Customer Reviews

The Last Precinct (Random House Large Print (Cloth/Paper))

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(80)
3 star:		(70)
2 star:		(78)
1 star:		(87)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

It is with mixed feelings that I write a review of a Patricia Cornwell book and give it less than a stellar rating. Unfortunately, in good conscience, I can't give this more than 3 stars. I even feel I'm being generous with that. The only reason it rates the 3 stars is that I'm giving a star to each of the main characters -- Kay, Lucy and Marino -- for showing up on these pages.

This is the 11th book in the Kay Scarpetta series and, as an avid fan, I wait patiently for the newest arrival (which I have already preordered at Amazon of course). The day it is delivered, I put everything aside and delve right in. So, when I say I'm disappointed, this is truly coming from the heart.

This is an absolute sequel to Black Notice and thus continues the storyline of Jean-Baptiste Chandonne, better known as Le Loup-Garou -- the "werewolf". In order to make this a stand alone book and for the benefit of those readers who haven't read Black Notice, Cornwell repeats everything we've already read in the previous book. This is fine and necessary for those who haven't read Black Notice. For those true fans who have already read this book, these constant reminders become redundant. I didn't like the werewolf storyline in Black Notice so I liked it even less as it continued in The Last Precinct. This book finds Kay recovering from wounds she suffered at the hands of Le Loup Garou, being analyzed to death by her friend and psychoanalyst Anna (150 pages of this), being accused of a crime that she didn't commit and spending the entire book being paranoid as to whom she can really trust. While I enjoy getting to understand Kay's inner psyche a little better, enough was enough after 75 pages of it.

I made the mistake of reading this book one morning while eating breakfast. It didn't make for a great meal to be reading about the werewolf shedding all his fine blonde hairs all over the place while I was eating my bagel. YUK. I, for one, have had enough of Le Loup Garou but, unfortunately, it is evident in the end of this book that this story will be continuing in Cornwell's next book.

I won't give up on my three favorite characters yet but I implore Cornwell to give her true fans a break and get back to the stories that made these books become bestsellers in the first place. By the time I read the last page, I was ready to head for The Last Precinct -- the place Cornwell describes as where you go when there is nowhere else to go -- or my own description -- where you go when you want to get away from this book.

With the abrupt and unsatisfying ending to Black Notice, I was worried that Cornwell was just plain getting tired of Kay Scarpetta. The Last Precinct, thankfully, fills in many of the gaps that seemed to linger and adds much dimension to the intertwining plots. Scarpetta is in such deep doo-doo that there are no easy outs--friends and enemies become harder and harder to distinguish,she is frazzled physically and mentally, and she is on the verge of seeing her reputation and career completely destroyed. While thrillseeking readers may find Scarpetta's instrospection a bit tiresome, I have enjoyed the character development and the very real elements of paranoia and self-doubt that have tinted Scarpetta's edges. For me, she remains a great character and I hope Cornwell takes her well into middle age as a strong survivor.

I have read all of Cornwell's books, even the strange Judy Hammer ones, and this is the one that is going to make me give them up. If I had picked this one up first I would never have read another one. Kay Scarpetta is so drenched in paranoia, Marino so nasty, and Scarpetta's psychologist friend so completely venal and treacherous that I found myself hoping some character would come along and just finish them all off. The reader is set up to expect that the "Last Precinct," a private firm started by the suddenly and miraculously wealthy Lucy, would play a big role, but other than providing Lucy with an excuse to get a helicopter, it has nothing to do with the plot. Instead, the plot seems to be that all of the antagonists in all of the Scarpetta novels turn out to have been in league with each other to set Scarpetta up. In the next novel it will no doubt turn out that they secretly implanted an electronic monitoring device in her brain, and she has to wear a foil hat to keep it from transmitting. Cornwell's earlier novels, though grim, were at least well plotted and entertaining. This one is just all over the place. How did it get past her editor? I wish Cornwell would take a long vacation and a few tranquilizers before she writes another word, and that the publisher would hire editors who know what they're doing.

