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Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:From America�??s #1 bestselling crime writers comes an extraordinary #1 New York Times bestselling Kay Scarpetta novel.Leaving behind her private forensic pathology practice in Charleston, South Carolina, Kay Scarpetta accepts an assignment in New York City, where the NYPD has asked her to examine an injured man on Bellevue Hospital�??s psychiatric prison ward. The handcuffed and chained patient, Oscar Bane, has specifically asked for her, and when she literally has her gloved hands on him, he begins to talk�??and the story he has to tell turns out to be one of the most bizarre she has ever heard. The injuries, he says, were sustained in the course of a murder . . . that he did not commit. Is Bane a criminally insane stalker who has fixed on Scarpetta? Or is his paranoid tale true, and it is he who is being spied on, followed and stalked by the actual killer? The one thing Scarpetta knows for certain is that a woman has been tortured and murdered�??and more violent deaths will follow. Gradually, an inexplicable and horrifying truth emerges: Whoever is committing the crimes knows where his prey is at all times. Is it a person, a government? And what is the connection between the victims? In the days that follow, Scarpetta; her forensic psychologist husband, Benton Wesley; and her niece, Lucy, who has recently formed her own forensic computer investigation firm in New York, will undertake a harrowing chase through cyberspace and the all-too-real streets of the city�??an odyssey that will take them at once to places they never knew, and much, much too close to home. Throughout, Cornwell delivers shocking twists and turns, and the kind of cutting-edge technology that only she can provide. Once again, she proves her exceptional ability to entertai… (more)
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First, the character of Scarpetta has somehow become an international celebrity because she does interviews on CNN. There are reported sightings of her to gossip sites. Really? C'mon. Forensic pathologists sightings are not sought after like Brad and Angelina sightings. Second, the plot revolves around a woman obsessed with interviewing Scarpetta for her thesis. Seriously?
The whole book was completely unfathomable to me. I honestly couldn't believe a word I was reading. The author needs to get back to basics and bring her characters down to a believable level.
However, I found that I knew (or guessed) the identity of the killer far too early in the book. The clues were far, far too obvious. I kept thinking that a surprise was waiting around the corner when in fact it wasn't. I also found that it was extremely hard to believe that Scarpetta would stand around explaining forensic evidence to her husband (Benton?). Give me a break! Cornwell really needs to figure out another way to get technical info to the reader besides Scarpetta supposedly informing someone around her who would obviously already know these things.
And that brings me to my biggest complaint against this book. I don't have tremendous forensic knowledge. However, the forensic component of the book felt extremely dumbed-down to me. Maybe Cornwell has run out of good ideas or maybe she thinks the general readership of her books has a low IQ, but most of this part of the book felt mundane and juvenile. I used to feel that Cornwell was clever. Scarpetta didn't come across that way for me.
And yet, this was a good "beach book." (Ironic as I read it while it snowed.) If you need a pleasant quick diversion, read it. It's a page turner, for the most part. I'm not sorry I read it.
I believe there is a genre of fiction - the airport novel. Big blatant, often embossed, covers. Relatively mindless plot and/or characters, that you don't
This, I believe, firmly fits into that category. I read it with a nasty head cold and it fitted the bill perfectly. Needless to say I won't be racing out to read more by Cornwell... until I'm next bedridden.
I have read every Kay Scarpetta book and I love her
This series started strong, seemed to lag, and is, with this installment, on its way back. The reason: Scarpetta, Wesley, Marino and Lucy are together again, using their unique talents and collective intelligence in investigating cases that are twisting and complex. Although the revelation of the killer is unexpected, there are loose ends left dangling as to his ability to move around so easily without being detected and his motivation as to Scarpetta. However, this is a very good read, and this reviewer is happy to see the old crowd back together.
Kay and Benton become involved with the murder of a young woman who has been corresponding with someone posing as Scarpetta. This is all tied in with a website which targets Kay viciously through malicious untrue gossip.
When another woman is murdered
Although you can more or less guess who the perpertrator is, it is still an edge of the seat thrill with a superb ending.
I didn't actually think the 'bizarre story' was all that bizarre. Maybe because I'm a nut myself.