Patricia Cornwell continues to entertain readers with a taste for reading about horrific crimes in the 11th Dr. Kay Scarpetta mystery thriller, ‘The Last Precinct’. This is a very good series if one enjoys horror, sadistic serial killers, and sleeping with the lights on with a gun under the pillow.

I have copied the book blurb below, but it has spoilers about the murders in the 10th novel in the series, Black Notice. Readers need to start with book one, Postmortem, since all of the novels after book one refer to plots from the previous books. None of these are standalone.



”Following the death of Diane Bray and an apparent attack on Kay Scarpetta by Jean-Baptiste Chandonne in her own house at the end of Black Notice, The Last Precinct concentrates on discovering the full story behind Chandonne's killings. Kay Scarpetta is also under suspicion for the killing of Bray, due to their known rivalry and public confrontations. Torn between a desire to clear her name and the instinct of a wounded animal to turn against even its would-be rescuers, Kay sifts through the forensic evidence that seems to link Chandonne to past events in her life, up to and including the murder of her lover, Benton Wesley. A major new character is Jaime Berger, from the District Attorney's Office in New York, who believes Chandonne killed a woman in New York two years' before his arrival in Virginia. Kay must examine her own fears, misconceptions, and anything-but-altruistic motives to accept working with another competent woman.‘

These are extremely dark mysteries, and very graphic since Dr. Scarpetta is a medical examiner who describes the autopsies she performs on dead people in detail. She also is having more hysterics a lot because the serial killer horrors done to people lead her to investigate on her own, getting herself tied up and almost murdered by the killer too in every novel!

I’m kidding! Actually, I’m not. Scarpetta is getting more gaga in each novel I’ve read so far. She might be wearing restraints in a mental asylum soon given her exposure to horrific murders and her obviously worsening PTSD. Marvel comics should consider adding Scarpetta to their tortured survivor-guilted hero characters.

I have loved every book in this series until this one. I really struggled to get through it

ETA: I spoiler for the end at the end (for good reason).

THIS IS THE LAST ONE, I won't read Southern Cross for at least a year, and this is the last one I had bought way back than. Sadly it's also 120+ pages longer, without narrowing of text or white pages, and already on the second one dear Kay proclaims that she could handle crashed planes but nobody could handle her death, and then how that giant ugly Marino lusts after her in her bedroom he's never been in (except he saved her life in her bedroom in book one, but that's Cornwell for you). As if the werewolf hadn't been boring enough in the last novel, the next nearly-600 pages are a continuation of that "horror".

But actually the first quarter of the book is just a bafflingly pointless, boring therapy session. For the first time in my life I tried to skim-read a whole book, which is depressingly easy, because Cornwell's descriptions never serve any larger purpose than to make her look like a proper writer and fill up more pages, and she really does repeat everything in every book. The therapy is only a larger piece of vomit about how she never cries and was never so scared before and all those lies.

Towards the third quarter there are suddenly three new serial killings, and thanks to Cornwell's illogical and insane splitting up of scenes into chapters, I can drag myself from one to the next by telling myself "it's only a little step, look, just 4 more pages" again and again.

And I try to tell myself that in an age where there aren't enough serial killers to go around for all the detectives in films and book, it makes sense to economise and keep bringing back the same, right? Even if the signature and MO of one set of killings is completely different. Except - the reason that doesn't work in the end is that it's always about KAY, the whole world, every baddie just kills for her, over decades and continents.

Did I mention Cornwell writes in first person present tense?

And if anybody actually read my lenghty recaps - I'm sorry if they are as "depressed" and repetitive as the novels; at least I'm not having tears in my eyes, and actually provide more content per sentence.

Retconning some of the many power women Kay hated in the past, they are now beloved and trusted friends. Lucy is a millionaire, btw, wasn't that the only thing missing? And Marino's son is suddenly the supervillain (off-screen). And she seriously keeps using "honey-coloured, baby-fine" (body) hair to prove how "unimmaginably monstrous" the bad guy is.

