the FBI. And it doesn’t matter that her husband Benton Westley is FBI. And her longtime friend and investigator Pete Marino decides he may abandon ship and go to work for Jaime, who was once a close associate of Scarpetta. It doesn’t get much more personal than that. How does Scarpetta deal with these issues and solve years-old murders at the same time?Lola Daggette is on death row for the murders of the Jordans. It’s an open and shut case, or so they say. Scarpetta doesn’t believe it and tries to find the truth, but must do so without bringing more unwanted attention to herself. In the past, Dawn Kincaid attempted to kill Scarpetta, who defended herself and for which defense she is now being ‘watched.’
A convoluted but entertaining entwining of personal issues with professional mayhem is what Cornwell pens in this distinctive narrative. It is well written and will be, I’m sure, very well read by many of her fans.
Reviewed by Starr Gardinier Reina, author of “One Major Mistake”
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LibraryThing member pierthinker
Cornwell has mastered crime fiction and has a string of successes to her name stretching back many years. Red Mist is a different book from many of her earlier novels. This is an inward looking examination of Kay Scarpetta, her past and her relationships. Set in a steamy American South the
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claustrophobia and feelings of entrapment about which you can do nothing are very strong. This is a book where not much happens but every page is loaded with meaning and foreboding for Scarpetta. Keeping the focus on Scarpetta heightens the suffocating insularity of the situation, but makes some of the key offstage activities seem dream-like and inconsequential. A fine read that I found genuinely scary without any explicit horrors. Show Less
LibraryThing member devenish
This is the first Scarpetta that I've read for some time,having been put off by sloppy writing and ridiculous plot lines.I decided to give this one a go as the story sounded rather exciting. Although it referred to things in earlier,unread books,I found it fairly easy to follow. The central premise
This is the best book by Cornwell for some time and she certainly seems to have regained the excellent style of her earlier books.
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is that prisoners awaiting execution for their terrible crimes are being killed in roughly the same way that they used themselves. The ultimate locked-room situation in fact. This is the best book by Cornwell for some time and she certainly seems to have regained the excellent style of her earlier books.
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LibraryThing member SharronA
RED MIST is a welcome return to the style and character of Patricia Cornwell's early Kay Scarpetta novels. For a few years, the author's work was bitter and all the characters seemed angry; the books were not pleasant to read. It's great to welcome "the real" Kay Scarpetta back.
Kate Burton narrated
The multiple murder mystery was well-plotted, and when the "whodunnit" was revealed, I felt that I had been given all the facts and a fair chance to figure it out along with Scarpetta.
Kate Burton narrated
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this book beautifully. She gave each character a distinctive voice without overdoing the accents...even including a brief conversation with an Australian man! A good narrator can make or break a book, and Burton is the best reader for Cornwell of several I've heard.The multiple murder mystery was well-plotted, and when the "whodunnit" was revealed, I felt that I had been given all the facts and a fair chance to figure it out along with Scarpetta.
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LibraryThing member Barbara31542
lOVE THE FORENSIC APPROACH TO CRIMES. GREAT READ.
LibraryThing member FMRox
Out of Boston, Mass on a side trip, Dr. Kay Scarpetta, medical examiner, is on a trip to a Savannah prison. She is going to meet a prisoner who was closely related to her recently dead colleague, Jack Fielding. All the usual suspects are there, Benton, Lucy, Marino. And people from the previous
I enjoy reading Cornwell novels because the plots are intellectually based. I don't mind reading in first person or present tense. The periphery characters are less annoying, but the main character is more annoying. It seems Cornwell has softened the co-stars, but in a way that seems they are developing further which can bee somewhat difficult after a long series. However, the main character seems to stagnate in her own sort comings. I hope that improves as I continue to read this series.
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novels become ire-introduced.I enjoy reading Cornwell novels because the plots are intellectually based. I don't mind reading in first person or present tense. The periphery characters are less annoying, but the main character is more annoying. It seems Cornwell has softened the co-stars, but in a way that seems they are developing further which can bee somewhat difficult after a long series. However, the main character seems to stagnate in her own sort comings. I hope that improves as I continue to read this series.
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LibraryThing member bohemiangirl35
I stopped reading the Kay Scarpetta novels for a few years and then last year read a few of them and got pissed off because the characters I loved so much have devolved into psychopathic idiots and the plots were obvious almost from page one. So why did I check this one out? I have no idea. It was
I really miss the old Kay, Benton, Marino and Lucy. I hate it that strong, smart, funny, real characters have become obtuse, whiny, one-dimensional egotists. I also miss the gritty mysteries and trying to figure out who did it. And crimes that make sense. And good writing.
