I've been a Patricia Cornwell fan since my mom introduced me to her books more than a decade ago. Cornwell is the author of the Kay Scarpetta series, the Andy Brazil series, and the Win Garano series. Her longest running series is Scarpetta's.
The latest installment in the series is Port Mortuary, the eighteenth Scarpetta book. As a true Scarpetta fan, I was pleased to learn more about Kay Scarpetta. If you read my post yesterday about another series (Kathy Reichs' Tempe Brennan books), you know that I look for three things in long-running series books:
more information about the main character
some pivotal character growth and development
a good, solid plot
Cornwell delivered on numbers one and two, but fell short on the third. Readers of Port Mortuary most definitely learn more about Kay Scarpetta, the series' main character. Scarpetta is a forensic medical examiner who during the span of the series has worked in Virginia, Florida, and New York. For this newest novel, her practice has moved to Boston (well, Cambridge) to a state-of-the-art building built to her specifications. The problem? She wasn't there for its development, and she has also missed its first few months in operation.
When Port Mortuary opens, Scarpetta has spent months in Delaware at Dover Air Force Base, working to help identify military remains and to practice new technology doing virtual autopsies. A difficult case opens up and Scarpetta is suddenly thrust back into the world of her new project, the Cambridge Forensic Center. What she finds is a working environment less than up to her standards, and she is forced to attempt to fix things as the case continues to unfold. Interspersed with the present time, Scarpetta also has semi-flashbacks from her earliest days with the military. Back then she was assigned to a case in South Africa as part of a military scholarship she received in college. Her duties there still haunt her, and she seems unable to separate her current work from that previous period of time.
Perhaps as a result of all this angst about the past, Port Mortuary is somewhat lacking in action in the present. Although there are interesting cases in the novel, and also storylines concerning secondary characters (Scarpetta's niece Lucy, husband Benton, and long-time colleague Pete Marino all appear throughout the novel), Scarpetta herself seems removed from that action. Readers find out about case developments as Scarpetta discovers them -- which is to say, late in the game. Although this could have been very purposeful on Cornwell's part (after all, the novel seems to focus on Scarpetta's inability to interact in the present), as a reader it is disconcerting -- and a bit off-putting. Rather than seeing events unfold, the plot action seems to be related as an after-thought to the reader.
Kay Scarpetta remains one of my favorite fictional characters, a heroine with true grit (lovely metaphor, especially given the Oscars were this past weekend, don't you think?). Even if I wasn't wholly satisfied with Port Mortuary, I'm still grateful to Cornwell for yet another glimpse into Scarpetta's world.
Last Thursday morning, my boyfriend & I left bright and early to go on a weekend road trip. We had been invited by his brother & sister-in-law to stay at a cabin an hour or two south of Atlanta, Georgia, so that was our first destination. We made a couple of stops along the way -- notably, I spent some time in the new McKay Used Books store in Chattanooga. I visited their old building probably once a week during my college years at UT Chattanooga, but I hadn't been to their new store location until this weekend. Very nice, and almost an exact replica of their Knoxville location.
I picked up several new books, including a paperback copy of Joshilyn Jackson's first novel gods in Alabama. I read it years ago, but wanted to re-read it before the release date of Jackson's newest novel Backseat Saints (you can read my original review here, but look for an upcoming double book review/ comparison coming on Saint's release date in June). I had one at home, but couldn't resist picking it up to take with me to read on vacation. I also bought Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman, which has been reviewed on many book blogs and which my favorite high school librarian recently told me I had to read. Also bought at McKay's: Cleaving by Julie & Juliaauthor Julie Powell, Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown: Notes From a Single Girl's Closet by Adena Halpern, and The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (who also wrote Comfort Food, which I loved).
Then lunch at Panera Bread in Atlanta. So good, and seriously? Why can't we get one of these in my town? We're not so big, but we are a university town & on the interstate to boot. We also made a stop (my first time ever) at Trader Joe's in Atlanta, which was everything I thought it would be (and more!). We're definitely going to be making a run to the Nashville location once a month or so for some staples.
My plan for the weekend was to lay in the sun, relax, and read, read, read. In the car, I listened to Patricia Cornwell's At Risk. I am a huge Cornwell fan, having read every Kay Scarpetta novel and every Andy Brazil novel. It would make sense for me to really like the Win Garano series, too, right? Well, I didn't. I listened to the entire thing, so I made it through, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Cornwell's other books. Originally published in serial form in the NY Times Magazine, the novella focuses on Massachusetts State Police investigator Win Garano. His boss, a female district attorney for Boston, orders him to look into a cold case in Tennessee with the hope that solving it will help her political career. When an act of violence stops them both in their tracks, Win begins questioning her motives. I found the characters much less sympathetic than Cornwell's other protagonists. Due to its short length, it was also difficult to really get into the plot, as things happen quickly and without much development. At Risk was recently made into a Lifetime Television movie, which I may watch simply to see the novella come to life.
