PREDATOR IS A FANTASTIC READ!

books:


	• Predator (Kay Scarpetta Mysteries) Patricia Cornwell, 2005 - 416 pages view larger image
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Predator

I have always found Patricia Cornwell novels excellent. I enjoy the ones with Kay Scarpetta in them... have not enjoyed the others as much. I have read every book with Kay Scarpetta in them and am anxiously awaiting the next one.

PREDATOR IS A FANTASTIC READ!

I just reread Predator to compare it to the more recent Book of the Dead by Cornwell. I absolutely loved Predator and have a feeling that the one star reviews from people on this board either 1) didn't get the point of the book, as it was a bit complex, or 2) are simply looking for some tired old regurgitated prepackaged crime story that follows a recipe to a predictable end. This is never the case with Cornwell, who constantly amazes me with her originality, and timeliness of her original research. Yes, one had to pay attention while reading this book but for those of us who actually enjoy the unfolding of a story, that's the fun of it. For those of you who want something simpler or more predictable, try another author-keep it up Cornwell-we love it!

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Analyzing the predator

'Predator' was my introduction to Patricia Cornwell's books. I do wish that I'd chosen to start with a previous book instead of using Predator as my introduction to Cornwell's cast. The book immediately throws its characters into a chaotic mess of roiling emotions, paranoia and anger fueled by sabotage, and I think this would have more impact after having followed the characters around under more 'normal' (for them, anyway) circumstances for a few books. That said, I was still able to get into the characters, get a sense for them and their lives, and appreciate most of what was happening to them.

Cornwell writes in a clinical, almost detached present tense that wouldn't work for most writers; in most books it would keep the reader distant and uninvolved. Instead, in this case it beautifully conveys the way in which the investigators go about their work without also robbing the story of its emotive impact. I'm sure there are people who won't enjoy this approach, but I liked it.

Obviously since this is the first of Cornwell's books that I've read I can't speak to ongoing issues, relationships, etc. in the books, or to its quality vs. her other novels, but as a first read of her work I definitely enjoyed it and hope to read more soon.

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What's wrong with this book?

This might not be Cornwell's best Scarpetta book, but I enjoyed it. The characters are growing and evolving as they should. I thought the end of this book was a real shocker and very creative. What really amuses me about these books, however, is the timeframe of the stories: in 20 years, Lucy has aged 20 years while Scarpetta and Pete have aged about 5 years. Don't you find that interesting?

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Dr. Kay Scarpetta, now freelancing with the National Forensic Academy in Florida, takes charge of a case that stretches from steamy Florida to snowboundBoston, one as unnerving as any she has ever faced. The teasing psychological clues lead Scarpetta and her team-Pete Marino, Benton Wesley, and Lucy Farinelli-to suspect that they are hunting someone with a cunning and malevolent mind whose secrets have kept them in the shadows, until now. Predator is proof once again that Patricia Cornwell has few peers with her extraordinary ability to entertain and enthrall.

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