Reviews

Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell

belanna2's review

2.75

This is the final nail in the coffin of the Scarpetta series...it's been a steady decline with the previous books, but Cornwell is just phoning it in at this point.

kelliemeadows's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

hmgelo02's review against another edition

2.0

I think this was the point with PC stopped writing in the first person and started writing in the third... and I hated the switch. I've been a loyal PC/ Kay Scarpetta fan ever since I picked up a copy of "Postmortem" when I was 13, but from this book on I've been really turned off by her new writing style. I keep reading them because I feel attached to the characters, but I'm starting to resent the time I spend on the newer ones.

dawn_marie's review against another edition

2.0

I generally enjoy Scarpetta stories, however, this one was very disappointing to me. It wasn't horrible or a bad read, it just wasn't very memorable - I'm not sure if it was the plot or the narrative that bothered me the most.

pziemlewicz's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

alykat_reads's review against another edition

medium-paced

2.0

For once I actually was sort of enjoying a Kay Scarpetta novel. Surprise, Benton Wesley is back from the dead! Kay is still self-centered as usual, Lucy is becoming a vigilante more and more, Marino is still head over heels for Kay for some ungodly known reason because she still treats him like shit. None of that was as bothersome during this because I was kind of lost in the plot for once. But then the ending ruined everything. I was getting nervous as I was getting to the end because I didn't see how it could wrap up. All the build up over 380 pages to have it mostly end in 5. And not even because of a cliffhanger (well, not really). Benton kills Will or whatever the attorney's name was in the cellar. Then it's casually mentioned a few paragraphs later that Jay was also killed down there. WHAT??? Literally have gone on about the shady character for like 4 books now and THAT is how you're going to close that??? COP OUT. Jail, Patricia, immediate jail. Could have been a 4 star book for me without the crappy wrapping up of things in 3 pages. Must have reached her word count and wanted to be done. Such low effort. 
And of course Jean-Baptiste is still on the loose though. Great, have to suffer through his presence in future books. This character is done, all used up. Time to move on. Marino is always so close to a heart attack but is somehow still hanging on.

ianl1963's review against another edition

1.0

I'm sure it's all down to money with author and publishers.

Reference book and cut and paste writing.

No regard to continuity on the part of author or editor, gets in the way of making money I guess.

Still quick reads and caters for masochistic traits.

felicitythereader's review against another edition

2.0

This was an epic disappointment. Not a great exemplar of the Kay Scarpetta series, sadly. Tedious and lots of characters behaving in ways that is inconsistent with the previous 11 books. Hope the next one is better.

ryanneliza's review against another edition

3.0

I really do not appreciate how jumpy the timeline of this series is, and how each major shift seems to be a random occurrence with minimal development or attention to how the characters should realistically feel. This book particularly, with the reintroduction of Benton Wesley, seems to come out of the blue. Had I read this book upon its original release and not known Wesley was still alive, I would have been significantly irritated at the nonchalance with which his reappearance is presented. Marino and Lucy knew the whole time? Yeah right. The author does not clearly explain why the false death was necessary in the first place, and Benton’s sudden history with the Chandonne family and with Jaime Berger feels like an afterthought. Also, is Lucy straight now? Why does The Last Precinct have the audacity to just assassinate Rocco Marino and shoot Jay and Bev’s boat from a helicopter? What happened to Teun McGovern? So confused.

katemc7's review against another edition

3.0

This was the first book in this series that I read and I felt a little lost throughout the book. There were some things that had happened in previous books that were mentioned but not explained and it left me a bit confused. Overall though the plot was interesting. I felt like there could have been a bit more action. There was all this build up and then it just kind of ended. Look forward to continuing the Scarpetta series.