Post by Charlynn on Aug 5, 2012 16:39:12 GMT -5
Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell
In Cause of Death, Cornwell immediately dives into her heroine's latest case and mystery. And, yes, that is a pun, because the first victim is found submerged in a river, and Kay joins the diving team in recovering the body. While everyone wants to rule the death a drowning, the tell-tale scent of arsenic informs Kay that the case is anything but an accident; rather, it's a murder. And that's just the start of a mystery which ends up touching close to home for Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner and then spirals out of control into a national terrorist crisis. This is perhaps Kay's most dangerous case yet.
While Kay's niece Lucy, all her technology jargon, and all of her emotional baggage are still front and center in this novel, Cause of Death does not get bogged down too much in its subplots. The personal is present, but it's blended well into a mystery which starts fast and never lets up. Despite the presence of nuclear science, the clues in this book are accessible for the average reader, for they're more about the people and the psychology involved than anything else. What is not relatable is Kay's insistence upon inserting herself into dangerous situations and getting herself into messes she has no business becoming involved in. But perhaps this is why these books work so well, why they're so fun to read: while you and I have no business negotiating with terrorists, through Cornwell's Scarpetta, we can live an adrenaline packed existence... at least for a few hours – vicariously, of course.
Three out of Five Stars
In Cause of Death, Cornwell immediately dives into her heroine's latest case and mystery. And, yes, that is a pun, because the first victim is found submerged in a river, and Kay joins the diving team in recovering the body. While everyone wants to rule the death a drowning, the tell-tale scent of arsenic informs Kay that the case is anything but an accident; rather, it's a murder. And that's just the start of a mystery which ends up touching close to home for Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner and then spirals out of control into a national terrorist crisis. This is perhaps Kay's most dangerous case yet.
While Kay's niece Lucy, all her technology jargon, and all of her emotional baggage are still front and center in this novel, Cause of Death does not get bogged down too much in its subplots. The personal is present, but it's blended well into a mystery which starts fast and never lets up. Despite the presence of nuclear science, the clues in this book are accessible for the average reader, for they're more about the people and the psychology involved than anything else. What is not relatable is Kay's insistence upon inserting herself into dangerous situations and getting herself into messes she has no business becoming involved in. But perhaps this is why these books work so well, why they're so fun to read: while you and I have no business negotiating with terrorists, through Cornwell's Scarpetta, we can live an adrenaline packed existence... at least for a few hours – vicariously, of course.
Three out of Five Stars