6 reviews for Red Mist
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Red Mist
by Patrica Cornwell
Description:
The new Kay Scarpetta novel from the world’s No.1 bestselling crime writer. Determined to find out what happened to her former deputy chief, Jack Fielding, murdered six months earlier, Kay Scarpetta travels to the Georgia Prison for Women, where an inmate has information not only on Fielding, but also on a string of grisly killings. The murder of an Atlanta family years ago, a young woman on death row, and the inexplicable deaths of homeless people as far away as California seem unrelated. But Scarpetta discovers connections that compel her to conclude that what she thought ended with Fielding’s death and an attempt on her own life is only the beginning of something far more destructive: a terrifying terrain of conspiracy and potential terrorism on an international scale. And she is the only one who can stop it.
About The Author
Patricia Cornwell (born Patricia Carroll Daniels; June 9, 1956) is a contemporary American crime writer. She is widely known for writing a popular series of novels featuring the heroine Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a medical examiner. Her books have sold more than 100 million copies.
Skryf Review
“Good Reading”
Navya
The same cast of characters appear in this, the 19th novel featuring Kay Scarpetta. And, through almost 300 of the 500 pages, the same angst ridden drivel occurs. To much self loathing and second guessing. To much sitting around on the pity pot, moaning “Woe is me”. When Patricia Cornwell stormed the book world with “Postmortem” in 1990, and followed up with “All that Remains” and “Body of Evidence”, I was mesmerized by her style of writing. Her knowledge and indepth characterization of the forensics field. I was pulled into her family struggles and fell in love with her, her niece Lucy and even with Marino.Now, Im just disappointed and tired of how pitiful they all have become. They are sad and predictable.This being said, the last 200 pages of “Red Mist” is almost back to the standards of Ms Cornwell’s original writing. Scarpetta delves into the science of the kill and starts picking apart case files and crime scene photos. She allows her wonderfully strategic brain to work/process what she sees instead of continuously dwelling on her feelings.For fans of this series, go ahead and jump in. You are the true believers in this series and will be the only ones to make it through the slush of the first half.
Anmol
Patricia Cornwall is back on her game with Red Mist. She seemed to have backed away from the very thing that made her books so interesting, forensic pathology, to delve into relationship issues. Kay Scarpetta is an excellent pathologist, but she doesn’t always do as well in her personal life as she does in her professional life and I felt many of the recent books built around Scarpetta were lacking. Red Mist takes Kay back to the things she does best: finding clues in bodies, solving mysteries, drinking whiskey and cooking. All the old gang is back including Marino, Benton, and Lucy, but only Marino and Kay play major roles here. I’m glad to have Cornwell back on my reading list.
Hiten
I want to love each book that Cornwell puts out. And I notice a trend that she’s gone back to the good ol’ days of first person storytelling, which can work for or against her, depending on the interest in the novel. Unfortunately I felt that this one was a little too talky and not enough on the action front to keep readers interested. Secondary characters like Marino, Benton, and Lucy have all taken a back seat to Scarpetta’s stream of consciousness monologues, which are lengthy and overdone throughout the book. I just didn’t find the plot of this book strong enough to warrant these monologues. I feel a little ripped off as well, that she two-parted the story from the last novel. When it was a little edgy and shocking in that novel, here it begins to be predictable and boring. You can pretty much anticipate each “twist” as it comes, and to me that tells me that Cornwell got a little lazy with this book, as she usually includes a little bit of an element of surprise with her novels. I will keep my fingers crossed for the next book, as I’m not prepared to give up on her yet. But if she drags this plot line out for one more book I might have to reconsider.
Havisha
Red Mist is another strong entry in the Scarpetta Series. In some ways I liked it more than last year’s Port Mortuary because the action is more consistent throughout. In Port Mortuary there was a lot of Scarpetta sitting around thinking and being paranoid. In Red Mist Scarpetta is on the move in Savannah, Georgia. She’s not on her own turf, doesn’t have the trappings of her power base, and isn’t in charge. She’s also gone to Georgia against the advice of her FBI profiler husband, Benton, and others. So there’s much more action. However, Scarpetta being who she is, there’s still a lot of paranoia. From the get-go nothing is going right for Scarpetta. The car she rented wasn’t available and she finds herself driving a smelly old van to the Georgia Prison for Women where she’s to meet with one of the inmates.I know a few people who were fans of Cornwell’s earlier novels that stopped reading the series. They’ve asked me if I think the series has gone down hill. I do think that Cornwell went through a bit of a slump of some kind, but the last three books seem to be getting the series back on track. For some readers I’ve wondered if they just got tired of Scarpetta because she’s a strong, but deeply flawed character and Cornwell seems to be trying to explore those flaws. Or did Cornwell’s move away from first person narration distance early readers? (Note: She is back to first person narration.) I stopped reading the series for a few years but then went back to it because I enjoy the characters even if I don’t always like what Cornwell does with them. I took a break from the series because I got dismayed by the cruelty, inhumanity, and terror Cornwell was exploring through the perspective of the serial killers and their victims. Now, however, she’s back to focusing on Scarpetta’s perspective and I much prefer that. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Scarpetta and her crew.
Smit
Unlike other readers, I did not find the book boring at all. I guess TV programs like CSI here, there, & everywhere have made this type of mystery too slow for some folks. What I did like about the book is a return to somewhat normal relationships & personalities for the regular cast. Kay’s insecurities & the food are back, but Kay is not overly neurotic as in the last several books. Benton is a little flat, but is coming back as husband/FBI profiler. Marino is back to being a friend, rough & grouchy, but protective & part of the family. Lucy is way less psycho & seems to have regressed to the little girl computer whiz of the earlier books (which is actually refreshing considering what a far out nut she had become). OK, not the best book but it gives me hope that Cornwell is moving in the right direction & future books will be more like the earlier ones where the plots were believable, the main characters were sympathetic, & there were no soap opera antics like Benton’s return from the dead to slay a vampire-like character a few books ago. This book gives me hope that Cornwell will do better & keep us supplied with some more good Scarpetta novels in the future.