Customer Reviews

Hornet's Nest

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(43)
3 star:		(45)
2 star:		(52)
1 star:		(210)

 

 

I was warned about this but I couldn't remember which title until I was about four pages into the book. It was a great (big)departure from the Scarpetta series that I had gotten used to. The characters were great in and of themselves. They interacted well. The story was alright but not terrific. I found it lacking coming from Cornwell but I have to remember that it was NOT a Scarpetta story. As much as it pains me as a woman to say this, it kept creeping into my mind that Cornwell was having the same hot flashes that West had throughout the book.

The beginning to about 3/5 in was overtly sexual in tone, all the descriptions of persons for one and most characters being either wildly homosexual or homophobic, then it leapt to kooky when she began telling parts of the story from the point of view of characters who mattered little and do I have to mention the cat? Then it was back to the heavy sexual tones and interlaced with kooky feline perspective that was rather distracting and detracted from the main story.

The book is not great. Like I said, I can imagine this being written under the Change or a menacing deadline, maybe even as an exercise to vent gone weirdly awry. While not told in a very Scarpetta way, it was okay. If anyone paid attention to the beginning of the novel and the explanation about the Hornet's nest and takes that into the account through the rest of the book, it makes an insane sort of sense.

I was not thrilled with the ending and would have thrown the book had I not feared harming someone else in the room. I don't recommend buying the book. Check it out from a library if you're curious. Or, if you have to buy it, make sure you have the address where you can sell it back. It will help pass the time of two days, I guess I read it rather quickly, and lend to some interesting psychological profiles but other than that... I can't say the book would do much for diehard Scarpetta fans.

I rarely write book reviews, but I felt compelled to warn people to steer clear of this book. As many reviewers of this book have stated, this is not a Dr. Kay Scarpetta book. Don't let that scare you away. It's certainly not the reason why I hated this book.

Written differently, this could have been a compelling book. It had an interesting mix of characters, and a mystery to be solved. And it spent a fair amount of time getting into the heads of characters. I happen to enjoy that. However, this book was absolutely the most egregious example (and I mean egregious in the current usage - as in: exceedingly bad) of politically correct stereotypes I could possibly imagine. And the Southern stereotypes were no better. If this were an episode of "Family Guy" I would have been laughing through the bulk of it. About the only thing it lacked in that respect were the Duke boys and the General Lee.

We learn that women as power figures are something to be feared and the evil, white-male power brokers of the city of Charlotte (who are even in control of all elections, it would seem) regularly plot to squash them where they stand. As any self-respecting white male knows, there ain't nothin' worse than a woman whats don't knows hows to keeps her place; 'cept maybe fer homos. This is not an exaggeration. There's a redneck character named Bubba, for God's sake. And the scene at the seafood restaurant was absolutely choice: our white male hero (who's okay because he's a sensitive journalist) and a gay companion nearly get their bottoms kicked by the redneck, homophobic patrons of a - get this - oyster bar. Right. I personally hate going to oyster bars and crab shacks because of all of the homophobic, racist rednecks there. Of course, we also learn toward the end of this waste of paper that evil, white, rich men can be rehabilitated under the right circumstances. And when I write "rehabilitated" I mean they can be made to understand that everything can be forgiven if only they give large chunks of their ill-gotten gains to the downtrodden, unfortunate masses. The portions of the book devoted to the inner thoughts of the reincarnated Abyssinian cat, while entertaining from a cat owner's perspective, are undiluted (and unbelievable) fantasy. And, of course, we also learn that there really is no right or wrong if we just spend the time to understand what unfortunate circumstances victimized the characters into acting the way that they do.

To end this on a mildly positive note, the interactions involving the misreading of one character by another based upon body language and situational framing were good. It was reminiscent of the novel "Thinks..." by David Lodge. And it's not the evolution of the character's philosophical underpinnings based upon their deeper understanding of others that bothers me; Cornwell uses this to great effect in her other novels. It's the clumsy, preachy way in which she approaches this that I found so annoying.

If this were the first Patricia Cornwell book that I had ever read, it would also be my last. Fortunately, her other books are not plagued by these faults. I highly recommend her other books; this one, however, is a stinker.

I have read a number of other Patricia Cornwell books from her Dr. Kay Scarpetta series. While they have all varied in quality, they usually range from good to excellent. That is why this book was a complete shock, as it is one of the worst books that I have read in a long time.

This book is not a Dr. Kay Scarpetta series book. Instead, it is a police procedural that focuses on three individuals: Charlotte's stalwart Police Chief Judy Hammer, her drop dead gorgeous Deputy Chief Virginia West, and Andy Brazil, an intrepid, young news reporter. Unfortunately, while the premise may have been inspired, the book fails in its execution, with characters that never quite work, relationships that are far fetched or never quite gel, a plot that lacks focus and fails to capture the reader's imagination, as well as an excess of mediocre writing in need of serious editing.

