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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
I have missed a few books between the last Scarpetta and this one, so there are plot developments that were important in a manner, but I knew nothing about.
This aside, it was a good book, but I have read better Scarpetta novels.
This aside, it was a good book, but I have read better Scarpetta novels.
Patricia Cornwell used to write such tightly constructed mysteries. In her earlier novels, Scarpetta walked the reader through the forensic evidence so that everything fit together like a puzzle. In this book, I get the sense that the scientific evidence is thrown out there as a distraction in hopes that the reader doesn’t notice how sloppy this book is. In Red Mist, every time you turn around, someone is being murdered. Cornwell only loosely ties these murders together. Her characters figure out the mystery by taking leaps of logic that don’t really make sense if you think about them too long. As a fan of Cornwell’s, it’s deeply disappointing. If you have never read a Kay Scarpetta mystery before, please don’t start here. Start at the beginning. Body of Evidence and All That Remains are Cornwell at her best.
I have enjoyed most of her books. Some more than others. I did like the less gruesome nature of this book. I don't seem to remember as much from book to book as I once did and I am never sure if Marino is a friend or foe. This book did not develop the story line. It seemed as though the reader is just plopped into it. That being said I liked it and the ending was not predictable.
This I believe is one of the worst Scarpetta books I've read. I was truly disappointed. The ending was rushed and she tried to tie things up in the last 20 pages of the book. The story line while it made sense left much to the imagination. The characters were so undeveloped. I was truly unhappy with it.
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 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!
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!
Just not sure I can read another Scarpetta--and I used to love Cornwell's Scarpetta series. I would give this one three and a half stars--pretty good, but Cornwell seems to be struggling to find a place where she can add new regular characters to the roster, and Kay Scarpetta can find new challenges. She didn't accomplish that with this book.
The first half of the book is tediously chatty. Endless rounds of guarded, double-meaning conversations, where Kay verbally conquers a variety of foes--a female warden, a prisoner, and Jaime Berger, a character that Cornwell must enjoy writing about, but has always seemed like an overdone mirror image of Scarpetta. Tension builds. There's a death.
The second half of the book is about an old murder, a cold case that's entangled with people we met and endlessly yacked with in the first half. And the very end of the book feels tacked on, as if Cornwell wrote and wrote (with no editing) then realized she didn't have to write much more to finish the thing. So she simply ties everything up, lickety split.
Next.
Unfortunately, Cornwell's other books have been miserable. Scarpetta is her bank. But she needs to deposit some new ideas.
The first half of the book is tediously chatty. Endless rounds of guarded, double-meaning conversations, where Kay verbally conquers a variety of foes--a female warden, a prisoner, and Jaime Berger, a character that Cornwell must enjoy writing about, but has always seemed like an overdone mirror image of Scarpetta. Tension builds. There's a death.
The second half of the book is about an old murder, a cold case that's entangled with people we met and endlessly yacked with in the first half. And the very end of the book feels tacked on, as if Cornwell wrote and wrote (with no editing) then realized she didn't have to write much more to finish the thing. So she simply ties everything up, lickety split.
Next.
Unfortunately, Cornwell's other books have been miserable. Scarpetta is her bank. But she needs to deposit some new ideas.
well, this isn't as bad as her last books have been, but PC has all but decimated the fascinating characters (esp Kay Scarpetta). I just don't understand why she doesn't quit while she's ahead (or end on a semi-not horrible note). probably the same reason why i can't not read them - b/c I started with book #1 and hope that one day she'll go back to writing how she used to write...
that being said, at least this time there was somewhat of a story that was somewhat interesting. but very random how all of a sudden the story line was solved...
that being said, at least this time there was somewhat of a story that was somewhat interesting. but very random how all of a sudden the story line was solved...
I found this book to be really dull. Would not recommend to anyone and will not rush to buy another from this author. This is the 3 book I have read from her and they are all the same dull. [b:Red Mist|11057626|Red Mist (Kay Scarpetta, #19)|Patricia Cornwell|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328002409s/11057626.jpg|15978848]
This was a pretty good one, although there were some story lines that went nowhere, and I thought the ending could've had more detail.
I should probably stop reading Patricia Cornwell, which is a shame because I genuinely like her characters. Unfortunately, this Scarpetta installment is yet another in which Kay and her friends are somehow personally tied to the sociopaths doing the killing. I'm really tired of reading the plot line where Kay or someone she knows is set up for a crime, and then we get to read some twisty unbelievable cause of events that explains how these sociopaths were hell-bent on retribution.
If a book could open with Kay working in a morgue, a body comes in, and then she begins to hunt a killer, who has no connection to her or anyone she knows, that would be so refreshing. Come on Cornwell! Please! You went back to first-person narration. Can't you go back to regaling us with a good ole serial killer spooky creepy story mixed with forensic details that may make me wince, but I know will catch the bad guy/gal in the end? Please...she wimpers.
If a book could open with Kay working in a morgue, a body comes in, and then she begins to hunt a killer, who has no connection to her or anyone she knows, that would be so refreshing. Come on Cornwell! Please! You went back to first-person narration. Can't you go back to regaling us with a good ole serial killer spooky creepy story mixed with forensic details that may make me wince, but I know will catch the bad guy/gal in the end? Please...she wimpers.