Cruel and Unusual: A Kay Scarpetta Novel (Paperback)

by Patricia Cornwell (Author) "It is two weeks before Christmas..." (more)
Key Phrases: morgue supervisor, ten print cards, autopsy suite, Jennifer Deighton, Eddie Heath, Robyn Naismith (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This fourth mystery to feature Virginia Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kay Scarpetta was a 12-week PW bestseller.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
YA-In this fourth Kay Scarpetta mystery, the chief medical examiner for the state of Virginia is once again challenged by gruesome murder and confusing evidence. How could the fingerprints of Ronnie Joe Waddell appear at the scene of a murdered psychic after Waddell was executed in the electric chair? In the midst of many puzzling matters come other difficult issues to confront Kay as she tries to do her job. She becomes the object of hysterical media attention, and finds that she herself might be indicted for the very crimes she is trying to solve. Someone is sabotaging her efforts by hacking into her computer files and leaking information. Exasperated, she calls upon her niece, Lucy, a 17-year-old computer whiz, whom readers will remember from earlier "Scarpetta" novels. Along with FBI agent Benton Wesley and police chum Pete Marino, Lucy helps Kay solve the murders and ferret out the traitor in her office. YAs will enjoy the teen's angst and the exciting twist at the book's end.
Carolyn E. Gecan, Thomas Jefferson Sci-Tech, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (October 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416505407
• ISBN-13: 978-1416505402
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,985 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 4 in The Kay Scarpetta Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not as Gruesome as the Last One., September 29, 2003

By	Vesta Irene (the Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cruel & Unusual (Kay Scarpetta Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book opens with the execution of rapist/murderer Ronnie Joe Waddell and the following autopsy. Not long after murder victims start showing up around Richmond that look like they were committed by Waddell. How can that be? He's dead. Then his prints show up at a crime scene and to top it off, Kay's assistant in murdered and the press blames Kay.

As usual PC carries over characters from her previous novels that we've come to know. Any second we expect cop buddy Pete Marino to drop dead from his excesses and niece Lucy is still annoying (to me anyway). Thankfully, the descriptions of the murders and the autopsies don't seem as gruesome as the last one ("All that Remains) and like the last one, this thriller gets five stars, because I just couldn't put it down.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Plot hole dampens...plot, September 17, 2000

By	Kristen Heiss (Atlanta Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cruel & Unusual (Kay Scarpetta Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

In this fourth installment of the Kay Scarpetta series, we find the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia chasing a most challenging miscreant - a murderer with no pattern to his destruction except the intent to play games with the authorities hunting him. The book is a must-read for those addicted to Cornwell's well-researched suspense novels, since it sets the stage for a showdown in From Potter's Field. But a major plot hole revealed in the first few pages leaves the reader feeling cheated for the remainder of the novel.

We enter the story with Scarpetta recovering from the death of a close friend. While this development certainly bodes well for future plot twists, it leaves the reader frustrated with the current one. The few details of the death surface mostly at the end of the story and while we're told of Scarpetta's devastation, we really don't witness it. Seasoned Cornwell fans are accustomed to these shallow depths in characterization but it nonetheless puts a damper on an otherwise entertaining mystery.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars One bad egg is forgiveable, November 2, 2001

By	RachelWalker "RachelW" (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cruel & Unusual (Kay Scarpetta Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the worst of the Scarpetta series. which is quite an achievement seeing as all the others are brilliant. My favourites being the claustrophobic "The Body Farm", and the superbly dark "Point of Origin". I have loved all the Scarpetta's, and read them at least twice over, and i still think this is the worst.

The plot was very complicated, and it all seemed a bit of a mess. The characters were nothing special, and i this is the only book in which Cornwell manage to bore me with her normally insightful computer terminology. It's too long, and basically i dont think it has any substance. There is a great potential. The idea for the plot is superb, and could well have been one of the best, but somewhere along the line it all slips. I cant put my finger on it, but i just didnt come away from this with the satisfaction i normally get out of a Kay Scarpetta book.

Nevertheless this is still a necessary book to read if you intend to read the entire series. It is one of the major turning points. The first book to feature Temple Gault, who would later lead to Carrie Grethen, Newton Joyce, and all the other catastrophic events which culminate in the next turning point of "The Last Precint". each one has signalled a new era for Patricia Cornwell, and each one has not been quite as good as the others. But The Last Precint was still much better than this. It is, admittedly, very clever, but far too complicated, and im surprised it got the CWA's gold dagger.

nevertheless, i have given it two stars purely because it is such a major point in Scarpetta's life. You must read it if you intend to read the entire series, but dont expect to enjoy it as much as you do the others.