Only 80 pages to go now, o/ is what I should be, but I'm all /o because it just. Won't. End. It's not just repeating the same words in slightly different scenes, it's not just blowing up pathetically handled single-paragraph-scenes into major events they hadn't been (in retrospect), it's actually repeating the same murders from the last book - again, and again, and again, retold without ever adding an ounce of insight or interest.

ETA: one should nearly admire Cornwell for how she actually manages to become worse when you think it's not possible. SPOILER: after the whole book had been about poor Kay being accused of the murders of that big bad wolf, the "new" serial killers Jay and Bev are not only connected to the evil evil (dead) Diane and wolfman Chan donne, they are also in cahoots with Temple and Carrie whom the previous 6 books or so had been wasted on. Cornwell must be a megalomaniac without a trace of irony, because the whole world really is trying to get poor Kay down. But at her hearing, the reason she's not charged is not that the evidence against her was proven wrong, but because she was beaten up and yet another young boy had been killed (yet another MO and yet again by the same serial killer). If not even Kay's constant crying could prove her a liar, this purely emotional non-trial should go counter against all her claims of factual integrity.

And the two "new" serial killers disappeared for no good reason without a trace, so this is STILL not the end of that idiotic "werewolf" thread either. Even if you are a fan of her, please be warned that even in TLP Cornwell neither clears up Black Notice nor actually what TLP is.

3,5 estrelas

#11 in the Kay Scarpetta series. The final series entry with Scarpetta in the position of Virginia's chief medical examiner is firmly starting the decline from a readable series of medico/legal thrillers to a morass of melodrama.

Kay Scarpetta, Virginia's chief medical examiner has plenty of reason to be upset. She's standing in a room in a shabby motel where a body has been found, severely tortured. She's under official suspicion of having murdered maleficent cyber-cop Diane Bray - Black Notice (1999). She's suspected of trumping up charges against accused serial killer Jean-Baptiste Chandonne. She's reeling from the aftershock of Chandonne's murderous attack on her; she mightily misses her slain FBI agent/lover Dan Belson; she's learned that her gay niece, Lucy, is quitting law enforcement for a private PI firm called the Last Precinct - and it's Christmas time.

In the book preceding this one, Black Notice, I thought that the werewolf serial killer was the creepiest thing ever. In The Last Precinct, the werewolf killer is back, but seems much more pathetic this time. Maybe because we get to hear him make lengthy speeches. He has lost his mystery.

There are so many double crosses and false identities in this book, that it is hard to keep them all straight. It is also hard to believe all of them. Has Dr. Scarpetta really made so many enemies, that they can create international conspiracies to frame/discredit/kill her?

And does the reader need to be hit over the head so much about discrimination against gays and strong females. I feel her point would be better made if the characters were proudly gay and female, and doing their best at whatever jobs they choose, without constantly comment on how they are mistreated.

For me, this book was just ok. Didn't love it, didn't hate it.

I feel that the Dr Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell is getting better by the book. Book #11, n  The Last Precinctn, is full of tension, suspense, and plot twists that take you to the edge of suspense. I am now following both the story-line and the characters.

The toxic female Police Deputy Chief, Diane Bray, was killed in Book #10, n  Black Noticen by the werewolf, Jean-Baptiste Chandonne. The killer also attacked Dr Kay Scarpetta in her own house. The story is continued in this book - Kay Scarpetta is suspected of killing Diane Bray due to their known rivalry and public confrontations.

Caught between clearing her name and ensuring justice is meted on Jean-Baptiste Chandonne, everything seems to be slipping away: New York City District Attorney, Jaime Berger, believes Chandonne killed a woman in New York two years' before his arrival in Virginia. Virginia DA wants to handover Chandonne to New York for diplomatic reasons, because there is no death penalty in NY, so that Virginia won't be accused of killing a French citizen by France. Kay does not like this, she believes that Chandonne should face justice in Virginia. But it appears that the case will be tried in New York.

What really is happening is that, Jaime Berger is after Dr Scarpetta. Jaime is the attorney who will lead the special jury investigating Dr Kay Scarpetta. Kay must face her own fears, misconceptions, and anything-but-altruistic motives to accept working with another competent woman.

