Remember when you could actually read and enjoy the Kay Scarpetta books from Patricia Cornwell?

Back when the series started, Kay was human, had a sense of humor, enjoyed cooking, did things normal people do. As the series has gone on, it has gotten darker, weirder (not a word, I know), more ominous, just...horrid.

The characters have degenerated into caricatures of their worst selves. The world has become sinister and evil. Honestly, there isn't anything enjoyable about reading these books. Who wants to read an extended description of torture?

It makes me remember why I quit reading them a while back.

The problem with this genre is that there are only so many ways to kill a person. The only saving grace is when the characters are delineated with depth and originality, which was only partially true in this book. A mildly surprising epilogue saved this book from a worse rating.

I really enjoy the Kay Scarpetta series. Back when I began reading Kay was a relatable character, enjoyed cooking, and doing things normal people do, but as the series progressed her character appears to have gotten darker and so have the supporting characters. Evil lurks at every turn for Kay.

I’m somewhat annoyed at the conflicting personalities of the supporting characters too: Lucy and Marino. Why is Marino even describing Lucy’s physical appearance, like “She’s really pretty. Got nice breasts.” To me this is pseudo incest; he’s known Lucy since she was a kid!

The plot was decent; crimes are detailed, even if at times it is all over the place. The weird ending was whodunit - the pretty lesbian who had a tragic past and had a split personality disorder.

Perhaps I should give Patricia’s books a break, take a gander at other authors.

BEWARE. I DON'T HIDE MY REVIEWS EVEN IF THEY HAVE SPOILERS. BUT I DON'T PUT THEM ON A FEED, EITHER. I INCLUDE SPOILERS TO HELP ME REMEMBER THE PLOT, SO I DON'T RE-READ A BOOK (From the title alone, I often can't recall if I've read the book.)

I have to say I did not read this novel as closely as I do most Cornwell titles. Sort of chicken or the egg ... I can't tell whether I was indifferent to it because I didn't pay enough attention, or I failed to pay as much attention as usual because the book itself was somehow lacking compared to other Scarpetta stories.

This adventure is set in Florida. Kay Scarpetta's associated with a forensics academy.(Side point -- it's amazing that Marino follows her everywhere like an adoring puppy, even when she moves several states away.)

Red hand prints on bodies are a visual motif throughout.

The ostensible main plot has to do with two adult sisters who disappear.

But that links in with a disappearance from years before, involving the owner of a year-round Christmas accessories shop.

There's another plot involving a young woman who goes by different personas (Stevie, and others) who's been the victim of violent abuse as a child, unbeknownst to others. By story's end we learn that she's got her finger in multiple "pies" in Predator.

One more thread has to do with research being conducted by Benton and others to try to identify the criminal mind and understand its development and leanings.

Yet another thread involves the staff of the academy. One member (who eventually ties in with said young woman) has overstated his credentials to get the job. He's jealous of Scarpetta, and does all he can to scretly (using computer access) sabotage relationships between Scarpetta and Marino, Scarpetta and Benton, etc.

Funny, but Scarpetta often writes stories set in winter. Although it's winter up north (where several scenes play out) the lush, moist, ripe Florida environment lends a different feel to the action.

The paperback cover is a livid green, which speaks -- to me, anyway -- to the semi-tropical location.
The "x ray" front profile of an individual is a nod to the study of the criminal mind.

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3.499999 (rounded down to a 3) out of 5 stars to Predator, the 14th book in the thriller and suspense mystery "Kay Scarpetta" series, published in 2005 by Patricia Cornwell. With so many books in a series, all about crazed serial killers, each successive one needs to do a lot to step it up. I thought this one would do it, as the book focused on multiple killers and tries to understand patterns using brain research. And parts of it were great. But parts of it were too difficult to follow or understand, went off course, had character traits getting more and more annoying... so it fell in the middle of the series for me. I pushed it higher than a 3 only because of how much effort you can tell the author puts into the books, and she should be rewarded for it, as people don't realize how everything does line up from a technical and scientific perspective -- for the most part. It's one of those series you need to take a break from for a few years, to try new stuff. Then go back. With this one, it's very analytic from a psychology and thought-pattern perspective, less from a tracking movements of the killer's actions. Good, but not fantastic.

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Predator (G.P. Putnam’s Sons; 2005) is one of the weakest books in the wildly popular Dr. Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell. The subplots are confusing and the ending is too unbelievable. Readers who have never read a Kay Scarpetta book are much better off reading one of the earlier novels like Cause of Death (1996.) Since the Scarpetta books are full of violence and gore, the squeamish should avoid the series altogether.