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the same as the last one I read with a new title. I really miss the old Kay, Benton, Marino and Lucy. I hate it that strong, smart, funny, real characters have become obtuse, whiny, one-dimensional egotists. I also miss the gritty mysteries and trying to figure out who did it. And crimes that make sense. And good writing.
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LibraryThing member buffalogr
A good whodunit that suffers from an overdose of emotions by our geek-scientist heroine. Every where you turn, Scarpetta is emoting over this or that. The plot was engaging and the reveal at its conclusion was surprising, even though we knew, or thought we knew who was responsible. A few. Ew
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characters were introduced and maybe we will see them later: old characters continue to engage our imagination. Show Less
LibraryThing member MaureenCean
This isn't going well so far. Sometimes I wonder if listening to audio editions colors my opinion of a book when I hear in someone else's voice and inflections in stead of what I make up in my own head. My point is that Kay is coming across the way her detractors throughout the series have always
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described her. Totally wrapped up in herself and superior. I am finding it hard to care about her anymore. Hope it gets better! It's sad that I was changing the cd's in my player and think I may have skipped two of them without knowing it...anyway, it got better once they got into the real case and off the ruminations, but I still have enjoyed others of the series much better. Show Less
LibraryThing member LeslieHurd
This is the first of the Scarpetta series I didn't care for. The bulk of the first 300 pages is Scarpetta's musings and whining, with very little happing outside her head. Finally things begin to happen, but rather than leading us on the hunt with her, we're informed of multiple events and there's
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a reveal at the last moment that explains how she figured everything out. If this was her first book, I wouldn't read another. Show Less
LibraryThing member hashford
I haven’t read any of Cornwell’s previous books, nor is this a genre I read a lot of; I chose it from Amazon Vine because I hoped it would make a pleasant change. And it did.
Like other reviewers I found it slow at the start. However, the pace picked up in the middle, and it came to a
I thought the plot was well constructed and credible, and also easy to follow (I hate it when I get lost in the twists and turns and false trails some authors like to leave!). I liked the twist towards the end, which maintained interest for me.
Kay Scarpetta is a flawed person, but you have to admire her intellect and perseverance. Her relationship with Benton was a bit of a mystery to me, but I guess if I were to read other books in the series then I would learn more about her private life.
Overall, not a brilliant read, but I did find it enjoyable and entertaining.
NB: I thought the reading, by Lorelei King, was excellent.
Like other reviewers I found it slow at the start. However, the pace picked up in the middle, and it came to a
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satisfying conclusion, with an interesting little twist to the story.I thought the plot was well constructed and credible, and also easy to follow (I hate it when I get lost in the twists and turns and false trails some authors like to leave!). I liked the twist towards the end, which maintained interest for me.
Kay Scarpetta is a flawed person, but you have to admire her intellect and perseverance. Her relationship with Benton was a bit of a mystery to me, but I guess if I were to read other books in the series then I would learn more about her private life.
Overall, not a brilliant read, but I did find it enjoyable and entertaining.
NB: I thought the reading, by Lorelei King, was excellent.
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LibraryThing member Ameise1
For once I was glad that I kept the order of the series. It was important to know the history to understand this episode.
As always, it has taken me away from the beginning. Kay is lured away from Boston. For a long time she does not realize what role she really plays. For a long time, it seems that
As always, it has taken me away from the beginning. Kay is lured away from Boston. For a long time she does not realize what role she really plays. For a long time, it seems that
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her position and reputation are misused for other benefits. There are many dead in this story, all murdered by a crippling poison. Kay takes a long time to diagnose the cause and bring the loose threads of the cases together. At the same time she herself is endangered. Show Less
LibraryThing member CatherineBurkeHines
Meh. The last two Cornwell books have read, to me, like a book-length exposition and a two-page denouement. This one, at least, had some action, if brief and predictable. I'm not sure why I keep reading her.
LibraryThing member lrobe190
Determined to find out what happened to her former deputy chief, Jack Fielding, murdered six months earlier, Kay Scarpetta travels to the Georgia Prison for Women, where an inmate has information not only on Fielding, but also on a string of grisly killings. The murder of an Atlanta family years
Sometimes, I have a hard time getting into Kay Scarpetta books, but I really enjoy the forensic crime-solving, This didn't disappoint.
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ago, a young woman on death row, and the inexplicable deaths of homeless people as far away as California seem unrelated. But Scarpetta discovers connections that compel her to conclude that what she thought ended with Fielding's death and an attempt on her own life is only the beginning of something far more destructive: a terrifying terrain of conspiracy and potential terrorism on an international scale. And she is the only one who can stop it.Sometimes, I have a hard time getting into Kay Scarpetta books, but I really enjoy the forensic crime-solving, This didn't disappoint.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2011
Physical description
544 p.; 4.25 inches
ISBN
9780425250433