I am a huge fan of Cornwell's works but I think that as the Scarpetta series has progressed, they have worsened. I believe that this is mainly due to the change in writing style from 1st Person to 3rd. Does anybody agree? I also read 'Isle of Dogs' but was so repulsed by it I refuse to read 'Hornet's Nest' Which is your favourite Scarpetta book, why?
2007-03-07 07:13:33 · 34 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
I agree, I used to love the kay scarpetta books but for some reason after patricia cornwell became obsessed with jack the ripper her writing went down hill. I couldn't name a favourite as it's so long since I read them but you can't go wrong with the first 4 or 5. P.S. Is it just me or do you think of Dennis Franz when you picture Marino?!
2007-03-07 07:18:42 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I lost interest a long time ago. I like the early ones but found Scarpetta self obsessed and she shows remarkable poor judgement in men. Then there is the time scale; in th first books Scarpetta was in her early 40's and Lucy was 9 or 10; now Lucy is about 30 but her aunt has only aged about 5 years.
I wish I could manage that.
By the way Tammipup is getting a little confused. Patricia Cornwall is an American writing under her married name while John le Carre is an English. His real surname is Cornwall and he's the brother of the actor Charlotte Cornwall.
2007-03-08 06:06:58 · answer #2 · answered by leekier 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i agree the earlier scarpetta books were great but as time has gone on she is wearing a little thin, and im wondering if she has run her course now and ran out of story lines, as for the isle of dogs and hornets nest i was sooo disappointed in Patricia Cornwell as a writer, but if you like the scarpetta kind of book why not try Kathy Reichs or Karin Slaughter very similar and all fantastic reads.
2007-03-07 09:05:47 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, Isle of Dogs and Hornet's Nest are not about Scarpetta, at all.
But as for the Scarpetta novels, I think the problem with the later ones is that Scarpetta is just an unpleasant, unlikeable witch, and no fun to read about anymore.
2007-03-07 08:28:44 · answer #4 · answered by MOM KNOWS EVERYTHING 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am also a huge fan and have read all the Scarpetta series, in fact i just finished reading predator i actually found it very hard going and it took me a few weeks to get through it, whereas with the earlier books i could have finished one in about 2 days. I think my favorite book so far has been the bodyfarm as there was lots going on in it and Scarpetta hadn't got so, in my opinion, weak.
2007-03-08 02:16:08 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm a huge fan of Patricia Cornwell too, but it seems lately that it's all gone a bit morbid. I cant tell you how pleased I was though when we found out that Benton Wesley was still alive. What a twist!! I cant even remember which book that was in. Was it Black Notice? It's been a while since I've read it. Fantastic book!
Also, if you're a fan of Patricia Cornwell, you should read Kathy Reichs. They're along the same lines.
(apologies, I've had a few to drink tonight)
2007-03-07 07:26:56 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I agree with you: Her earlier books were way better. I love the Scarpetta books, but they got very convoluted when Lucy became wonder woman! But don't you wish you could just find Pete Marino and give him a big hug? I didn't enjoy Isle or Hornet's - just too bazaar for me.
I think my favorite was Cruel and Unusual - it was the first of hers that I read and led me to all the others. I've even enjoyed rereading it. It's a great story that could actually happen.
If you like Cornwell, you would probably enjoy John Sanford and James Patterson - they are my other favorite authors right now. Oh, and Jonathon Kellerman.
2007-03-07 07:26:37 · answer #7 · answered by Pretending To Work 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I used to love Patricia Cornwell's books but I found that as the series progressed the characters (particularly Scarpetta) became more & more far-fetched & I haven't read the last couple.I find Kathy Reichs to be a far better read these days.
2007-03-08 06:12:01 · answer #8 · answered by munki 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I enjoyed the earlier Scarpetta books but I do think Patricia Cornwell has gone off the boil. Her new books with new characters aren't nearly as good and it was really time to retire Scarpetta, I mean, how disastrous can one woman's love life be? All her men ended up either serial killers, killed by serial killers, or pretending to be killed by serial killers before popping up again in ludicrous plot twists. Kathy Reichs is better at the moment.
2007-03-07 20:10:39 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I used to love the Scarpetta series but have felt that the recent books have been poorer in quality. The stories all seemed to be the same
Scarpetta in trouble with the politicians at the morgue
Pete loving her from afar
Lucy getting into some sort of trouble whilst being an IT whizz ...
Just all got a bit boring for me
2007-03-07 22:43:48 · answer #10 · answered by Jo 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