Most of us who enjoy a well-written mystery have enjoyed Patricia Cornwell's novels for several years. We've known her main character, Kay Scarpetta, so well that she seems real to us. While I've forgotten the title (too many years ago), I'll never forget the impact of reading about the brutal slaying of Kay's lover, Benton. I actually cried, and there are very few books that can affect me that way.
I felt angry and somehow cheated, or at least manipulated when the next book revealed that Benton's death had been a hoax.
In subsequent books, Kay has moved, her life has changed, and so have the other characters that surround her. In my opinion, the books have not been as good as the earlier ones, but they're still written by Patricia Cornwell, so how could that be bad?
I just found out. The latest (as far as I know), At Risk, stinks. All the characters are new, unlikeable, and boring. I gave up at about the halfway point.
I didn't think Patricia Cornwell could write a bad book. I was wrong.
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2 comments:
I tried to read one of the Patricia Cromwell mysteries once but just couldn't "get into it". It must have been one of the latest ones.
I've been spoiled by decades of reading the English mystery writers: PD Jmaes, Martha Grimes, Elizabeth George. Have you read any?
I will hav3e to try this noew one as I too have been a fan of her other work. Most of it anyway.
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