When we arrived at the (absolutely beautiful) cabin on a private lake, I read Joshilyn Jackson's gods in Alabama in less than 24 hours. It was phenomenal the second time around, and you'll be able to read my thoughts on it in my post June 8th about it and Backseat Saints.
The next novel in my Kathy Reichs's Tempe Brennan series quest was Bones to Ashes, and so I delved into its pages as I laid on the beach on Hilton Head Island and then as Brent fished off the pier on Tybee Island. We decided that since we were so close to the coast (about 4 hours from the cabin), we would regret it if we didn't spend at least one night at the beach. So we visited the beach on HHI at Folly Field, stayed the night on Hilton Head (and visited the oh-so-fun Salty Dog & had our pictures made on their webcam) and then the beach on Tybee Island the next day. In this tenth novel in the series, Tempe is back in Montreal for the summer. When a police officer is found with a skeleton as a morbid collector's item, Tempe begins examining it and pondering the disappearance forty years ago of her childhood friend Evangeline. Reichs also continues the on-again-off-again romance between Tempe and Canadian police investigator Andrew Ryan. Reichs sneaks in another appearance by Tempe's crazy sister Harry, which makes the novel all the more enjoyable. Definitely a good inclusion for the series, and Reichs also involves leprosy in the plot. Very interesting, and with historically accurate information.
I'm sure there will be those who don't agree, but in my opinion Patricia Cornwell has finally done it again. She has returned to the Kay Scarpetta the world fell in love with in Postmortem twenty years ago. In the mid-200os, Cornwell seemed to get out of the groove of good mystery writing, penning Scarpetta novels such as Trace (2004) and Book of the Dead (2007) to mixed reviews. It seemed for years after Benton Wesley's death and reappearance, all Cornwell could harp on was how angry Scarpetta was at him for doing such a thing to her. That, coupled with some experimental writing gone bad (switching point-of-view, using both first- and third-person, etc.) has actually turned some readers away from the series.
In the latest Scarpetta novel, The Scarpetta Factor, there is once again a glimpse of the old Dr. Kay Scarpetta, who performs autopsies in a ritual to honor the dead. This time she is working in New York City doing pro bono work and on hiatus from her current paid position in Massachusetts. Benton also works in both Massachusetts and NYC, and believe it or not, the two of them are finally happy in their marriage. Notice I didn't say they were happy... just that they were happy together. In an ode to the profession, Cornwell describes the inscriptions found in the lobby of the New York City Medical Examiner's Office:
Carved in marble above the reception desk was Tacent colloquia. Effugiat risus. Hic locus est ubi mors gaudet succurrere vitae. Let conversations cease. Let laughter depart. This is the place where death delights to help the living. Music sounded from a radio on the floor behind the desk, the Eagles playing "Hotel California." Filene, one of the security guards, had decided that an empty lobby was hers to fill with what she called her tunes. ". . . You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave," Filene softly sang along, oblivious to the irony.
Scarpetta is back to solving the mysteries of the dead in this latest effort from Cornwell. Also a consultant for CNN, Scarpetta is carving a name for herself with the American public. The "Scarpetta Factor" is the angle Scarpetta provides on the air regarding highly publicized murder cases.
Here's an interview with Patricia Cornwell on the set of CNN, where Scarpetta lends her expertise in the novel:
An interesting whodunnit follows, with some weaving into the story from the main characters' past lives. Benton is tortured by things that happened long ago in his FBI years, and Lucy has relationship problems with the assistant DA from a previous novel but manages to get a lot of technology-speak into the storyline, as well. Marino is back, and in my opinion more loveable than ever, after Cornwell almost ruined his character with an attack on Scarpetta a couple of novels ago.
There are places where Cornwell includes a bit too much technical talk (and relies on technology to drive the slightly-difficult-to-swallow plot in some instances). In the end, though, Cornwell delivers what her readers (and me!) have been waiting years to see -- a heartfelt depiction of the characters we love, involved in a fast-paced story replete with evil sociopaths, twists, and turns.
I HAVE finished one book in the past week. However, I have started and stopped many more than that. After a serious case of reading ADHD, I've finally (maybe) settled down. During my ADHD period, I picked up and started no fewer than 5 or 6 different books. None of them held my attention long enough to really give them the concentration they deserve. Thus, they were abandoned. A few from the "just couldn't do it -- maybe later" list:
1)Secrets to Happiness by Sarah Dunn: I read her novel The Big Love, but I recall feeling much the same way... As though it didn't really go anywhere, and wherever it did go, it wasn't very far. In this newest novel, Dunn set forth to tell the tale of some -- let's just say it -- overall unlikeable characters. Holly, the main character, is an uptight writer who seems a bit holier-than-thou, yet is sleeping with a 20-year-old. Her best friend, cheating on her husband with reckless abandon, despite their infant son. Her writing partner, a dried-up, has-been who feels he just DESERVES better than the show they're currently writing for. I gave it about 150 pages before giving up. A valiant effort, if you ask me.
