The Last Precinct (Scarpetta) [Paperback]

Patricia Cornwell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Scarpetta | Publication Date: July 3, 2001

Kay Scarpetta series

We enter THE LAST PRECINCT through the reverberating aftershocks of BLACK NOTICE, finding Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner herself under criminal investigation. The nightmare perpetrated on Scarpetta's doorstep continues as she discovers that the so-called Werewolf murders may have extended to New York City. When a formidable female assistant district attorney is brought into the case, Scarpetta struggles to make the truth prevail against unnerving evidence to the contrary. Tested interminably, she turns inward to ask, Where do you go when there is nowhere left? The answer : The Last Precinct.

"Cunningly designed, ingeniously laid out, composed with Cornwellian skill, this far from the "Last Precinct"is a model of the art." (L.A. Times)

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Patricia Cornwell's legendary crime fiction creation, Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta, has logged a host of fans among mystery readers and, within the bounds of her fictional world, an equally impressive tally of individuals intent on causing her grievous physical or psychological harm.

The 11th Scarpetta novel, The Last Precinct, doesn't add any new names to the second roster. Instead, in a sweeping narrative gesture toward retrospection (less-than-fervent fans might whisper "or stagnation"), the novel depends largely on ground already covered in its predecessors, Black Notice and, to a lesser extent, Point of Origin. All the familiar faces--friend and foe--are here: police captain Marino, Kay's niece Lucy, the so-called Werewolf murderer, and (in memoriam) Kay's lover Benton Wesley and his killer, Carrie Grethen. Kay, who nearly killed the Werewolf in self-defense as Black Notice came to a close, now finds herself the target of a corrupt police investigation that will dredge her darkest secrets from the deepest corners of her past.

Torn between a desire to clear her name and the instinct of a wounded animal to turn against even its would-be rescuers, Kay sifts through the forensic evidence that seems to link Chandonne to other horrific events in her past, up to and including Wesley's murder. Physical analysis, however, will not be enough to right her up-ended world. Instead, Kay must rely on the strategic support of her niece, cofounder of the Last Precinct (an odd, ill-defined organization that is, in the words of its motto, "where you go when there is nowhere left"), and on her willingness to examine her own fears, misconceptions, and anything-but-altruistic motives. The most important setting in this novel is not the morgue--it's the living room where Kay's therapist forces her to address (you guessed it) "unresolved issues."

The novel's focus on Kay's emotional evolution does not, unfortunately, mask the leaps of illogic that pepper the plot's murky stew. More disturbing than these occasional lapses, however, is the feeling that Cornwell has written herself into a corner. The Scarpetta of The Last Precinct is a far cry from the irritably independent woman of previous books. Her often over-inflated musings are more tiresome than tantalizing. Cornwell's impressive track record makes this excursion a bit disappointing, but that same record means that loyal fans will race to acquire the book anyway and that the odds of her returning to her usual stellar form next time are (hurrah!) favorable. --Kelly Flynn --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

"My central nervous system spikes and surges, my pulse pounds. I am sweating.... " If only readers would share this response with Cornwell's immensely popular Kay Scarpetta, Virginia's chief medical examiner. But most won't. Kay has plenty of reason to be upset. She's standing in a room in a shabby motel where a body has been found, severely tortured. She's under official suspicion of having murdered maleficent ?ber-cop Diane Bray (in Kay's last outing, Black Notice). She's suspected of trumping up charges against accused serial killer Jean-Baptiste Chandonne, also introduced in Black Notice. She's reeling from the aftershock of Chandonne's murderous attack on her; she mightily misses her slain FBI agent/lover Dan Belson; she's learned that her gay niece, Lucy, is quitting law enforcement for a private PI firm called the Last PrecinctAand it's Christmas time. Kay has a lot of support in the midst of this law-and-disorder soap opera, from, among others, Lucy, tough cop/sidekick Pete Marino and Kay's aged friend, psychiatrist Anna ZennerAand that's part of the problem with this novel. Excessive emoting and way too much talk (including long therapeutic sessions between Kay and Anna) derail momentum time and again; the pages feel soggy with tears. Cornwell does provide intense intrigue, but it's a strain to follow as she connects events and loose ends from several novels. Within this narrative swamp, there's one new and very memorable gator, thoughANew York prosecutor Jaime Berger, obviously modeled on real-life ADA (and novelist) Linda Fairstein, to whom Cornwell dedicates the novel; she's sharply drawn and charismatic. Cornwell will win few if any new fans with this overlong, sluggish offering, but her giant readership is so hardcore and so enamored of Kay that the publisher's first printing of one million seems, if anything, conservative. $800,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild, Mystery Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selections; national satellite tour; foreign rights sold in the U.K., Germany, Italy, France, Holland, Japan, Finland, Turkey and Spain. (One-day laydown, Oct. 16)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (July 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425180638
• ISBN-13: 978-0425180631
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (395 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers > Medical
  • #39 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Women Sleuths
  • #61 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers > Suspense

More About the Author

Patricia Cornwell was born on June 9, 1956, in Miami, Florida, and grew up in Montreat, North Carolina.

