Andrea Thompson
REVIEW
BOOK OF THE DEAD - Patricia Cornwell
Reviewed By
Friday, February 22, 2008
Author Patricia Cornwell throws convention to the winds here, writing her 15th Scarpetta book in a present tense narrative that appears difficult to have been sustained. The reader loses that intimate connection with Scarpetta through her thoughts that was such a success in the earlier novels of the series, and with a more grim and distant Scarpetta, happiness continues to elude her still. What we've come to expect of this series with its characters has also been turned on its head as three of the main characters are treated as fodder, toyed with for shock value that is disappointing after the investment readers have made into such a long-running series.
There is also the sheer ridiculousness of the conversations in the book. Empty statements abound, characters rarely answer a question in context and are so often exploring tangents while in discourse with someone else that the reader is bewildered as to what it is they are actually discussing. It’s a little dabbling in the surreal here as the story bobs in and out of coherent thought with little hope of the reader keeping up with each new thread. Almost a hidden plot has the BOOK OF THE DEAD, which is far too crowded and close a book. It is hard to forget the early brilliance of this author, the undoubtable talent Cornwell possessed in balancing a modern woman's drama with the new ground of crime scene forensic examination. A terrible novel for the new reader, BOOK OF THE DEAD offers little in the way of backfill. As with any long running series, any information is always appreciated and to Cornwell's credit, she is masterful at imparting a lot with few words.
The micro-world of forensics here is not the problem; it’s the duck and weave game we play with the plot. Occasionally a direction is glimpsed, and then lost again. Flashes of Cornwell's earlier skill with manipulating a scene for emotional punch (all that persecuted, professional woman angst) will come through, and then is lost again to the vagueness in expression.
BOOK DETAILS
BOOK INFORMATION
BLURB
Dr Kaye Scarpetta has made a place for herself in Charleston, South Carolina. Now in private practice, her skills as a forensic pathologist are for hire, though often misconstrued by the residents of the town. She is not alone, with her consultancy offering a holistic approach from three others who made the trip across from Florida with her. A former behavioural profiler with the F.B.I., Benton Wesley offers his psychological insight, former Detective Pete Marino is on the on-ground investigator and Scarpetta's niece Lucy, a brilliant and wealthy woman, provides the technology of examination and electronic records access. It has been a year and was supposed to be a new start for Scarpetta, recovering from an encounter with a Florida psychopath. Some old wounds have not quite healed, and the disintegration in the people dearest to her may this time not be something she can prevent.
An American tennis star has been slain while taking a respite in Italy. It was odd that it was her choice to take a break, right before she was expected to play in a Grand Slam tournament. The killer, calling himself the Sandman, makes contact with Scarpetta's old nemesis, Dr Marilyn Self, drawing the two women together again in reluctant contact after their last painful encounter. The young tennis champion is not the only victim needing Scarpetta's assistance. A young boy who has lain unclaimed for sometime in Scarpetta's morgue troubles her, not only because of the agony she knows he suffered in his short life but also because no one has come forward for him. The worry Scarpetta constantly carries for Marino has not lessened with the move away from their old life; it has become a greater burden as she watches him step further out into a life so far from healthy that it seems inevitable he will harm himself, distancing himself not only from her but from Lucy, whom he has loved and taught so much. Scarpetta knows from experience that killers can cross shores to find new hunting grounds, and it appears that the circle of death, from motive to discovery to reason, again leads straight back to her own doorstep.
| Review | BOOK OF THE DEAD - Patricia Cornwell | Andrea Thompson
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Friday, February 22, 2008 |