Predator (Kay Scarpetta)

I take it all back. After reading a couple of Cornwell's early novels I felt sure that she stood alone at the top of the forensic thriller charts. But this is a mess. highly confused, with terribly disjointed plotting, and a pervasive feeling that nothing is really happening. The focus on Scarpetta, easily the most interesting character, is too fleeting, while other characters have been...more

I take it all back. After reading a couple of Cornwell's early novels I felt sure that she stood alone at the top of the forensic thriller charts. But this is a mess. highly confused, with terribly disjointed plotting, and a pervasive feeling that nothing is really happening. The focus on Scarpetta, easily the most interesting character, is too fleeting, while other characters have been rendered into annoying cliches. Most insultingly of all, Cornwell couldn't be bothered to write this as a standalone novel...far too much of this will only make sense if you have read the novels prior to it. A crime novel in which the greatest crime is boredom.   hide

Just started it, but so far, it's annoying me. Not every crime in the world revolves around Kay Scarpetta and her crew...but I'll soldier on... Finished it pretty quickly. It all came together in the end but I was annoyed the entire time that it was designed to make sure you had no idea what was going on. I know it's a mystery, but when you're completely clueless about storylines that are...more

Just started it, but so far, it's annoying me. Not every crime in the world revolves around Kay Scarpetta and her crew...but I'll soldier on... Finished it pretty quickly. It all came together in the end but I was annoyed the entire time that it was designed to make sure you had no idea what was going on. I know it's a mystery, but when you're completely clueless about storylines that are peripheral to the mystery, it started to get grating. I must have missed a book in the series, but I feel that books, even those that follow similar characters, should stand on their own and not require you to read every one in sequence. Makes it feel like a money grab. I stopped reading Cornwell for these reasons and this book didn't make me want to jump back onto her bandwagon. Maybe I'll go back and reread her early works because they were great.   hide

Not as good as her earlier works. The "style" is similar, and I found it easy to read, but less than satisfying. It reminds me of some of her previous "non-Kay" books. It's the kind of novel that you have to read as fast as you can - otherwise you'll quickly lose track of the characters and side-stories. The sub-plots jump around too much, taking way too long to become connected. They...more

Not as good as her earlier works. The "style" is similar, and I found it easy to read, but less than satisfying. It reminds me of some of her previous "non-Kay" books. It's the kind of novel that you have to read as fast as you can - otherwise you'll quickly lose track of the characters and side-stories. The sub-plots jump around too much, taking way too long to become connected. They seem so unrelated as to be different stories ... until well past the 1/2 way mark. The story also seems to expect the reader to know too much about past stories. (I've read most of her stuff, but it takes awhile to get those old brain cells to come forward).   hide

I agree. Too many thoughts/plots rolled into one novel. Not as streamlined as the typical Cornwell. Marino character used to be one of my favorites. But I've skipped a few Scarpetta novels and now I have no idea why he's such a jerk. And it took WAY too long to get to the point. I fell asleep with it next to me several nights in a row.