Un très bon polar.

Chapters 1-15 were ..good.. and then it really slowed down for me (I’m the kind of person who can only read one book at a time.. and this one took me a month..!). Plot/action picked back up at 22 through the end. Great ending!

Intense, as usual.

I'm so invested in this series and even though it's been ages since I read it am amazed at how many details that I remember.

This book was yet another pivot point in the series and I love the continued evolution of the characters and how cases and events of the past continue to influence their current moods, behaviors and actions.

What I am finding even greater appreciation for this second time around is how problems are not wrapped up in a bow at the end of each book and how characters continue to fluctuate from doing well, to backsliding, to succeeding, to doubting, to feeling good, to feeling awful, to overcoming and to saying and doing some hard to read things. These characters are complex and so well crafted and messy and human and I love that element of the stories.

I also like that we're getting Kay's perspective on getting older and evaluating her life and her work and her relationship with herself. Her awareness of the changes in her relationships and her role in them. I also love the evolution of the character's relationships with one another and that we keep getting great, new, strong characters in these books.

I also really enjoyed the mystery of this book - again....I'll never solve them but will happily listed as Kay & Co. puzzle together the pieces, using science, evidence, research and logic to solve these cases.

This is the first book in the Scarpetta series I can say I was truly disappointed by.

Her constant gawking at her niece's body disgusts me.

I felt the story line left some unanswered questions. And I thought it was interesting that Carrie was talked about and had all this power over Kay yet she wasn't seen until the very end and didn't even say one word in the entire book. It felt very anticlimactic.

Enjoying the Scarpetta series.

This book was so bad that I can’t even bring myself to go into any details because that would mean reliving this atrocity. Halfway through I removed all of the unread books from this series from my TBR list. I looked ahead to see if any future books looked better and found that 14 books later the same characters are still having the same problems and literally nothing has changed. Also the main character has a REALLY unhealthy attachment to her niece that just gets more disturbing with each book.

Read a while back so from what I remember it was decent enough, featuring the reoccurrence of a old adversary.

This is a well-written, entertaining, fast paced, police procedural thriller. It has an intelligent, strong and capable female protagonist, murder, suspense, wit, a touch of humor, heartbreak, and a satisfying conclusion. This novel can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone, but it is better when read in order for continuity. I listened to the audio version of this novel, and the narrator, Ms. Karen White, does an outstanding job voicing the characters.

A very weird scene of Kay looking at her niece’s naked body with a lot of interest

Who is behind the murders and arsons popping up in NY and PA? How did the gruesome serial killer from the past's accomplice escape a high security psychiatric hospital on a secure island? Are they in danger? Is it all connected? It all comes together with the loss of someone important in the group and a helicopter chase.

Interesting story. I can't put my finger on what exactly it is about this one that is preventing me from giving 5 stars. But I do still recommend reading it.

Re Read February 2024

Story 4 stars**⬆️
Audio 3.75 stars**
Narrator n  Karen Whiten