I discovered Patricia Cornwell about five years ago, when I bought and read her exceptional first novel, Postmortem. As both a reader and a writer, I was deeply impressed with Postmortem. That book had an undeniable intensity that made it all but impossible to put down; the writing was very high-quality, the story itself was involving, and the central character -- Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia -- was a vivid and appealing creation, making her particularly enjoyable to read about. Put it this way, I devoured Postmortem, and soon after devoured the rest of the Kay Scarpetta books available in paperback at that time including: Body of Evidence, All That Remains, Cruel and Unusual, The Body Farm, From Potter's Field and Cause of Death. After that, it was hardcovers all the way, which meant year-long waits for Unnatural Exposure, Point of Origin, Black Notice, and now, The Last Precinct, the latest novel in this outstanding series. The Last Precinct begins shortly after the events that culminated last year's Black Notice; police are swarming all over Kay Scarpetta's beloved Richmond home in the wake of suspected serial killer Jean-Baptiste Chandonne's violent and unexpected attack on her life, and the injured Scarpetta is miserable enough to flee to her best friend's home to protect herself from the insanity of this invasion of her private life. Not long after, Scarpetta learns, to her utter disbelief, that she herself is the subject of a nasty criminal investigation. Understandably, she becomes paranoid and goes on the defensive. What follows is the riveting account of how she manages to deal with the sheer madness her life has become while at the same time doing what she can to help prove Jean-Baptiste Chandonne's guilt as a sadistic killer. One of Cornwell's most interesting achievements with The Last Precinct is that she manages to turn Scarpetta into a victim without actually killing her off; a victim whose life is dissected and subjected to as much intense scrutiny as one of the bodies the formidable Chief Medical Examiner would have no doubt posted/autopsied herself. Along the way we learn more about Scarpetta's past, her emotions and her true feelings than ever before. Lingering questions from past novels, most significantly about Scarpetta's long-time love, FBI profiler Benton Wesley, are also resolved in The Last Precinct in surprising, unexpected and satisfying ways. Scarpetta's co-hort, Officer Pete Marino, and her niece, Lucy, are larger than life in the story, too. To say, as some reviewers have, that The Last Precinct is no more than a rehash of events in Black Notice, is an unfair understatement. To me, The Last Precinct is a logical outgrowth and continuation of those events, and Cornwell not only deepens them, but makes them even more sinister and suspenseful than you can imagine. As always, Cornwell's attention to detail is impeccable in The Last Precinct, from the scenes of grisly autopsies to the dialogue that practically snaps right off the page; everything in the book seems authentic rather than fabricated or contrived, and that has been the case since Postmortem. By the end of The Last Precinct, it is clear how things will never, ever be the same for Dr. Kay Scarpetta. I, for one, look forward to the possibilities Cornwell leaves open and to wherever she decides to take her alter-ego in future books. If you have any interest in suspense novels involving crime, not very many authors write them as well as Cornwell. What shines like a welcoming beacon in all of her books is how passionately she hates the evil killers do and how just as passionately she cares about true justice. I highly recommend The Last Precinct as well as the five-star reads: Postmortem, Body of Evidence, All That Remains, Cruel and Unusual, The Body Farm, From Potter's Field, Cause of Death, Unnatural Exposure, Point of Origin and Black Notice.

I was so excited when I realized The Last Precinct was finely available. I have read all of the books in the series and was very ready to join Kay, Lucy, and Marino on all new adventure. Sadly, though, it just seemed that we were reliving old stories. Cornwell seems to be trying to tie together too many of her plots and it comes up very weak.

I really think it is time she put Benton to rest, as well as Carrie Grethen. Kay and the gang neeed new foes to fight and some new allies as well.

I do not believe Cornwell has lost her touch, she is just going the wrong direction. I hope there is another Scarpetta book, as I do love these characters so, but I would like to see a fresh story.

Other authors, such as Ridley Pearson and Jeffrey Deaver, are managing to continuously turn out quality stories with their cast of characters, and Cornwell is just as talented. I hope this talent shines through in her next book.

Let me start off this review with the fact that I have loved the Kay Scarpetta novels from the beginning, but this book just did not grab me. I am used to the heroine being a strong, independent woman, and in this novel, Kay is just plain weak and whiny. She goes from being a depressed woman whose intimate companion has been killed to just plain pathetic. The case is easily closed, and I had it solved within the first 50 pages. I have no empathy for the character anymore. She cries to anybody who will hear her, and is not at all the character she once was-- someone who has a genuine interest in helping her victims obtain justice.

Also, while I have no problem with the homosexual views presented in the other novels. Every female in this installment is, or may be gay, which simply does not mirror standard life. While I realize that Ms. Cornwell is gay, having all female characters examine their sexual identity is not at all believable. Kay has always been an individual who is firm in her self-image, and I was disappointed to see her struggle with her idea of herself. What's next? A novel in which Kay comes out? Pul-ease. . .

Again, I stress the fact that I genuinely enjoy Patricia Cornwell's novels. I've read and re-read them for the past six years, and have eagerly awaited each new installment, but "The Last Precinct" definitely left me wanting. Ms. Cornwell, please go back to your roots in "Body of Evidence," "Postmortem," and "From Potter's Field."

I have read all of Patrica Cornwell's books and until the last one, I loved all of them. The last one was questionable but this one is terrible. I wonder if she is using a ghost writer. I can't believe the same person who wrote her earlier books wrote this one.