This one was a bit average. I was completely disappointing with the ending. Expected much more. It felt a bit abrupt. Would have liked the story to continue in another book with a better ending.

She reached the stage where it's so bad you laugh - it might not be a happy laugh, not even a very amused one, but you'll have to by the time it needs the state coroner to say "he ain't dead" instead of a more convincing actress. I regret that my reviews for the last four books run into each other, mostly because I wish I'd been able to make detailed notes (esp. since I'll have to get rid of these pretty volumes). This is the worst so far - it ends with IloveLucy and her aunt saving the world (aka USA) with a toy robot and some bad stoic acting. Even the only man that was interesting then caves in. Maybe he'll die between this book and the next? Seriously, terrorists and religious fanatics and all they are used for is for Lucy to move her hand and her aunt to visit a few laboratories she had not found a good excuse to describe so far. She does not even try to give excuses why generally considered crap Marino is involved anymore. I obviously already forgot if there was any plot, apart from the usual taking taxis and airplanes back and forth - but the little pointless showdown at the atomic reactor was the stupidest low point so far. I think. Don't remind me of others - see, the worst bit is that apart from four more KS I also have one more of the less beloved series that I found so interesting - and now it seems I was wrong, what seemed a refreshing and sharp meta text was perhaps really her utter inability to write stories and evolving human beings *sob* *must stop typing* the end.

WTF is with that ending? It's like the author realized there was no way to explain all the BS she's written and she had to cut it while her readers were still breathing (instead of saving them this misery and trashing the whole thing). The book starts to feel really off kilter in the first 1/5 and by the end it veers into fanfiction territory. The only big "conspiracy theory" trope it missed was Nazis.

3.5⭐️

Full disclosure - not my fave motive/mystery of the series. I liked the opening and the initial crime but the resolution wasn't totally for me.

I do still love the characters interactions but was missing a character who didn't have as big of a role, while also loving some major character development of another.

The reread project continues....

Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta novels were something of a guilty pleasure for me during the '90s. Enjoyable and addictive page-turner crime thrillers with a generous helping of pathology and forensic science detail, which appealed to my otherwise dormant inner science geek.

But by this stage in the series - Cause of Death is the 7th Kay Scarpetta novel - Cornwell had well and truly lost the plot, both figuratively and literally.

At her best, Cornwell had always written rather plodding, uninventive prose, but as the series progressed any pretence at literary merit flew out of the window along with her dictionary. And the plots managed the seemingly impossible feat of becoming both formulaic and at the same time ludicrously outlandish and unbelievable.

While it might be true that writing series genre fiction is by its nature inherently formulaic, I'm not sure the formula should be quite so transparent and simplistic as it is here and in the subsequent Scarpetta novels.

Paul Sheldon's "No. 1 fan", Annie Wilkes, might have kidnapped the author in Misery in order to ensure that he didn't kill off his heroine, Misery Chastain, and thus end the series, but I'd be willing to bet that even the most ardent of Cornwell's fans would be more inclined to hold her hostage in order to prevent her from churning out any more of this bilge.

If you're new to reading Cornwell my advice would be to start with her first novel, Postmortem, read the series in chronological order and stop while the going is still reasonably good. And whatever you do, don't touch the Judy Hammer/Andy Brazil books (Hornet's Nest, Southern Cross etc.) with a ten foot barge pole.

Unfortunately for me, a fondness for Scarpetta's unfeasibly sexy FBI/ATF agent lesbian niece, Lucy Farinelli, has kept me plodding doggedly through the novels well after their prime. But now, thanks to a timely intervention in the form of Lucy's rather out of character sexual preference U-turn, even I've been freed from my addiction to this tosh.

Another winner for me on this one. Patricia Cornwell is really good at keeping me hooked.

This one is about a scuba diving homicide which grows into something way bigger. Like crazy big.

The thing I love about Cornwell is the fact the she researches everything in full and involves her personal experiences and expertise in many of the areas she writes about. She even explains in a letter to the reader at the beginning how she had to become a certified scuba diver and put herself through a similar experience that she was about to put her character, Chief ME Dr. Kay Scarpetta, through. How bada$$ is that!?