Given the title, I expected the novel to focus on Lucy's newest venture. Drummed out of the FBI, probably for being gay, and then in danger of losing her position with ATF, where she is seen as over aggressive, Lucy and a former mentor set up a private company called the Last Precinct. Individuals, companies, maybe even governments, can hire Lucy et al to handle jobs that may be too messy for normal government agencies to handle. Not reporting to the government, they may take poetic license with the law and use clan destine means along with Lucy's tech savvy to ferret out secrets.

Benton, leading up to his disappearance in "Point of Origin" was apparently keeping notes on someone stalking or harassing him, which he kept in a secret file he called his "TLP" file, where TLP is also The Last Precinct. Though possibly unrelated to Lucy's company, they both refer to as the last place you can go, when other avenues are cut off.

Neither of these "precinct" play a large role in the book, which is primarily a rehashing of the previous novel Black Notice. Virginia attorney Bufford tries to indict Scarpetta for one of the murders in that case, based on circumstantial evidence that is easily explained by the actual killer's attack on Scarpetta. The novel introduces DA Jamie Berger (of NYC), who enlists Scarpetta's help in understanding the local murders as the relate to a New York City case that proceeds them. It is a shock when Berger is inserted as the DA in the case against Scarpetta. Berger will resurface when Scarpetta leave Virginia to work in NYC in later novels.

The most intriguing character is Scarpetta's friend Anna, a psychiatrist, who helps Kay process her buried feelings about Benton's death and her ways of avoiding and controlling her emotions, learned after the early death of here father. Anna is then subpoenaed to testify on what Kay has shared, since she has not been paid for these sessions and is therefore not entitled to patient privilege.

The book does have a ghoulish series of murders, which must be solved, with some forensic investigation. Scarpetta tries out a theory on Marino to determine the best way to murder him to fit the evidence. This book serves primarily as a bridge between Black Notice and BlowFly. It doesn't stand on its own as well as the other novels in the series.

I feel that it’s been hard for me to give out any 5 star ratings when it comes to how I choose to rank novels. A 5 star novel in my opinion is something that blows any expectations I’ve had out of the water and it’s something that I could see myself picking up and reading again at some point in my life.

Most books don’t hold up to that standard for me. However, this book comes extremely close with the only thing holding it back being that for an average reader they couldn’t just pick this one up on its own and understand what’s going on. This is by no means a standalone novel, but that should not stop anyone from realizing how absolutely phenomenal it is.

If you couldn’t tell, I loved this novel. I’m so glad that this was the one I picked up immediately after “The Talisman” by Stephen King which almost made me feel I was ready to give up reading for a while. This was without a doubt the best Patricia Cornwell has been in this Scarpetta series yet and I cannot wait to pick up the next one and dive right in.

Okay, I feel like I’ve made my point. “The Last Precinct” takes place immediately after the last novel, “Black Notice“, Scarpetta is still reeling after what has happened to her and now she’s under investigation herself surrounding the murder of Diane Bray (the deputy chief who had it out for Scarpetta in the last novel).

Right off the bat, everything in Scarpetta’s life seems to be falling apart and this is more than just a culmination of the past few months in the last two novels. This picks pieces from her life over perhaps the last 5 years of her career plus multiple novels and everything begins to come to a head once Jamie Berger enters the picture.

Berger is a prosecutor taking over the case of Jean-Baptiste Chandonne (the man responsible for the murders taking place in “Black Notice”) also known as a real life werewolf. She holds nothing back and she stops at nothing to uncover the truth of Scapetta’s involvement in everything that has occurred since he showed up in Richmond.

This time around the stakes feel so much more real than before. That’s not to say that there weren’t quite a few moments from previous novels that absolutely shocked me, but never involving Scarpetta herself. Sure, she’s almost always found herself personally involved in most of the cases, but what I mean is that it never amounted to her entire life and career being up in jeopardy.

Everything we’ve seen her establish since the first novel is in distress this time around. A career change is something that I never would’ve seen coming, but it’s highly likely that from here on she’s moving on to different pastures and I’m even more intrigued to see how both Lucy and Marino take a place in her life now.

