Patricia Cornwell - Book of the Dead

[Sweetie77]

I am an avid fan of Patricia Cornwell and I was sure I had read all her Kay Scarpetta books but I really feel like I am missing out on something in this one??? Who is Dr Self? Why does Marino hate Dr Scarpetta so much?

[shaneystar2]

Dr Self was a television psychiatrist in one of the previous books ..blink and you would have missed her ! Scarpetta testified against her at one time ..I can't remember which book it was now . I'm not at all sure why Scarpetta and Marino are at loggerheads .. I think it was to do with some girl he picked up in a bar and she tried undermine Scarpetta to him and turn him against her .
I thought this book was a load of rubbish . I used to be an avid fan too but quite frankly her last couple of books have been awful .And the one where Benton Wesley came back from the (supposedly ) dead was too far fetched for words !

[puzzled54]

I agree her books are getting silly. I'm glad I got it from the library, I would have felt cheated if I'd paid for it.

[MissB.A.]

Marino had become addicted to a testerone 'gel' which he used together with drugs supplied by his 'girlfriend'. Because of his unrequited love for Scarpetta, after whom he has always(secretly) lusted he became somewhat unhinged upon learning she and Benton had become engaged. This caused hin to 'lunge at her in a most undignified and crude manner, in a stupid attempt to seduce her. His size and strength overwhelmed Scarpetta, and she suffered bruising to her wrists (and ego!!!). She also blames herself for not dealing with Marino much sooner.
Sadly I too agree her last few books have been unbelievable, and she seems to 'ejaculate rather prematurely' in finishing the books too quickly leaving the reader disappointed and dis-satisfied and wanting more >>>

[TudorLady]

I agree that the quality of Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta novels has greatly deteriorated over the last few books, and that is why I have now stopped reading them altogether.

I hate the way her books are now written in the present tense, and the way she's now writing in the third rather than first person.

I agree that what happened to Benton Wesley was preposterous, and there have been other ludicrous, poorly thought out plot developments - eg a blind man (the "werewolf") jumping into a car and then driving for miles!

But what I think insults her readers most is the lack of continuity between the books. The age gap between Kaye and her niece Lucy varies greatly from book to book, simply to solve the plot at hand. I think her devoted readers deserve better.