Cause of Death.
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: 2007-01-02
ISBN: 0425213382
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780425213384
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Cause of Death.
Book Review: What a Crap-Fest!
Summary: 1 Stars
Spoilers towards the end of review. I finished this book...barely. I began reading the Scarpetta series because I wanted some light summer reading, and Cornwell fits the bill: her writing is nowhere near sophisticated (try Scott Turrow or Caleb Carr for crime/mystery writing that assumes that you're an intelligent reader), but entertaining? Yes, most definitely. Her first half dozen books were great, and Temple Gault in particular was a fabulously evil villain. This book, however, takes a total and almost laughable nosedive right from the beginning. My paperback edition...which I fortunately paid only 50-cents for at a yard sale...starts with an intro by Cornwell, who proudly boasts about how she learned to scuba dive in order to convincingly write this book. So why does she then go on to write a lame story that reads like a long, constipated crap? Maybe her money and time would've been better spent re-whetting her writing skills? Her first books were fantastic...what the heck happened here?!
Now 7 books into the series, I can definitely say that somewhere along the way, Cornwell decided that her audience will love whatever she writes because hey, it's Scarpetta. Wrong. Every book is the same, with everyone conspiring to make Scarpetta look bad and cause her as much bodily harm as possible. *yawn* Lucy's total lack of human quality has been way over-played and is already bone-tired *yawn*. Scarpetta's continued wimpy relationship with Wesley *double yawn* seems totally incongruent with the toughness, ethics, and self-possession her character supposedly possesses, not to mention the stiffness and dullness with which Cornwell always writes of their amorous interactions. Only Marino remains fresh as a character, his peppery and persnickety moods the only wake-up calls the reader can periodically look forward to in an otherwise tortuous replay of Cornwell's increasingly formulaic writing.
The plot line...complete with religious fanatics and scuba diving and nuclear threats and Middle Eastern terrorists and ROBOTS, doncha know, and a convenient trip to London for two during which Scarpetta and Wesley get a shag on...is ridiculously out of hand. What ever happened to the great murder cases Scarpetta started out with? Now she's single-handedly clearing the way for the FBI to disarm nuclear terrorists in a radioactive plant with a virtual-reality robot housing a secret bomb in its head?! LOL!!! Come ON! Good god, Patricia Cornwell, where were you when this was written?! The ending stinks, another trend I'm noticing in the books: the endings have grown progressively weaker and rushed. All of a sudden, the day wll be suddenly saved by Scarpetta, just like that, and everyone is on their way home, safe and sound. *yawn*
Cornwell got tired here...it's obvious...and judging from reviews of future installments in the series, I have a feeling she stays tired. Too bad...the series started out so promising. I'm willing to read one more...what the heck, it cost only 50-cents from the same yard sale.
Summary of Cause of Death.
This New Year's Eve marks the end of a life-and the beginning of a nightmare for Kay Scarpetta.Patricia Cornwell's heroine Dr. Kay Scarpetta is back; this time to solve the mystery of the death of an Associated Press reporter who was killed while nosing about in a decommissioned navy yard. Scarpetta's involvement in the case leads her to be targeted for murder herself by a nasty little neo-fascist cult with delusions of grandeur that include a plan to "kill and maim, frighten, brainwash and torture" all who oppose their plan to rule the world. Helping Scarpetta is her niece Lucy, an F.B.I. agent whose computer expertise leads to a heart-stopping journey into cyberspace.
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