Very Disappointing

I've been reading Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta novels on and off for some time now. There was a time when these stories were innovative, and even groundbreaking in their introduction of the strong female lead into the serial killer, suspense genre. But something happened along the way. I don't know if Cornwell changed her story lines for her own reasons or due to bad advice, but rather than forensic suspense the stories turned into adventures in dysfunctional families. Scarpetta became a flaming codependent trying to mother Lucy, whose goal in life was staying in trouble. And Pete Marino, never the most likeable of characters became increasingly large, loud and obnoxious. To put it bluntly, the killers were often the most attractive characters in the stories.

Cornwell long ago fell off my 'buy in hardback' list. But when I picked up Predator the blurb sounded pretty good, and I decided to give Cornwell another try. The story finds Kate Scarpetta, Pete Marino, and a whole cast of crimestoppers working at the National Forensic Academy, the institute Lucy created so that she could work as a free agent. All isn't well at the Academy, strange events and thefts are interspersed with intense personality conflicts and mistrust until it is obvious that a crisis is brewing.

In the meantime a subtle series of deaths and disappearances come to light that seem to link Basil Jenrette, an imprisoned serial killer who has become the subject of Benton Wesley's research into the deviant mind, with killers down in Florida where the academy is. The connections surface painstakingly slowly after in depth forensic work. This is the formula which made Cornwell a success, and I hoped for a return to the Scarpetta of the early stories.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. Most of the suspense is about which character will have an argument with another, not with the forensic work. Kate Scarpetta literally shotguns the research work, creating a haphazard web of clues and red herrings. If it wasn't for Pat Cornwell's determination to give the whole story away by continually inviting the reader into the mind of the killer (and a very boring killer he is, by the way) the plot would have been almost impossible to follow. It is almost as if Cornwell wrote a bunch of short episodes and then put them in a semblance of order without any effort at continuity. I'll probably never know whether the ending was intended to be a cliff hanger or if the story was abandoned to its loose ends.

It's a shame that this series has been allowed to degenerate the way it has. Cornwell seems to be convinced that if she cannot breath new life into her characters she can succeed by making them so pitiable that the reader will succumb to guilt and read the yet another book. My recommendation is that, under no circumstances buy the hardback. Wait for the paperback if you will, although you may find the time best spent reading something else.

Predator by Patricia Cornwell

I loved all of Patricia Cornwell's Dr. Kay Scarpetta novels. This one,
left me with knowing who did it, before I finished, the book. But that is
probably, because I was a Criminology Major at one time. For thos who like
intrigue, mystery and reading about crime, it is a wonderful book.
And those who like reading a psychological thriller, it will leave you
guessing.
All the Favorites are back again, Lucy, Marino, Dr. Benton and Dr. Kay Scarpetta. A few new names to look at and one character in particular
everyone would agree, "I wish, and hope he gets caught" It's hard to believe, that in reading the book, you get wrapped up in it, and realize, Patricia once again, lets you see a year has passed, since you started reading. Another good book to get as a folloow up would be the Body Farm.

She's lost her touch!

Apparently this sequel should have been named,

"Predator...Hunting for More Money"

(Update: I finally read it, my friends were right, it sucked !)
I haven't read it yet, but my friends have and they say pass on this one.
It just doesn't have the style and skill as was evident in Cornwell's
earlier works.
I read "Trace" against my better judgment and against advice of fellow
Scarpettans and was deeply disappointed. Patricia has lost her touch.
Her skill started failing in the book "Last Precinct" and has never
recovered. Even her photos look like she's not well and you can see it
reflected in her writing. As she's gotten thinner, so have her plots
and characters. There seems to be severe tragedy and depression in Patricia's
life and it has been transferred to Kay Scarpetta and gang.
Our appetites for the characters are withering and only a few of us
will hang on hoping that Ms. Cornwell can pull herself up by the bootstraps
and revive her zest for life and her passion for writing. While we wait, I
recommend revisiting the series and reread her earlier works from the beginning
for a pleasant trip down memory lane. If you still hunger for more, I suggest
you read Scarpetta's Winter Table and Food To Die For. Two cook books loosely
based on Kay's/Patricia's fav recipes. Her plots have thinned and her
characters are just vague, empty images of their former selves, but there's
plenty to fill up on in the cookbooks while we wait and see.

Bon Appetit

Patricia, where are you?

I have been a Kay Scarpetta fan from the early 90s when forensic sciences and profiling were virtually unheard of. I loved the details and the mystery. I grew to really care for the characters as well. But the last 3 books, Predator especially, have been different on so many levels. It really seems as if there is a ghost writer now writing for Ms. Cornwell. She has gone from the standard narrative (3rd person)style which flowed easily from one idea to another - never getting confused with the subplots - or allowing the story to bog in the personal dramas of the characters; to the "jolty" type of writing in what I would have to call "active present tense", a very disconcerting way of writing an entire novel (Trace also employed this technique). I found it difficult to follow the story, and even more difficult to care! Reading in the present tense to me is like ant bites, annoying and sometimes painful. I miss Kay at her professional best, and I REALLY miss Pete, not the characature he has become. I, unfortunately, would not recommend this novel to anyone. I do not think I will be reading many more of Ms. Cornwell's books - until the real Patricial Cornwell shows up again.

Write until the last book... Predator not so hot.

I fell in love with the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell. After reading my first, I retraced my steps, ordered the whole series and enjoyed it immensely. When Predator was released I bought it before it was available in softcover. From the beginning I was let down. I felt as if the whole book was just thrown together as a piece for the public to buy not read. I still enjoy Cornwell, I hope she goes back to writing to her full potential.