Twists and turns with a lot of unaliving, which is to be expected when you follow cases involving the Chief Medical Examiner. And if you haven't read my reviews for these books so far. Dr. Scarpetta is the CME of Richmond, VA. Which is another reason I love these, being based in my home town. She does a bit more traveling is the last few, but always ends up back home in RVA at some point. Love it! Read it! 10/10 would recommended for Crime-Fic readers or anyone really.

Cornwell continues the Scarpetta series with another great mystery that will keep the reader on the edge of their seat. When Scarpetta receives an odd phone call on New Year's Eve about a body, she is left to wonder what to do, as little information is provided to her. Only later do authorities call her to seek help and they deny anyone would have contacted Scarpetta before. As she is covering for one of her regional medical examiners, she is faced with a new cast of characters while on the scene. What looks like a diving accident gone wrong soon unravels into a larger mystery with deeper implications. How does a local Zionist movement tie into all of this and what can Scarpetta do to solve this before the bodies begin to pile up? Cornwell treats the reader to another great installment of the Scarpetta series sure to keep her fans happy and add more to the list.

Cornwell's ability to think up new scenarios surely keeps the character fresh and ever-evolving. She has a way of adding layers rather than piling on to already known facts, which surely keeps the avid reader liking the always-expanding character of Dr. Kay Scarpetta. With dry wit and excellent dialogue, the reader will laugh, gasp, and perhaps even cry as they join Scarpetta on this and other mysteries.

Kudos Madam Cornwell on this excellent piece of work!

Entertaining. Not to enthusiastic about the story line. But still a good mystery by Cornwell. My attachment to the characters keeps me reading the series.

I do wish that more closure regarding previous storylines was offered.

Kay's niece, Lucy, is annoying. I appreciate her character as an IT prodigy, but her "flaws" detract from the story, imo, not add to it.

There are some garish tidbits in this crime novel - a homicide victim whose urethra empties on the underside of his penis rather than the tip - but the whole thing is semi-interesting at best, and I truly became bored when domestic terrorists, inspired by a David Koresh-type leader and attempting to sell decomissioned submarines to Libya, took over a nuclear power plant. It was as if Tom Clancy had taken over writing duties, but a Tom Clancy obsessed with sullen lesbian FBI agents. (Ladies: why so hostile?) Cornwell's characters have too many failed marriages, family issues, adulterous liaisons, and erectile dysfunction to sustain my empathy. Also, how is it that main character Kay Scarpetta, a medical examiner, seems to be directing the whole police investigation?

Another bone to pick: the cover photo is of a diver in crystal clear blue water, but the only diving that goes on in the book is in brown murky water where Scarpetta can't see her hand in front of her face.

She also quotes Luke 23:22 at the front of the book, because, conveniently, she found a bible verse that matches her title:

"And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him."

[She leaves out this part: "I will therefore chastise him, and let him go."] But of course what Pilate is saying there is that he hasn't found good reason to condemn Jesus to death, not that he's examined Jesus's dead body and can't determine what killed him. Beyond stupid.

I love Kay Scarpetta, so independent and seemingly fearless yet human and intelligent. Not as racy as some of the others in the series I still found the book incredibly enjoyable and fast paced.

This was my first Patricia Cornwell novel, and having worked in forensics for a few years, I was excited to finally delve into one of her novels. Apparently, I chose the wrong book.

I found the plot moderately interesting, but the writing style habitually annoyed me. And I didn’t particularly love the main character. Maybe if it was written in the third person, I would have liked her better. But instead I found her a little arrogant. While I enjoy a strong female lead, KS’s self-confidence came off as too much to me. Finally, I found the ending anti-climactic and abrupt.

I may try again with an earlier KS novel, because millions of readers can’t possibly be all wrong.

This is the 7th book of Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series.

Things and characters don't seem to change from the previous books. Kay is still messing around with a married Wesley. Marino is still very needy and Lucy is a gifted messed up young lady. Oh, and Cornwell doesn't know how to end a story. Once again the story starts out strong and by the end we are left shaking our heads. It goes from a murder of an investigative reporter to hostages being taken at a nuclear facility and Virginia being threatened with nuclear destruction. All in about 25 pages. There is no really progression to this. All of a sudden the killer of a reporter is a religious nut job and his cult who are selling nuclear material to other countries out to get the US. Come one. Don't take a good story and try to take it to a global level. That fails.

I so enjoy her tales till she tries to make it climactic with little or no lead up. Just use a twist at the end that leaves the reader saying "wow" to themselves.