This audio book also suffers from a painful reading by noted actor Chris Sarandon, whose performance on this audio book is almost embarrassing. Narrated in a precise, almost prissy manner, his performance lacks a certain grit that is almost demanded by a police procedural. Moreover, his segues into the different characters are done in a way that grate upon the ear. Chris, a word to the wise...don't quit your day job.

Readers beware. This book was DOA. Do not spend one cent on this turkey. If you feel the urge for turkey, Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Be thankful that you have not wasted your money on this book.

I have enjoyed reading Patricia's series about Dr. Scarpetta so when she came out with Hornet's Nest and Southern Cross, I was excited about reading them. I found them both to be very disjointed and hard to read. I got very frustrated when reading them both and I don't believe I will read anything else pertaining to Chief Judy Hammer, Virginia West, or Andy Brazil. I'll stick to the Scarpetta series.

i'm skeptical that patricia cornwell actually wrote this book. i think Putnam hired a third-rate ghost writer OR published a manuscript she wrote when she was 6. okay, so i didn't read the dust jacket to learn this book introduces a new cast of characters in charlotte, VA so it was a bit of a shock to meet some reporter dude named Andy Brazil, who's playing side-kick to deputy chief Virginia West. i don't mind my train derailed by a new characters, but the writing in this book is simply awful. granted, i read only 50 pages, so perhaps something magical happened on page 60, but i found the plot a flimsy backdrop for an inevitable sexual tangle between andy and virginia, who're both preternaturally attractive, according to their descriptions. i'm no prude or PC advocate, but i was disturbed by peeks of thinly-veiled homophobia -- and indeed the whole tone of the book (or the first 50 pages) seemed mean and rough, with little accompanying graces. again, thank god for the library, cos this book SUCKED and i experienced no qualms of regret giving up on it.

The Kay Scarpetta Series is terrific!! BUT, this book has nothing to do with the Series and is simply written by the same author. Cornwell should stick only to the Series, as this book was excruciating to read!!! It is absolutely awful!!! Do not waste your money -- go to the library if you really want to waste your time on it!!! The book has almost no plot as it wanders aimlessly till the end and is filled with ridiculously named people throughout. I don't know if I've ever read such run-on sentences in my life -- you get lost from the beginning to the end of the same sentence!!! UGH!! And, after reading other reviews of Southern Cross and Isle of Dogs, I am seriously considering tossing those out of my collection without even reading them! Stick to the Kay Scarpetta Series.

Deputy Chief Virginia West of the Charlotte Police Department is ordered to oversee Andy Brazil, a young reporter who has been assigned to the department as part of a community awareness program. While West and Brazil cruise the streets of Charlotte a serial killer is at work and you can guess the rest. Well maybe you can't, because this is not like the Cornwell books you've come to know and love. PC puts us in the head of too many people, the story is confusing and, for me at least, never really seems to take off. I'm a huge PC fan and really, really wish I could give this book more than three stars, but I can't. Anybody else and I might have scored this book with a lesser rating.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene

This has to be the worst of Cornwell's novels. I love the Scarpetta series, but I will never buy anything that has the name "Hammer" in it.

I, too, am a huge fan of Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series. I mistakenly thought Hornet's Nest was part of that series. Once I realized it wasn't, I hoped the characters in the book would be as well developed as the characters in the Scarpetta series. I was sorely disappointed. I guess, though, when you've written as many excellent books as Cornwell has, you're entitled to a flop.

This is the worst work of fiction I have ever read. I was recommended the author's novels by an American friend involved in law enforcement. Since I was travelling through Charlotte, I picked up this one as my sole reading for the plane journey home. After all, how bad could it be? Being stuck with only this novel and an inflight magazine for twelve hours was not something I would wish on my own worst enemy. You can read other reviews here which condemn the flat characters, the wandering 'plot', the nonexistent ending, the inner life of the wretched cat - I want to mention the writing. There are sentences and entire paragraphs here which defy any attempts to make them yield up their meaning. Have you ever tried to start a lawnmower on a cold morning when the gas tank is nearly empty? The experience is equally as unrewarding. Eventually, I gave up, and skipped over these - surely fans of this series must do the same. Even the writing which DOES make sense is annoying. My favourite howler comes on page 263: 'It was unthinkable to have a gun shoved against your head, your brains blown out'. It's obvious what has gone wrong here - the author has grown tired of her star character and her genre, and wants to experiment. That is laudable, but cookbooks aren't going to do it, and neither is this guff. As another reviewer mentions, success spoils some writers. Once they listened intently to a good editor, but that was before they sold their first few million units. Funnily enough, this experience actually sent me to Patricia Cornwell's earler novels, as I could not believe this standard of writing could reap such success. Sure enough, I found carefully drawn characters, taut suspense, and fascinating detail of police procedure. Time, I think, for the author to abandon this particular series and get back to the basics.