The first half of this book moves very slowly. The last 1/3 finally brings the details into focus. But as usual, leaves us with a few mild cliffhangers, new serial killers added to the mix, and a still unsolved case.

I think I’m done with this author.

I first read this book when it came out just under 20 years ago and most of the key elements of the story are still in my memory backs. That means the whole "twist" at the end so the whole Jay Talley/Benton/Diane Bray link  was not a surprise the second time around. However, I don't think that affected my rating this time as this book is unnecessarily long, convoluted and down right confusing.

When I first read the series, it was also around this book (or the one after it) that I gave up on Kay for what I though was for good. However, I am determined this time around to see what has become of Kay in the 20 years since we last met as there are now over 20 books in this series.

The first third of the book is basically one long therapy session with Kay having a breakdown, then it is bad thing after bad thing after bad thing that happens to her that makes you feel depressed and makes you wonder why she just doesn't just walk away from it all. Towards the end we get a little more into the forensic aspects, but the whole Jay storyline makes no sense to me at all and the associated murders Kay investigated just seemed too convoluted to feel satisfied with the ending  Also, how did Jay manage to avoid all the high level government security checks when his DNA is all over some pretty horrific crime scenes and why is he taking up with trailer trash in his fine armani suits???. To be honest, I just didn't understand any of the motivations anymore the second time around then I did the first time around and I am just keen to move on to the next book and hope the absurdity settles down a little and Cornwell gets back to basics.

Reading Challenge
Aussie Reader's 2020 May Genre Challenge: Read a crime novel.

I've never read any Patricia Cornwell before. I picked this one up, hoping it was a nice alternative to a Karin Slaughter. Authors can only write so fast, and you need to keep your queue filled.

I was really disappointed. I didn't realize (must have been living under a crime drama rock), when I picked it up, that the book was one in a series, but I got lots of reminders throughout the book that impactful events had occurred before. And there was plenty of sturm und drang of the endless mental sort, with minimal action, for the first 300 pages. The only new characters introduced were assigned to a seemingly unrelated murder, so all this "who can I trust" that Dr. Scarpetta was going through (not to mention the odd psychoanalysis with her "friend") was just dreadfully ominous and sad.

I found Dr. Scarpetta as a character somewhat unrelatable in her isolation. I completely understood her feelings of fear, doubt, and pressure; I had trouble with her lack of attractive, relatable, dependable friends or contacts. And I'm not familiar with the role her character plays in solving crimes - it seems remarkably similar to that old TV show "Quincy M.D."

I nearly put the book down because the results seemed so obvious, but was determined to slog through - only to discover that yes, indeed, Dr. Scarpetta's feeling of foreboding were due to what I expected - probably I've watched way too much "Law & Order." And although I didn't guess one of the guilty parties, I was suspicious, and I would have had a search warrant on my main suspect days before our climatic story end. I'm sure that people who have started with the first story in the series, and have developed a relationship with Dr. Scarpetta, would have liked this book much better than I did.

I’m am so hooked on this series. Can’t wait to read her next. Blow Fly.

This book starts out fast but at times it dragged in places. Overall, I liked the book. Drop the couple slow parts and it is a very fascinating story without giving any spoiler info. Unfortunately, I did not read this one in chronological order. I read her next book when I realize some important things happened in Scarpetta's life that I did know happened. Actually, pretty crucial events which is when I realized I hadn't read this book. After the first several Scapetta books, one really has to read them in order. I would recommend this to any Scarpetta fans.

I found this book very fascinating. I don't really like reading thrillers or horror books or crime books but I enjoy Kay Scarpetta novels a lot. They always have something different in them than the usual crime scenes - they have something different.

This book was once again about one maniac person - it seems to be like that in every Kay Scarpetta book which makes them interesting, the maniacs are always different. This was still a great book because this was strongly linked to some earlier Kay Scarpetta novels and gave some answers to the earlier novels that we couldn't get then. Somehow it's amazing how Cornwell can create a great book with a great plot and still give some remaining answers after two or three books!

These Kay Scarpetta novels are definitely worth reading. There's something for everyone - crime, psychology, everything. Absolutely fantastic.

Not much to say about this one. After reading so many of her books they all run together.

Patricia Cornwell is one of my favorite writers! My daughter gave me this book for Christmas when it was first published :)

I recently started reading this series from the beginning and it's very different compared to reading a book every year.

A lot happens in this book! This is definitely a series that should be read from the beginning! What happens in this book ties back to things that happened a few books ago.

I can't wait to read the next book! A book I also got from my daughter :)

I've been plowing through a re-read of the Kay Scarpetta mysteries over the last month and remembered what I liked and hated about the books. Black Notice was the first "new" read in the series for me and now The Last Precinct, I noticed that reading the books right after each other without any time between them gives you a different perspective on the series. When I first read the books years ago as they came out I was very frustrated with the apparent lack of closure at the end of each book but now, even before getting to the events in Black Notice and this book I realized there was an undercurrent in that "omission".

The Last Precinct is definitely a deviation from the first 10 books in the series, there is a lot of soul searching and insightful dialog, there is much more "down time" or character development, and it brings Kay back into the forefront as a person with a heart and soul, albeit one that is fractured and breaking even if she won't admit it. I know on amazon the book was roundly detested but I did not find it to be bad at all and it moved the series along well, moving Kay forward, painfully so, but away from what has defined her in the past books and into new territory, something that's always difficult on fans but has to be done to keep a series fresh.

A continuation of the Loup Garou storyline, but with less action. Getting a little tired of Kay Scarpetta's moaning and groaning about her lot in life. Seemed like this one took me forever to read.

4,5*