For a positive review from someone who actually read Dunn's entire book, see the New York Timesbook review of Secrets to Happiness.
2) You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas by Augusten Burroughs: I always forget. I don't really like Burroughs or his writing. Running with Scissors (both the novel and the film based on it) was endlessly entertaining, if almost macabre in its subject matter. Everything past that (Dry(2003), Magical Thinking (2003), and Possible Side Effects (2006)) was depressing, dark (but not darkly funny), and virtually unreadable. I think my biggest mistake is sometimes, in the midst of library browsing, mixing up Burroughs with one of my favorite writers, David Sedaris. Sedaris is dark, yes, and sometimes even depressing. But he is always an excellent storyteller, while Burroughs simply makes me want to punch him. Oh, and he's not funny. The audiobook version of You Better Not Cry (unfortunately read by Burroughs himself) got ejected from my CD player after five minutes in. He began by talking about stacking metal folding chairs and his anxiety over "not knowing how to do this properly" as a child. Really? Where are you when I need you, David Sedaris?!?
For a different take on his memoir, read Augusten Burroughs' interview about the book with TIME magazine.
3) The Buffalo Soldier by Chris Bohjalian: I have nothing bad to say about this book. I've loved everything ever written by Bohjalian, and I expect nothing less from this novel. But I just can't get into a novel right at this moment whose inside cover says: "....and it is they who introduce him to the history of the buffalo soldiers -- African-American cavalry troopers whose reputation for integrity, honor, and personal responsibility inspires the child." I keep telling myself it's NOT going to be about soldiers or war, but I can't get past it. Not only that, but (don't tell anyone) I don't really like history. I know. It's terrible. But true. Eventually, though, I will read what I'm sure is an excellent novel.
Part book review, part interview, check out BookPage.com's article on The Buffalo Soldier from its publication year in 2002. Also offers proof positive that this book is NOT about soldiers or war & I'm officially off my rocker if I continue to perpetuate that myth each time I pull the book off by shelves!
4) The Little Lady Agency by Hester Browne: I'm about 30-40 pages into this book, and ostensibly abandoned it only to read another book (mystery by Patricia Cornwell!). However, I've found it hard to pick it back up... Like my aversion to history, I also have a slight aversion to novels from the UK. Don't get me wrong -- Tana French, Maeve Binchy, & Helen Fielding are all beloved authors in my mind. But all in all, I don't generally gravitate towards novels set in the UK. That being said, I can't argue that I'll never return to Browne's novel. I'm sure I will at some point in time. For ADHD week? It gets shelved.
Here is an interview with author Hester Browne about how she began writing The Little Lady Agency & its evolution into a series:
5) Feather Crowns by Bobbie Ann Mason: Wow. I'm really starting to notice a pattern in my abandoned reading list. While Mason's novel is not about history, it is one of my other aversions related to history -- the historical novel. It's merits will eventually outweigh its negatives. It's set in the south, it's about a woman giving birth to one of the country's first quintuplets, and it's written by Bobbie Ann Mason. You can't beat a southern female author writing about a southern woman. I will return to it some late night when I have finished all of my library books and can't find a mystery novel on my shelves. I'm sure after completing it, the novel will be one of my favorites. Until then, historical fiction = not reading.
6) How the Other Half Hamptons by Jasmin Rosemberg: Chick lit a la Carrie Bradshaw but for real women. That's how I interpreted Rosemberg's novel would read. Her biography on the back cover tells readers that "as a New York Post Hamptons columnist, [she] chronicled her own experience as a shareholder in a sixteen-week series, and also covered Hamptons nightlife for the Post and red carpet events for Life & Style Weekly." I assumed her novel would be rich with insider details, while being slightly more relatable to the middle class chick I am. I was wrong; the prices people pay for a shared bed in a 10 bedroom mansion in the Hamptons is still three times my monthly rent. Thus, I found her story highly alien to me. That, coupled with unlikeable characters in uninteresting situations... Well, you get the idea. I may return to it on a summer day when I'm laying in the sun on a beach towel, but until then -- on the shelf.
Judge for yourself by reading the first chapter, published as an excerpt in USA Today.
Soon to come: review of a book I actually finished -- Patricia Cornwell's latest Scarpetta novel, The Scarpetta Factor.
in 1990. She had a career as a journalist before she began writing fiction, and published a non-fiction piece Ruth, a Portrait: The Story of Ruth Bell Graham
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, the eighteenth Scarpetta book. As a true Scarpetta fan, I was pleased to learn more about Kay Scarpetta. If you read my post yesterday about another series (Kathy Reichs' Tempe Brennan books), you know that I look for three things in long-running series books:
