Cause Of Death [Import] [Hardcover]

Patricia Cornwell (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 342 pages
• Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons; 1ST edition (1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316878863
• ISBN-13: 978-0316878869
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (153 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,812,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I never finished reading this book, March 6, 2006

By 

Dee (SEA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cause of Death (Kay Scarpetta, No. 7) (Paperback)

While I'm not the type who notes inaccuracies very well, it was the story that bothered me most. Nevermind that many writers these days have serious problems with prose.

I had a very hard time trying to convince myself that a forensic pathologist could be rambling endlessly about "evil". All this with hardly any conscience over having an affair with Benton and sullying his marriage.

Furthermore, Patricia Cornwell pulls out the old trick of "men versus Scarpetta" again. While it was vaguely interesting in the first book or so, this constant reminder is tiring.

Finally, the "conspiracy" part has been beaten to death. It doesn't mean you can't use it though but Patricia employs it to poor effect.

I felt that Cruel and Unusual and The Body Farm were the better books out of this series. I think she has finally worn out her characters and they would've been better laid to rest.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Cornwell's best, but still in there swinging., June 27, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Cause of Death (Patricia Cornwell) (Hardcover)

I have read all of Cornwell's books and can now honestly say I am deeply depressed by the author's galloping ego. Lucy irritates me endlessly. Her relationship with Kay bounces back and forth with remarkable clarity however. It's perhaps the most convincing relationship in the series. I hate Kay's affair with Benton Wesley with a passion. Not only is it contrived and embarrassing - how can he be so ethical and yet so base? It would have been far more interesting to team up Scarpetta and Marino. I love Marino. He's so real, I can practically see the egg stains on his tie. Benton, clearly modelled on John Douglas, the former charismatic head of the FBI's Investigative Support Unit, has lost something in the translation. He has become quite improbable since he took up with Kay. Why oh why did Cornwell bump off the boyfriend Mark? And this I think is the crux of the problem. Firstly, we are told of Mark's death in an earlier book - in the past tense! We are not allowed to really share her agony, even though we by now, care deeply about Kay Scarpetta. In Cause Of Death, Cornwell pulls the same stunt. We have to wait for nearly 100 pages to see Benton and Kay together - and we learn, they've been split up for months! Quite conveniently, Benton is getting a divorce - at his long suffering wife's request. I guess Cornwell got stung by so much criticism of the extra-marital affair. In the context of the books, it seems highly unlikely Connie Wesley would really run off with another man, but okay, I'll rent the idea for now. Still, the medical aspects of the books continue to inspire, in spite of the laughable, clunky final set pieces.. A nuclear power plant? Please! I miss the earlier Kay back in Richmond with her squirrel and no-life. This one is too Cosmo, too Rambo-lina. However, the earlier diving sequences are fun and the locations as usual, make me jealous as a writer. Cornwell has been there, done that. I can't wait for the next book

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Did a pod take over Ms. Cornwell? Who wrote this book?, March 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Cause of Death (Kay Scarpetta, No. 7) (Paperback)

I'm reading all the books (in order) and can hardly believe this is written by the same author. The characters are familiar; Lucy is still annoying, Marino is still the only "real" person, and Benton is as stiff as ever (what is the attraction?)

This is a book I'm reading just to "get to the end of it." The story line is week, the plot is silly, and Dr. Scarpetta's involvement is just plain implausible. I mean, really? The FBI and international intelligence community is sharing information with the Chief Medical Examiner from Virginia when there is a nuclear crisis looming? Don't other CME's get jealous? What was Ms. Cornwell thinking?

I miss the forensic detective work and the writing of her previous novels that kept me on the edge. Resurrect Temple Gault for goodness sake! That would be a story.