Dust (A Scarpetta Novel): By Patricia Cornwell -- Review (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
Happy 2015, happy Sunday, and happy coldness, my word! Winter has arrived in New England, and the clothes are layered and the cocoa is steamy. I hope this finds you cozy and warm after the holiday season.To close out 2014, I read Dust by Patricia Cornwell, a Kay Scarpetta novel. I haven’t been completely enamored with a few of Cornwell’s latest books, but I felt this one was back on track, with the medical examiner Scarpetta and her cronies chasing evil-doers from the nation’s capital to Massachusetts.This story begins with an ailing Scarpetta getting called in the wee hours of the morning to visit a crime scene, one that’s suspiciously similar to murders that her FBI husband is working on in the DC area. However, Scarpetta isn’t supposed to know those details, so she’s relieved when her hubby shows up via helicopter to assist with the Boston case. When DNA tampering, a murder from seventeen years prior, a corporate cover-up, and dirty feds come into play, the trail they’re following creates more questions than answers. Scarpetta and Benton’s combined expertise, along with efforts from cop and long-time friend Pete Marino and Scarpetta’s rich-robo-cop-like-niece Lucy, make for an interesting game of cat-and-mouse with a dangerously powerful killer.Like most of Cornwell’s books, Dust is a bit of a “dark” story, with a brooding and introspective Scarpetta examining the fine line between life and death throughout. Cornwell also blends fiction with real life, as the story references the horrible massacre at the elementary school in Newtown, CT, in December of 2012, with the fictitious Scarpetta assisting with the tragedy. So it’s not a light-hearted read, but it’s intriguing, thought-provoking, and throws a lot of curve balls throughout. Give it a go, and let me know what you think. ‘Til next time, happy reading! :-) I read the Kay Scarpetta novels because of their insight into the science that character deals with as a medical examiner involved in the investigation of homicides, especially. Unfortunately, "Dust" was very slow to get off the ground because the author has Scarpetta and her police detective colleague, Pete Marino, caught up in some ridiculous sexual tension at the beginning. Scarpetta seems like a teenage girl on prom night: "Oh, if I let him do it, he won't like me anymore!" And Marino, of course, comes across as a troglodyte. Give me a break -- these are adults who've known each other for many years.When it finally did take off, however, it WAS interesting. Not one of the author's better efforts in this series, however.
What do You think about Dust (A Scarpetta Novel): By Patricia Cornwell -- Review (2013)?
I enjoyed most of her Scarpetta novels but this one was almost unreadable for me.
—Blanca
I cant wait to see what happens next. Awesome book. Keeps you on your toes.
—ivy
Good. Maybe very good. Still formulaic but this time with a new twist.
—nat
Enjoyed the story. Very technical,sometimes confusing.
—Angelface
Thought she was back on her stride with this one.
—cloudysky
