Book of the Dead (Kay Scarpetta, No 15)
by Patricia Cornwell
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Book Reviews of Book of the Dead (Kay Scarpetta, No 15)
Book Review: Losing the Loyal on this one ...
Summary: 2 Stars
So, after getting really frustrated with Trace I took a break. Predator made it seem like I missed a book or two. But I know I did not miss any. I am all for non-linear fiction when I am reading to be challenged. However, when I read to enjoy or turn off my brain (like Cornwell, Patterson, Kellerman, etc.) I don't want to have to read the author's mind. I should know how Scarpetta got to Florida in Predator.
Now, with Book of the Dead she's moved to South Carolina and the reader's world of Scapetta is upside down. The beauty of serialized mystery is you know what to expect from the characters and you can page turn with glee. With this one, not so much. It would be as if James Patterson decided Nana Mama from the Alex Cross books became a docile sweet old lady. What if Milo in Kellerman's books showed up married (to a woman) with two or three kids of his own. We'd all scratch our heads and wonder what the heck happened.
It almost seems like someone else wrote this book.
I won't get into any plot details, you can find them elsewhere. I will only say that for continuity's sake, go ahead and read it - used or from the library.
Book Review: is there no happiness in Scarpettta-land
Summary: 2 Stars
I've been following the Scarpetta crowd for years and usually enjoy their ploits, antics, brilliance, and odd personalities. When this one came out, I didn't even wait for the paperback....I had to know what happens to these larger than life characters created by a great story teller. This is the first time I've been hugely disappointed! Though longer than most of Cornwall's books, the clues were so loosely held together that I had to reread a couple of chapters to see if I could find out how she moved from one clue to the next. They seemed to be held together by spider-web threads. The link between a couple of the clues remains more of a mystery than the novel..... It was almost impossible to tell how they actually solved this one. In addition....I was hugely disappointed in the characters. I've heard it said that good writing means characters must evolve, grow as human beings. These Scarpetta characters seem to be sinking into lower and lower levels of dysfunction with every novel. Just once--mind you, just once--I'd love to see Kay or Wesley or Lucy happy! Even if it was for a few minutes. Now--is that really too much to ask?Book Review: Unfocused
Summary: 1 Stars
This novel is so out of focus that it remains but a blur in my memory. It starts out as a respectable whodunit set in Rome. But then it is about the egotistical Dr. Self. And then about Lucy's physical problems. And then about Marino and his slutty paramour. And so forth. After a few of these--who cares what happens next.
When I read the early Scarpetta books, I was fascinated. But before long Ms Cornwell introduced Lucy's sexual preferences as a theme, and I couldn't imagine why. It diluted the plot. Lucy was supposed to be a physical amazon and a super intelligent scholar, to the point that she became a boor and a bore. Lucy is not improved in this book. As for the villain, it appears that the author is in some sort of competition with James Patterson and others to see who can describe the most sadistic killer. Sorry, Ms Cornwell: Patterson has the bottom rung reserved.
The characters tend to be flat. The plot is a mess. The atmosphere, which was so good in the early novels, is clouded. That doesn't leave much. The book started well enough, and I had hopes for it, but then--gone.
Book Review: Disjointed. Poor working knowledge of a field important to the plot.
Summary: 2 Stars
This book isn't worth reading, unless maybe you've read other books in the series.
Most characters seem to be developed as psychological caricatures. I normally overlook psychological inadequacies in the books I read. In this case the plot demanded attention to psychological details. It feels like the author picked a couple psychological conditions and wrote characters based on brief summaries rather than in-depth understanding.
The plot is difficult to grasp. It feels as if the author intended to write a more complex story but ran out of time. Subplots are begun, then mysteriously unmentioned until the end of the book, where they are tidied up and closed without having contributed anything to the main plot. Many details make no logical sense.
I had to laugh when I encountered the bit specifying the language used to write some computer program or another. And the description of a computer with 64 gigabytes of RAM, housed within a 6u case, has me wondering what Lucy uses such a beast for.
Book Review: Profoundly disappointing
Summary: 1 Stars
To begin with, I have kept up with all the Kay Scarpetta books, having been intrigued with her from the beginning. After about the fifth book, I began to tire of the complicated and unsatisfying relationships she fosters, and to wonder how a character like this could maintain my interest. She couldn't. I kept reading, just because I feel like a know her a little bit, even though I began to hate her for being such a tiresome "Eeyore." Nothing ever seemed to bring her happiness or joy. She never laughed or chuckled, teased or flirted. Way too serious. I like Marino the best, the big, fat, coarse, boor that he is. He, at least, has some personality and passion. I've known people like Kay Scarpetta, and you can't be friends with them. They take themselves too seriously. They're the kind that stand to the side with their arms tucked around their midsections, protecting their guts, with a slight frown at the corners of their mouths. Cornwell keeps telling us how beautiful Kay is, but I'm not buying it anymore.