Drivel
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Now I know this is a novel and I KNOW it's all invented, but is it vaguely realistic that the ever-perfect (more of that later) Dr Scarpetta be entirely surrounded by nutcases? Let me count: 1) Marino - lost the plot; 2) Shandy - bonkers & murderous; 3) Dr Self - bonkers; 4) Italian psychiatrist blokey - amoral in the extreme; 5) Lucius whatshisface - bonkers (why was he even in the book?); 6) Will Rambo (per-lease...) - all of the above. I'm sure there were more, but I lost count of the many, many dysfunctional characters littering this dreary read. It's enough to put anyone off visiting the deep south.
Now we move onto the good doctor herself. It's appears plain to me that Scarpetta is something of an autobiographical image of Ms Cornwell, and if that is the case, what a strange woman she must be. Scarpetta, aside from being a glorious physical specimen of a woman (must get that tongue out of my cheek...), must be the coldest, dullest, smuggest, most humourless character of all time. Always long suffering, but utterly devoid of any personality trait that might make her an attractive lead character. Her 'passionate' relationship with Benton is unconvincing and borders on the snoozeworthy, her 'surrogate-mother' relationship with bionic-Lucy is uncomfortable - the way it is taken as read that she is a better 'mom' than the girl's own useless mother always leaves a nasty taste.
I'm afraid the doc has had her day - take her out to the swamps and leave her to the alligators...
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Back on track???????
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I enjoyed the early Scarpetta thrillers but gave up reading them when the plots moved to Paris and the stories became totally absurd. Tempted by the promise that Patricia Cornwell was back on track, I decided to give this latest title a go. What a big mistake. The story was boring and poorly constructed (I had to keep looking back), the Italian link seemed pointless other than to provide the author with the chance of a visit for research purposes, & (as a psychological researcher) I found mental health bits very iffy. The only Cornwell book I will be tempted to read in the future will be one in which the nauseatingly perfect Lucy comes to a gruesome end. Is there anything this woman cannot do? Computer genius, crack shot, pilot, millionaire, etc. etc.
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From bad to worse
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I am a long time reader of Cornwell but I will buy no more.
I am but half way through this book and wonder whether I will bother to finish it or whether I should not simply let it join the pile of better books destined for the Oxfam shop.
But ought I to inflict this rubbish upon others? Perhaps not, the bin beckons. It will be at home there.
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Turgid
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Patricia Cornwell has slid a long way since she first introduced the legally trained pathologist, Kay Scarpetta, to the world. As her stories have progressed, they have introduced elements which have become increasingly fanciful, such as her niece turning out to be an ace crime-busting pilot who is also a computer genius. Successive stories have struggled to cope with Cornwell's contrivances. Finally, all credibility is lost in this tale which not even a change of narrative perspective can salvage. It is time Scarpetta was retired.
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Couldn't even finish it.
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I couldn't even finish it.
I generally like mystery novels, but it was just painful reading this book. Cornwell treats the readers like they are idiots, labouring over various points so many times I felt like shouting - 'I know, get on with it!!'. Multi-dimensional characters with problems are always interesting, but in this novel all of the characters have *too* many problems. It was ridiculous.
I would have liked to have known the ending, but it wasn't worth my time.
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