A review by smusie
Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell

3.0

I liked this one . . . rather much??? That expression popped up several times throughout this book, and it always stuck out--does anyone actually say it? I don't think I've ever heard anyone say it before, and I don't think I've read it before in a book by Cornwell, or anyone else, although of course I could be wrong and have no way to check. But as it occurred again and again throughout this hefty tome, I came to realize that its very vagueness--its double vagueness, if you will--was somehow appropriate to the text. For the first Scarpetta set entirely in New York City (except a very brief prelude as Scarpetta leaves Massachusetts), there is very little New York atmosphere. The words "loft" and "penthouse" seem to stand in for any effort at giving the reader a sense of place. For variety, there's "Murray Hill" and "Tavern on the Green." Descriptions have the feeling of showing off instead of actually guiding the story along. Of course, the reason I read this kind of book is for the story, which moves along very nicely on its own, thank you very much. In that sense, it's just the same as all the Scarpettas I've read, and in fact with a more ingenious plot than most, and not as sloppy as some of them were getting for a while there. Although, I just have to say, if someone orders a scotch straight and neat, why then would she add that she wanted her drink "strong"?