Red Mist

If you take out all the unnecessary detail which only serves to show off how knowledgeable Cornwell is on up to date forensic technology, the story is only enough to fill a short novella. It is mildly interesting in that it furthers the thread from the last book along, but overall not satisfying. More style than substance, it doesn't even adequately flesh out the characters we have come to know and the new ones critical to the book. I loved the early series, but don't think I will bother anymore. I also found the narrator not especially pleasant to listen to either.

I already found Port Mortuary rather disturbing and in the end totaly inplausible. Now Cornwell picks up her new novel exactly at that point. In the first half she keeps explaining the unbelievable turns and twists of the prior story and adds a lot of gruesome details of another scene which I found way to descriptive.
This goes on and on and the only thing that actually happens in the present is that she meets the mother of the woman who tried to kill her and who in return is the daughter of her former assistant who got the woman she visits in jail pregnant when he was 12 years old and who is dead now - partly because of his addiction to steroids ... get my point ?
Eventually things travel into the presence when Jamie Burger conspires with Marino and the rest of the gang show up but the action still hit me only from behind and I could not at all relate to the motives of the characters. All of this was topped by a finale which is so very far fetched and coincidental that I could hardly believe Patricia Cornwell authorized the publication of the book unless she did not reread it.I really am sorry as I've been a great fan of Cornwell and her Scarpetta Novels.

I know Patricia Cornwell is always extremely detailed in her novels. But this was very slow, very detailed and not a great story. Really disappointed.

I found this completely formulaic and predicatable. A droning series of names and descriptions, unlikely scenarios and unimaginable leaps in logic. I used to like Patricia Cornwell but this is so poor I won't be coming her way again. My advice is don't bother - there are many better authors out there.