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Old 07-23-2009, 08:12 AM
 
Location: Living near our Nation's Capitol since 2010
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I have long been a fan of Patricia Cornwell's books. I have read all of the Kay Scarpetta series and I have liked them. I just finished her recent book, Scarpetta and I was disappointed.

I felt that the author spent far too much time examining the relationships between the main characters. The usual crime investigation was lukewarm. I personally dislike the character Lucy, the niece, who is portrayed as a smart-a** at all times, and in this book she is particularly obnoxious.

Any of you read this latest book? If so, how did you feel about it?
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Old 07-23-2009, 11:01 PM
 
169 posts, read 523,547 times
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i haven't been liking the recent books... i don't even remember which ones they are anymore. i did read scarpetta as some reviews said it's a bit better than the previous few books before that, but i was still disappointed. i like her earlier books when there are more forensic details. and i don't like how the characters have changed (e.g. mario.)
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Old 07-23-2009, 11:16 PM
 
Location: Denver 'burbs
24,012 posts, read 28,330,679 times
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I'm with Ummm....While I really enjoyed the earlier books in the series - I used to read 'em like candy...I haven't liked the more recent ones. I initially liked Lucy but I agree the character has developed into one I don't really care for. Not to mention so much of both the characters and the stories have gotten waaaay "out there" for me...I'll still occasionally pick one up, hoping to like it, but....
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Old 07-24-2009, 07:59 AM
 
Location: Sugar Grove, IL
3,131 posts, read 11,607,060 times
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I read this book so long ago, it is difficult to remember all the details! I know that the author has really taken the characters through a lot of things together. The trauma of the "attack" on Kay by marino really changed the dynamics of their relationships. I think it was good to see how they all moved ahead differently and how important their group dynamics really was and how difficult it is to return to your previous "normal" after any type of trauma.
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Old 07-24-2009, 08:50 AM
 
Location: Mayberry
36,330 posts, read 15,930,222 times
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I have had a problem with the last few books, Trace and Scarpetta in particular, the last one I flew through was "Black Notice". i read them all quickly and i loved them but now, Scarpetta was slow and boring, it took forever for me to get into it.
The dynamics were definitely different with the characters and I actually wish there would have been more about those relationships.
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Old 07-24-2009, 03:17 PM
 
Location: So Ca
26,574 posts, read 26,433,288 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlightAttendant View Post
I personally dislike the character Lucy, the niece, who is portrayed as a smart-a** at all times...
Really? I've read only Postmortem, where Lucy is a little girl, and Body Farm, where she's at the U of VA doing her FBI training. So far I've enjoyed her character. (Her mother seems awful, though.) I wish I knew the order in which Cornwell wrote the books so that I could have read them in sequence. I'm now in the middle of Body of Evidence, where Lucy doesn't appear at all...at least not so far. That's too bad that Scarpetta isn't as interesting as Cornwell's other work.
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Old 07-24-2009, 08:26 PM
 
169 posts, read 523,547 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CA4Now View Post
Really? I've read only Postmortem, where Lucy is a little girl, and Body Farm, where she's at the U of VA doing her FBI training. So far I've enjoyed her character. (Her mother seems awful, though.) I wish I knew the order in which Cornwell wrote the books so that I could have read them in sequence. I'm now in the middle of Body of Evidence, where Lucy doesn't appear at all...at least not so far. That's too bad that Scarpetta isn't as interesting as Cornwell's other work.
from Patricia Cornwell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Kay Scarpetta" series - In chronological order.

# Postmortem (1990) ISBN 0-684-19141-5
# Body of Evidence (1991) ISBN 0-684-19240-3
# All That Remains (1992) ISBN 0-684-19395-7
# Cruel and Unusual (1993) ISBN 0-684-19530-5
# The Body Farm (1994) ISBN 0-684-19597-6
# From Potter's Field (1995) ISBN 0-684-19598-4
# Cause of Death (1996) ISBN 0-399-14146-4
# Unnatural Exposure (1997) ISBN 0-399-14285-1
# Point of Origin (1998) ISBN 0-399-14394-7
# Black Notice (1999) ISBN 0-399-14508-7
# The Last Precinct (2000) ISBN 0-399-14625-3
# Blow Fly (2003) ISBN 0-399-15089-7
# Trace (2004) ISBN 0-399-15219-9
# Predator (2005) ISBN 0-399-15283-0
# Book of the Dead (2007) ISBN 0-399-15393-4
# Scarpetta (2008) ISBN 0-316-73314-8
# The Scarpetta Factor (Due for release 2010)[citation
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Old 07-24-2009, 08:55 PM
 
Location: Denver 'burbs
24,012 posts, read 28,330,679 times
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Thanks Ummmm....for me, the books started losing it for me right around Black Notice....
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Old 07-24-2009, 09:05 PM
 
Location: Mayberry
36,330 posts, read 15,930,222 times
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I am trying to get the whole collection in hardback, thanks for the list, but I agree with maciesmom.
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Old 07-25-2009, 06:52 AM
 
Location: So Ca
26,574 posts, read 26,433,288 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ummm View Post
"Kay Scarpetta" series - In chronological order.
Thank you! (When I've looked inside the book covers, often the list of books is out of order.)
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