Following graduation from Davidson College in 1979, she began working at the Charlotte Observer, rapidly advancing from listing television programs to writing feature articles to covering the police beat. She won an investigative reporting award from the North Carolina Press Association for a series of articles on prostitution and crime in downtown Charlotte.

Her award-winning biography of Ruth Bell Graham, A Time for Remembering, was published in 1983. From 1984 to 1990, she worked as a technical writer and a computer analyst at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia.

Cornwell's first crime novel, Postmortem, was published by Scribner's in 1990. Initially rejected by seven major publishing houses, it became the first novel to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity Awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d'Aventure in a single year. In Postmortem, Cornwell introduced Dr. Kay Scarpetta as the intrepid Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 1999, Dr. Scarpetta herself won the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author.

Following the success of her first novel, Cornwell has written a series of bestsellers featuring Kay Scarpetta, her detective sidekick Pete Marino and her brilliant and unpredictable niece, Lucy Farinelli, including: Body of Evidence (1991); All That Remains (1992); Cruel and Unusual (1993), which won Britain's prestigious Gold Dagger Award for the year's best crime novel; The Body Farm (1994); From Potter's Field (1995); Cause of Death (1996); Unnatural Exposure (1997); Point of Origin (1998); Black Notice (1999); The Last Precinct (2000); Blow Fly (2003); Trace (2004); Predator (2005); Book of the Dead (2007), which won the 2008 Galaxy British Book Awards' Books Direct Crime Thriller of the Year, making Cornwell the first American ever to win this award; Scarpetta (2008); The Scarpetta Factor (2009); and Port Mortuary (2010). In 2011 Cornwell was awarded the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters, one of France's most prestigious awards to honor those who have distinguished themselves in the domains of art or literature, or by their contribution to the development of culture in France and throughout the world.

In addition to the Scarpetta novels, she has written three best-selling books featuring Andy Brazil: Hornet's Nest (1996), Southern Cross (1998) and Isle of Dogs (2001); two cook books: Scarpetta's Winter Table (1998) and Food to Die For (2001); and a children's book: Life's Little Fable (1999). In 1997, Cornwell updated A Time for Remembering, which was reissued as Ruth, A Portrait: The Story of Ruth Bell Graham. Intrigued by Scotland Yard's John Grieve's observation that no one had ever tried to use modern forensic evidence to solve the murders committed by Jack the Ripper, Cornwell began her own investigation of the serial killer's crimes. In Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper--Case Closed (2002), she narrates her discovery of compelling evidence to indict the famous artist Walter Sickert as the Ripper.

In January 2006, the New York Times Magazine began a 15-week serialization of At Risk, featuring Massachusetts State Police investigator Win Garano and his boss, district attorney Monique Lamont. Its sequel, The Front, was serialized in the London Times in the spring of 2008. Both novellas were subsequently published as books and promptly optioned for adaptation by Lifetime Television Network, starring Daniel Sunjata and Andie MacDowell. The films made their debut in April 2010.

In April 2009, Fox acquired the film rights to the Scarpetta novels, featuring Angelina Jolie as Dr. Kay Scarpetta. Cornwell herself wrote and co-produced the movie ATF for ABC.

Often interviewed on national television as a forensic consultant, Cornwell is a founder of the Virginia Institute of Forensic Science and Medicine, a founding member of the National Forensic Academy, a member of the Advisory Board for the Forensic Sciences Training Program at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, NYC, and a member of the Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital's National Council, where she is an advocate for psychiatric research. She is also well known for her philanthropic contributions to animal rescue and criminal justice, as well as endowing college scholarships and promoting the cause of literacy on the national scene. Some of her projects include the establishment of an ICU at Cornell's Animal Hospital, the archaeological excavation of Jamestown and the scientific study of the Confederacy's submarine H.L. Hunley. Most recently, she donated a million dollars to Harvard's Fogg Museum to establish a chair in inorganic science.

Cornwell's books have been translated into 36 languages across more than 50 countries, and she is regarded as one of the major international best-selling authors. Her novels are praised for their meticulous research and an insistence on accuracy in every detail, especially in forensic medicine and police procedures. She is so committed to verisimilitude that, among other accomplishments, she became a helicopter pilot and a certified scuba diver, and qualified for a motorcycle license because she was writing about characters who were doing these things. "It is important to me to live in the world I write about," she often says. "If I want a character to do or know something, I want to do or know the same thing."

