Predator picks up after Trace, which I didn’t read (or possibly re-read). It is telling that, even though I finished Predator only a week ago, I had to read the blurb to remind myself of the plot before writing this review.
Said putative plot centres on deaths performed by Hog (the Hand of God), a follower of a woman who has made herself his divinity. In reality, once again the plot does not engage, but revolves around, Kay Scarpetta and her posse – the victim at the heart of the case has hennaed handprints over her body, just like lesbian niece Lucy’s latest pick up, the enigmatic Stevie. Ex-cop Marino might be making more of an effort with his health, and seeing a (self-publicising, vain) shrink, but he’s still irrational about and obsessed by Scarpetta. She, in turn, dismisses his concerns about post-doctorate Fellow Joe Amos, who seems to have an uncanny ability to base training scenarios on actual Scarpetta cases – and this is despite the fact that she doesn’t like or trust Amos, and has worked with Marino for however many years thirteen previous books translate into.
And how does Joe know things nobody could know? Because he stole and then undetectably returned some Lucy gadget that gave him access to all the academy’s secret files, allowed him to tap into phone lines, and essentially be privy to everything Scarpetta’s inner cadre know. He can’t be all bad, though – like me: “It is hard for Joe to believe how many cases Scarpetta has worked in what is a comparatively brief career.” Word.
If you want to know about the blight of citrus canker in Florida, the methods used to slow its spread, and the disgruntlement of citrus-tree-owning residents to these methods, read on. Otherwise do as I wish I’d done, and bid Dr Scarpetta adieu, preferably about eight books back. - Alex
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