Crime

(2004)Scarpetta is not the Richmond coroner but is called in to consult on a young girl's mysterious death. Leads to a disgruntled former employee of hers who is looking for revenge against Scarpetta and Lucy. An improved book over where her others were headed. (PW)Kay Scarpetta returning to her office in Richmond five years after being fired. This homecoming will cheer fans: not only does the move put Scarpetta on her own turf, it reinvigorates Cornwell's storytelling, restoring some of the spunk lately lacking in her lead character. Dr. Joel Marcus, Scarpetta's replacement as Virginia's chief medical examiner, has summoned her back to help him puzzle through the mysterious death of a 14-year-old girl. Marcus is generally loathed: he's petty, inept, has a secret garbage-truck phobia and harbors an intense hatred for Scarpetta. Meanwhile, Scarpetta's niece Lucy, owner of a fabulously successful private-eye firm, has her own troubles trying to sort out who attempted to kill her friend Henri (short for Henrietta), who's now under psychiatric treatment by Scarpetta's lover in Aspen, Benton Wesley. Lurking in the background is Edgar Allan Pogue, a nutcase who has a thing for dead bodies and a grudge against Scarpetta. It's her job, as always, to connect all the puzzling forensic dots and identify the killer in time to save herself and her loved ones. She does this, mostly, but leaves the reader to puzzle out a few salient points on his or her own. Cumbersome backstory slows the action, but in general the old Scarpetta comes through, at least in the main, and this will be enough to reassure her many fans and carry them over until her next appearance.

I have been an avid fan for a while now. I have to say this book started out to be a good Scarpetta, only I felt the ending was rushed like she was bored with writing the novel. There were not the usual details to wrapping up the story but rather you get a quick overview with no details. I felt she was bored with the story line. ( )

PRATELEIRA EUNICE 1 LIVRO 41

Dr. Kay Scarpetta, now freelancing from south Florida, returns to the city that turned its back on her five years ago.
Richmond, Virginia's recently appointed chief medical examiner claims that he needs Scarpetta's help to solve a perplexing crime. When she arrives, however, Scarpetta finds that nothing is as she expected: her former lab is in the final stages of demolition; the inept chief isn't the one who requested her after all; her old assistant chief has developed personal problems that he won't reveal; and a glamorous FBI agent, whom Scarpetta dislikes instantly, meddles with the case.

Deprived of assistance from colleagues Benton and Lucy, who are embroiled in what first appears to be an unrelated attempted rape by a stalker, Scarpetta is faced with investigating the death of a fourteen-year-old girl, working with the smallest pieces of evidence--traces that only the most thorough hunters can identify. She must follow the twisting leads and track the strange details in order to make the dead speak--and to reveal the sad truth that may be more than even she can bear...

Enjoyed this novel more than I thought I would. I thought Cornwell was in a bit of a slump around this time, but I liked Trace. Marino takes a turn in this book--he's working out or at least watching what he eats and losing weight. He's no longer a complete dinosaur. His vulnerability with Scarpetta is touching and surprising, like when she doesn't acknowledge or praise his efforts after years of nagging at his dining habits and lack of exercise. Something is going on under the surface. ( )