Visit the author's website at: www.patriciacornwell.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Subtract A Star If You Are Not A Fan Of The Series, October 16, 2000

By 

michael luciano - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Precinct (A Scarpetta Novel) (Hardcover)

Lately Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series has lost some of it's luster. Her last effort Black Notice, was without question the worst entry in the series. This book is a nice bounce back, but it doesn't quite live up to the potential it shows at first. After the first few chapters of The Last Precinct, I was convinced that Cornwell was going to reinvent Kay and take a new and fresh approach to the series. Unfortunatley, the soul searching that Scarpetta goes through in the first few chapters does not lead to the resounding change I was hoping for. Yes, it does seem that Cornwell is going to shake things up a bit just not as much as I hoped. The plot of this book picks up right were Black Notice left off. Somehow, the plot that seemed unrealistic and contrived in the previous book actually picks up some life. It almost feels like Cornwell recognizes how badly conceived Black Notice's plot was and is using this book to flesh it out. Being a fan of Cornwell's work, I really wanted to like this book, and I have to say that I did. It is an improvement over the last couple of efforts. However, it is still not as good as the earliest entries in this series and if this plot was connected with a book that was not part of a series that I liked, I'm not so sure that I would have enjoyed it as much as I did. If you have never read a Kay Scarpetta book before, do not start with this one. If you are a Cornwell fan that vowed you would never read her again after Black Notice, give her another try. The Last Precinct could be a fresh start for Kay Scarpetta, let's hope it continues.

67 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A new Kay Scarpetta, October 18, 2000

By 

B. Walker "Basia's Bookshelf" (Wisconsin, United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Precinct (A Scarpetta Novel) (Hardcover)

By the time I had read The Last Precinct, I had already seen Patricia Cornwell give several interviews about it, so I had a certain expectation about what kind of book this would be. For the most part, her descriptions were accurate, which is unfortunate.

From the beginning, this is a completely different Kay Scarpetta than we've read about before. Cornwell claimed in her interviews that this could be a stand-alone book, that it wasn't necessary to read the previous books to understand this one, but I disagree strongly. It literally picks up where the last one left off, and if you didn't read Black Notice, chances are you won't have a clue what's going on. There are half-hearted attempts to bring the reader up to speed on the various characters, but they seem forced and uncomfortable.

The storyline is much the same as in previous books, despite Cornwell's assertion that this is the first time we see Kay in professional jeopardy. There's a bad guy, Kay gets personally involved, Lucy goes off on some weird tangent, Kay's professional judgement is called into question..the bare bones of this story are the same as the others. What bothered me most about this book was the extremely sudden and startling change in the way we see Kay, and through her, all the other characters. She suddenly analyzes every thought, every emotion; we see all of the characters in a new light, and it is almost without exception, unflattering. Suddenly we are literally forced to consider Kay's sexual orientation, Marino's weird attraction to her; even the deceased Benton is re-examined and somehow comes off looking the worse for it.

Cornwell said in the interviews I saw that she doesn't model Kay after herself, but there are several aspects of this book that almost feel voyeuristic. The forensic and investigational parts of the book almost seem like an afterthought. The main purpose of this entry in the Scarpetta series seems mainly to explore her psyche; at the end of it all, I've lost my respect for the character.

I had a hard time deciding how many stars to give this book. Taken alone, simply judging this book's writing style, plot and character development, I would have given it 4 stars; as part of the Scarpetta series, comparing it to past books, I would have rated this one a 2, so I split the difference and gave it a 3. Fans of the first books in the Scarpetta series who were upset after Black Notice probably won't be any more thrilled with this entry; fans that haven't read the first few books in the series and liked Black Notice probably would find this an interesting follow-up.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good comeback, October 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Last Precinct (A Scarpetta Novel) (Hardcover)

Kay Scarpetta does not kill Le Loup-Garou, as evidenced by his continual presence throught The Last Precinct. I would suggest that only readers familiar with the revisited cast read this book. You will not understand the dynamics of the realtionships played out in this novel. While Black Notice was not her best book, it took us through the dark places we expect people to visit after murder touches their lives, along with the introduction of new, hateful characters that I'm sure will pop up time and again as did Carrie Grethren. The Last Precint shows the mending of the souls of our familiar cast. It is not as entertaining as her previous books but it was necessary for Cornwell to create closure for her characters. I am pleased with the turn Cornwell is alowing Kay Scarpetta to take in her career. With her realization of her own damaged psyche and her practice of creating angst ridden relationships she will no doubt be a more compelling character in the next book. I do hope with all my heart that Pete Marino, by far the most likeable character in her series, will not get lost in the shuffle. I feel this book was a gift to fans of the series. We previously have been privy to every nuance of the two main characters. They were 'profiled' for us as we knew every move they would take. We are now left wondering if there will be a change in Kays and Petes relationship, will there be a change of venue? My interest is already piqued. The Last Precint was a book that I could simply not put down as each page brought a new plot twist. Was it her best work? No. But it was a good read, especially for series fans. I am certainly looking forward to the next installment. I am sure that Patricia Cornwell will hit her stride and give us a good time getting to know the new Kay Scarpetta.