Book of the Dead (Kay Scarpetta, No 15)
by Patricia Cornwell
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Book Summary Information
Author: Patricia CornwellEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-02
ISBN: 042521625X
Number of pages: 528
Publisher: Berkley
Book Reviews of Book of the Dead (Kay Scarpetta, No 15)
Book Review: A Flawed Forensic Fable
Summary: 3 Stars
As a reader, I'm very fond of Dr. Kay Scarpetta, and glad to see that she's getting her new practice going in Charleston, and that she and her long-time love, forensic psychiatrist Benton Wesley, are getting at least a baby step closer to actually being together.
However, I find the writing style less appealing than in earlier books, and both the plot and the characterizations have some weaknesses. I found the use of present tense narration to be obtrusive and grating. I didn't recall experiencing this with Cornwell's earlier books, so I had to go back and look at them to see whether this was just an artifact of my faulty memory - but, no, it's not. The earlier books dip in and out of first-person narration - which was fine, as it gave us glimpses into Scarpetta's feelings and thought processes - but they were written in a much less obtrusive past tense. I recommend to Cornwell that she return to that style of writing.
The plot to this one is interesting, overall, but there are some loose ends and a few other weaknesses. I agree with reviewer frumiousb that the character Dr. Self is irritating and not very believable. As a former practicing clinical psychologist, myself, I have very strong doubts that such an obvious psychopath, with such a strong habit of manipulating her patients to their disadvantage, and even to their death, would be allowed to continue practicing, let alone become a TV pop psych star! The rest of the profession would be down on her like maggots on a rotten corpse! I don't believe that such a person could have continued to get away with such seriously anti-social, even criminal, behavior. That definitely strains credulity.
There were some tantalizing hints that were never really followed up on. For instance, one of the psychiatrists (I think it was Dr. Maroni) says that the killer very likely experienced an early trauma, long before what he thinks is the traumatic experience driving his criminal behavior. Yet, while the book repeatedly shows us the killer harking back to the death of his comrade in Iraq, this is never really linked to an early traumatic event. Somehow, a general history of being an unwanted and neglected child does not fill the bill of being an early traumatic event. I think Cornwell is better at interpreting the tale told by a corpse than the internal motivations of the living.
It's also not satisfying to have the fate of longtime character Pete Marino left completely in limbo at the end of the book. Yes, that obviously leaves an opening for the next book, but it cheats the reader of this book.
In sum, while the plot is interesting, the style of writing is more intrusive than in previous books, and the characters and plot points have some serious weaknesses.
Summary of Book of the Dead (Kay Scarpetta, No 15)
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