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Book of the Dead (Kay Scarpetta)

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Manufacturer: Berkley
List Price: $9.99
Our Price: $0.99
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Kay Scarpetta is starting over with a unique private forensic pathology practice in Charleston, South Carolina. And the death of a sixteen-year-old tennis star will usher in a string of murders more baffling—and terrifying—than any that have come before.


DESCRIPTION:

Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780425216255
ISBN: 042521625X
Label: Berkley
Manufacturer: Berkley
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 528
Publication Date: 2008-09-02
Publisher: Berkley
Studio: Berkley


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CUSTOMER REVIEWS:

Customer Rating:
Summary: Book of the Dead
Comment: I have to admit that I've read all of Patricia Cornwell's book and that I've only liked the Scarpetta Series, until now. Book of the Dead made me wonder if the writer is getting bored with her craft or just the main character? She virtually removes Scarpetta from the story by making the other characters stronger. Scarpetta comes off as week and less the woman of strength that we enjoyed in the past. The book is hollow at best. I couldn't get comfortable with any of the character portrayals and kept looking for the kick in the plot that never came. The entire story was told from a distance with an "i don't care" feeling. I will always be a fan of the earlier Scarpetta books, however, this one has left me wondering if I want to by "Scarpetta". When you see a lot of books for sale used for $2-3, it makes you wonder why. Where did our favorite writer go?

Customer Rating:
Summary: The more I read about Kay Scarpetta...
Comment: The more it seems as if the author has some hidden agenda in writing her stories. Granted, I'm still entertained by them, and have been reading them since I was 17 or so. However, certain things as time has gone by have struck me. One: Nobody can ever do as good of a job as Scarpetta, and even those she has trained lose their abilities and skills when her presence is no longer around. This is carried past the point of absurdity. Two: Other characters are always obsessed with Scarpetta- women, men, it does not matter. They want to kill her, be her, be better than her, and stop at nothing in this single-minded obsession. My question is, why??? I can only think that Ms. Cornwell has some deep-seated narcissism wherein she'd like to be Scarpetta, or has created this alter ego to fulfill these desires of being on top of everbody else, all of the time. Perhaps she's trying to get back at somebody through her books- just a feeling.

Third: I do not see any growth in the characters- they may find themselves in different situations or in new relationships, but their fundamental personalities and ways of reacting never change. I used to like Lucy, but now she's just an angry, unhappy woman. Marino has gone downhill, and it seems it's because he can never have Scarpetta (again, back to everyone being obsessed with her).

This book in particular has shown me how far the books have both progressed and not progressed over the years. It was hard to take the book seriously, although I did enjoy it in parts. Ms. Cornwell has a fine writing style but she's using her stories as a vehicle for something else.

Customer Rating:
Summary: book of the dead
Comment: I stopped reading at the top of page 3.
This is the last Patricia Cornwell book I will ever buy. I was a fan for the most part, but this was too gory (I read only 2-1/2 pages). I didn't give it to Goodwill or the Salvation Army or to the used book resale shop; just threw it into the GARBAGE!

Customer Rating:
Summary: Not as bad as they say
Comment: I had read a review of this book before actually reading it, and was prepared for the worst. In actuality, I thought this book was interesting in many ways.

While I agree that this was not as thoroughly engaging as Cornwell's earlier books, I did actually like the story lines of Marino's difficulties and the way Scarpetta dealt with him. I enjoyed learning more about Rose, and the new character of Bull was very likable. And the humorous take on the nosy neighbor was a good addition.

I found all the discussion about e-mails, who sent them, etc. to be tedious and tiresome. And Dr. Self's character is thoroughly nasty. I find it difficult to believe that someone could have so much insight into people's motivations and yet be so sadistic in the use of that insight. Self seems too demented to be so calculating, but perhaps that's what supposed to make her so scary. It is certainly true in real life that a killer can be intelligent and evil at the same time (i.e. Ted Bundy).

I have never really liked Lucy's character, and despite physical decriptions of her, I can not picture her in my mind when I read about her. This has not changed despite the fact that I have read all of Cornwell's novels to date. However I do like Marino's character, despite his flaws, and Benton and Kay's relationship is believable in that their careers keep them apart much of the time.

Being an avid book reader, it is easy to jump on things one doesn't like about a story, and compare a novel to the author's previous works. I do not fault authors for not being able to write a fantastic novel every timem akthough at times I'm disappointed.

I will continue to read Cornwell's work, since it is her body of work that started me reading about forensic work in the first place.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Detective story, soap-opera, or personal vendetta?
Comment: I really wanted to like this book... This is my first Cornwell novel, and I understand many of the characters have been around a while. I do appreciate the fact that the author shows some complexity in the main characters, but most of that comes from very cliched sources - the powerful but doubting female lead, the bitchy lesbian, the sub-servient but heroic black man, the womanizing drunken ex-cop, and on and on it goes... I enjoyed all the characters, but wanted to learn more about the newer ones - particularly Bull and The Sandman, and the story just never really took hold - too much contrived tension between characters and way too many unbelievable coincidences and connections.

Unfortunately, the author inserted too many distractions to develop the characters or the potential the story may have had in its early stages - soap opera style coincidences and pettiness... obvious personal attacks on real and parodied characters... palpable contempt for not only the war in Iraq and President Bush (fine in and of itself - I understand not everyone supports the war or the now former President), but also for housewives, soldiers, law enforcement, and even Dr. Laura Schlesinger - huh? One has to wonder what the radio personality did to Ms. Cornwell to inspire such vile hatred. It's quite clear that this book is all about Cornwell's fantasy image of someone she obviously, yet inexplicably, despises.

I really did want to enjoy this novel, and though I'm mildly curious as to the fate of one of the characters, it left me more disappointed than anything, feeling a little bit cheated, and definitely NOT wanting more.

Too bad - sounds like some of Cornwell's earlier works were worthwhile reads, but this will be my last - I cannot recommend this book.

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