Hornet's Nest

Hornet’s Nest is a sloppy mess that doesn’t at all resemble Cornwell’s more mature Kay Scarpetta novels. I wouldn’t even think that it was written by Cornwell if it didn’t contain all of her amateurish idiosyncracies that can usually be overlooked in favor of a strong story, but not here. The story jumps from point of view to point of view without warning, sometimes within the same paragraph, getting into the brains of the most minor characters (even the cat!). The vague plot bumps and ambles along, wandering off along uninteresting side paths at the slightest provocation. The characters are emotional maelstroms, whirling from extreme to extreme at the drop of a hat. And the worst offense of all – Cornwell calls my hometown show more of Chapel Hill a “big city” when it is, of course, a “village.” The entire book resembles its title – a buzzing, chaotic mess, but with nothing at the center to hold it together. In fact, it reads like a first draft that Cornwell didn’t care enough about to whip into shape; unfortunately, she didn’t care enough about her readers to refrain from publishing it. show less

I started reading this book expecting a high-powered police thriller but—after a few chapters— was surprised to find it more of a hilarious satire on the entire political system in the city of Charlotte, Virginia. The main characters are hysterical. First, there’s Andy Brazil, a young, athletic reporter who is intelligent and driven yet nieve and sulky. His sometimes partner, Deputy Chief, Virginia West, is an older woman who’s attractive, challenging, and knows how to handle herself. The two are drawn together yet always at odds. Next is Judy Hammer, the Chief of Police. She is often described as an angel by the public and is known for her fairmindedness and ability to get things done. What happens in this story is comparable show more to blind people stumbling around in the dark and occasionally solving crimes. Patricia Cornwell has a knack for getting into people’s heads and demonstrating their vulnerabilities. The result is very entertaining. show less

enjoyed this departure from the Kay Scarpetta stories. The theme that persisted through this book was the inability of any of the characters to say what they were thinking. They were all so obsessed with their own feelings and images that they missed important clues as to what was going on around them. Even the most honest and sensitive person, Andy Brazil, seemed to be lost at times in his own miserable world and incapable of admitting his feelings.
The serial killer/murder mystery was of secondary importance in this story. The real tragedy was the way intelligent, reasonably likable people completely misread each other's needs and feelings. I actually was hoping to see more of Hammer and West in future stories; as improbable as it show more might seem to have women in a major city occupying such authoritative positions, it was refreshing to see police work done with a degree of sensitivity. show less

tl;dr-version: do not read do not buy! I am serious!
This was a mistake, I cannot really understand how someone who wrote such page-turners as the first few Kay Scarpetta novels can write such mind-boring drivel.
This was supposed to be a book about a serial-killer. The killer was just on a few pages, the crimes of the killer where ok, gruesome and bloody.
But not enough crime, the book read like a drive-by-shooting.
Every single person who popped up got a background-story and a few or more sentences what they where thinking. Sounds awesome?
Go watch your dryer tumble your clothes, that holds more suspense in the outcome.
Top that with even the cat (!) of the main female character (I dare not call her heroine) getting a background story and a show more few thoughts towards solving the case.
And the persons all have personal problems, which are sometimes way too much and not every interesting.
Not one character was really likeable - maybe with the exception of the cat, I can understand that she feels frustrated that no one understands it.
And as with other books by her, the end was as expected.
Reason I finished this book (although 2/3 in Fast-Forward-mode): I read a few bad reviews where they where turned off by the explicit fetish scenes.
Although that was for entire series, so may be I picked the wrong book, I wanted to see how she integrated that, and hoped for some real interesting fetish (Mo Hayder does this in some of her books).
Given that I stumbled into this knowingly, it is my own mistake buying this book as a Kindle-eBook and paid the normal amount Eur 6,34. Would not take it for free or as a gift now. Even the Kay Scarpetta-Books are better, and I stopped reading them after the 5th book. At least those where all page-turners although formula-written and nearly all with the same ending. show less

I picked this up thinking it would be a Kay Scarpetta mystery, and it took me a couple of chapters to figure it out. I enjoyed meeting new characters and found this book to be a refreshing change from the Scarpetta series. The characters were very complex. The budding relationship between Virginia West and Andy Brazil was fun to watch develop. But by the end of the book, I was tired of the constant miscommunications and misunderstandings between them. I get that they are both emotionally damaged individuals, but do they have to keep thinking the other one was using them and/or ignoring them? I also didn't like the way the author kept saying that others thought the main characters were gay, when neither of the were. Is this a particular show more pet peeve of the author? Still, I really enjoyed this book, and want to read the next in the series. I want to find out what happens to Brazil and West. show less

Will freely admit that the interactions in the book are highly unlikely as are the characters but weeks after putting the book down they still stay in my mind. Certainly evokes a sense of place. Will be interested to read what she does with the successors.

HUH!?! How did this book get on the bestseller list? It was choppy and sporadic; thoughts were incomplete and too busy jumping from one character and scene to another that you never got a complete image of what the author was trying to get across. Then the main character was so overly emotional and sensitive that you just wanted to slap him. And don't get me started on the cat who was getting subliminal messages from the building and talking to its owner to pass on the important information. WOW!?! Talk about fiction.