Book eleven of the Dr Kay Scarpetta, forensic pathologist, series finds Kay recovering from the nightmarish attack on her by the hideous and monstrous serial killer Jean-Baptist Chandonne, aka Le Loup-Garou (the werewolf). Having only narrowly escaped the machinations of Dianne Bray, a woman obsessed with Kay and determined to see her destroyed, only to be killed by Chandonne herself, Kay now has to defend herself against allegations that her blinding Chandonne was really self defence and not an unprovoked attack. What happened to the chipping hammer Chandonne brought with him? Can she trust special prosecutor Jaime Berger? And are her friends really on her side, or working against her?
I took a long break from the adventures of Dr Scarpetta, and have leaped rather convincingly back in the fray, reading this and the sequel back to back. In fact, although I thought I hadn't already read The Last Precinct (as evidenced by the fact that it was sitting on my unread shelves in all its hard-backed glory), the fact that I knew Kay's lost love was really still alive and well and hiding in Paris strongly indicates that I read and forgot it.
I remember why I read all Cornwell's books when they first came out - interesting cases, vivid forensic detail, intriguing puzzles, defined characters, intricate plots - and why I took a break - torturous personal lives, unrealistically brilliant thinking, unflawed central characters, torturous personal lives (so annoying it gets mentioned twice).
Cornwell still writes a gripping and generally fast paced novel, but I had to suspend my disbelief. I'm going to glut for a while, then take another break - though maybe not for as long next time. - Alex
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