The importance of everyone has skyrocketed. I think what made me really like this novel is all the possibilities it has opened up for the future. 11 novels in and 10 more to go, I can’t help but wonder how they continue on considering the mess that was caused within these 400 pages.

This leads me to the unpredictability that this novel has established. There were quite a few things that I was unable to grasp until the last 100 pages or so. The final act of this book was particularly jaw dropping. I had my theories, but even those were still shocking reveals in themselves.

I wish I could sit here and recommend this book to anyone immediately, but I can’t because I strongly feel the appreciation comes from having read through all the others. I didn’t hate “Black Notice”, but it definitely wasn’t my favorite either. So to go from where I was mentally by the end of that novel to the end of this one was huge.

This literally has been the most compelled I’ve been by a Scarpetta novel yet and once again, I have no plans of talking anytime soon.

I can’t believe I’m saying this after all the snarky updates, but this one is a solid 3.

I strongly believe this book, while incredibly dull at times, was amends for all the misgivings of the previous books. Basically every complaint I've made about past books was addressed in some form or fashion.

I have yet to read the next book so I'm not making this statement on any authority, but I believe this book can 100% be skipped without missing anything valuable about the series. I think it should be regarded as an "in betweener" or volume #9.5 or something like that. It seems to be a lot of filler, but it serves to address everything that happens between books, which I've always been annoyed to miss in the past.

We finally get to see some decent interactions between Scarpetta and some of her friends and family. We get to see a "humanized" side of arrogant Scarpetta, who spends a lot of the book feeling scared and nervous. We get to see Scarpetta finally work with and admire another ambitious hard-working woman, rather than hate on her from the beginning. We get some acknowledgement that Lucy changed girlfriends between books. We get more scientific info dumps. All good things!

In other words, it feels like fan service, or, honestly, it feels like it was taken over by a ghostwriter who had a very specific vision and a lot of creative leeway. Changing to present tense was a jarring, annoying smokescreen for the fact that the writing changed a lot in other ways. Furthermore, some of the things that happened in this book were ridiculous beyond belief. It was also insanely boring at times. I nearly gave up a few times, but I rushed through the last 50 or so pages and started thinking about buying the next couple to keep reading because at this point I'm in too deep to stop.

I like Jean-Baptiste Chandonne more than I ever liked Carrie Grethen.

One year after Benton's death and Kay is still grieving. The way Cornwell describes that grief--as not even remembering what you did, as if you have been under the earth while your body still functions--is pretty realistic. Kay has to face Benton's death, not avoid it as she has been.

I enjoyed Kay's conversations with Anna, actually. They were my favorite parts of the book. The recaps of Black Notice, although maybe necessary to make the reveal of Berger as prosecutor, were really tedious.

Benton's death made Kay more of a target, not less. Its ripple effects are destructive for so many. I will re-read Blow Fly now to see if he expected everyone's life destroyed in this way. At the end of this book, the highest cost was paid by Marino (who, I think, has paid the highest cost of all of the characters once they all reconcile). The idea that both Marino and Lucy watch Kay grieve like this, both knowing (according to Ch. 4 of Blow Fly) that Benton isn't dead and they are still in contact with them, adds a layer of...I don't know the word for it. Benton's death destroyed Kay and nearly got her killed. Lucy and Marino bear responsibility for that. The FBI should have been involved in her protection at this point. They had to know that Benton would do something to protect her.

I was saddened to learn that Benton had had an affair while with Kay, but what a stupid reason for Bray to do what she does. Cornwell had to fall back on "he done her wrong" as a motive? Why not just say the cartel needed Bray in a high position and Kay was too involved--too good at her job--too able to discover what was going on--and needed to be removed? That would have been plausible.

I suppose there might be some message in the monstrous JBC and his equally monstrous but thought to be righteous because he's good looking brother. That Berger is a friend, then enemy, then friend. Appearances can't be trusted.

Das Ende war gut- überraschend. schade, dass nur die letzten 70 Seiten spannend waren und die ganze Geschichte entscheidend weiter gebracht hat