Many great murder mysteries can stand by themselves apart from the rest of the series. Only just enough of the backstory is given in order not to interfere with a novel’s narration. Unfortunately, Cornwell assumes that anyone picking up Predator will have read all thirteen of the previous books in the series. Even someone who has read two or three earlier books in the series will find Predator confusing.
Distracting Subplots

Scarpetta herself takes a back seat to her eccentric and filthy rich niece. The daughter runs her own private FBI-like training school in Florida called the Institute. Her problems with the case, with her employees and with her personal life overshadow the book. Not enough of her backstory is given, making her more mysterious than discovering who the killer is.

Not that the reader is encouraged to learn anything about Lucy. She is written about coldly and dispassionately, as if Cornwell has come to detest this character. Lucy and most of the rest of the “good guys” have few redeeming qualities. It makes reading Predator a chore. The only likable character is a tarantula – only because tarantulas do not long, complicated personal histories. The tarantula is the only character that hasn’t slept around, curses like a sailor, stabbed anyone in the back, tortures total strangers or writes books about those that do.

Unrealistic Ending

The hallmark of truly great fiction is that it can be mistaken for fact. In order for this to occur, the author needs to describe a situation that could possibly happen in the real world. It takes a lot of research and writing skill to pull this off. Predator is not great fiction. The reader has a really hard time trying to suspend disbelief.

Without giving away the plot, the ending is completely unbelievable. The long slog through the book’s hundreds of pages, laden with medical research projects and tons of technical jargon makes a bad case for the plausibility of the ending.

This is a good crime thriller that follows Kay and Lucy as they hunt down a killer who targets young women leaving them naked and tattooed and another who seems to target anyone vulnerable enough with no real rhyme or reason. Or are they hunting the same person? The writing is of course gripping with plenty of twists and turns and the characters are on the whole believable and realistic, although some aspects of their relationships didn't quite feel right, although I can't figure out why. Overall though an enjoyable read.

This is the 14th book from Cornwell in the Kay Scarpetta series.

This is a book with multiple plot line disorder in which the author tries to save it with emergency triage at the end leaving the book dead on the table with no one to save it.

What a mess. Good luck following the story as it jumps all over the place with all of the characters you are use to (Kay, Marino, Lucy and Benton) plus the victims and killers. The ending in which Cornwell tries to tie it all up is a mess in which not all things are explained (red-hand prints) and any inconsistencies in the book are blamed on a killer with multiple personalities.

It starts out with a pretty graphic lesbian one night stand by Lucy with a strange girl named Stevie. You learn this has become quite normal for Lucy. She is also putting on weight.

Marino is becoming a buff Harley rider who is getting it on with whoever he can too. All the while thinking of Kay while he does and letting his fantasies with her affect his relationships.

Kay and Wesley once again are in different cities with Kay running her Academy in Florida while Wesley studies killer's brains in Boston. Kay isn't as mean to people as she normally is but that might be because she is no longer the focus of each chapter. We only get a glimpse of her unflattering personality every 3-4 chapters.

Another disappointing book from the Scarpetta series.

Kay Scarpetta #14: Now in Florida, Kay tries out her new position as Director of Forensic Science; meanwhile Lucy is on a downwards spiral... and although it's becoming formulaic, Cornwell does it so well... yes, Kay and co. are targeted by a serial killer. The last 4 to 5 books in this series were buzzing nicely, as was this one; it's rare that a series hits the 14th book and is still interesting and captivating at times. 6 out of 12.

This is the second Scarpetta book I've read, and while there were some interesting aspects to it - especially a multi-city, multi-character weaving of the narrative together - I found the characters to be colder than I was expecting, and more remote. Part of this certainly stems from reading the books out of order, and thus missing what I presume is a natural character development path - but in general, characters should be somewhat likable, or compelling, if I'm going to continue picking up a series. And by that guideline, this book fails - if this were the first Scarpetta novel I'd read, I would not be going back for another. As is, I will be careful with the next I pick up.

My main complaint is that the narrative style here ended up in a lot of telling and very little showing - action began and then was cut away from, with the telling (from a character) explaining what was missed by the reader. Doing this once might be an interesting narrative trick, but seeing it repeat at the end of chapters, with the next picking up later and filling in the blanks, began to feel like an attempt to get around having to write any scene of action.

Overall, an intriguing idea that was not well-executed.

POTENTIAL SPOILER BELOW



My other issue here is more a reflection, I hope, of the novels I've randomly read by Cornwell - but how is it always someone on the inside? Wouldn't Scarpetta simply stop hiring people, or go to someone who'd demonstrated better judgment?

Well written thriller

For some reason, it took me longer to get through this book than usual. I am not sure if it was my life schedule interfering with my reading or if I just wasn't as into this book as I was the others. I think it was a combination of both. While it was good, I thought it was also a bit confusing -- probably because I went days between readings and I would forget things.

I felt the characters are not as deep as I would like them to be. . . there doesn't seem to be time to really bring the characters to life in the way I would like.