Southern Cross (Andy Brazil Book 2)

I must admit this was my first time reading Patricia Cornwell's work. I bought the book expecting to read an edge-of-your-seat thriller but instead got a rather surreal, David Lynch-ian type of story. The novel started out pretty much like your run-of-the-mill crime story - that is until the second chapter or so when I realized that this is some sort of a parody, with its odd motley bunch of characters.
It took me awhile to finish this book, which normally would have only lasted me a couple of all-nighters. The plot develops very slowly and we are often faced with the inevitable character conflicts at every turn of the page, but the satirical and offbeat humor on those same pages kept me glued to the novel. Thanks largely to Patricia Cornwell's story-telling ability, I kept wanting to know more about what will happen next, even though I didn't really care so much about the characters - a lot of them tends to be like those in a Stephen King novel which almost always seem to lack a kind of dimensionality in them. It's like a cartoon character where it's hard to care even in a tragic situation when you know that in the next instant he'd just bounce back up with nary a scratch. The ending was, of course, kindda predictable also, but satisfying nonetheless. The bad guy was so mean that it made me almost shouted out "yeah - way to go !" during that rather anticlimactic denouement
But in spite of all that, I really enjoyed the book. I thought it was a real breath of fresh air especially after just reading James Patterson and Dean Koontz. I will definitely be reading more of Patricia Cornwell's novels.

I love Cornwell's female protagonist, Kay Scarpetta, so I was hesitant to read Hornet's Nest. Could Cornwell create new characters as likeable and intriguing as Scarpetta et al? Hornet's Nest was interesting, a good read, but Southern Cross goes just a bit too far -- I found myself wondering if I was reading a serious crime novel or a spoof of a crime novel. The plot is a bit of a stretch, and overall, the book lacks a certain edge that Cornwell has consistently demonstrated in her Scarpetta novels.

Take heart, Ms. Cornwell. Your Kay Scarpetta series is so popular your fans have reacted badly to a new storyline and set of characters. I applaud your creativity and courage. I think many of us, (your fans) become so involved with your books we are offended if you do not write what we want. Remember the reaction to Wesley's death? A near riot. Although I thought the "f" word was used entirely too much, you did a good job of making me understand how a kid can be bullyed into becoming involved in a gang. I throughly enjoyed your sense of humor about the south. ALthough some people have been offended by your send up of southern idiosyncracies, I believe that the many southerners who still revere the confederate flag and all that it stands for ( slavery, rascism, intolerance and a slew of other negative words) deserve a little kick in the hind quarters. And now for my personal advice (which I am sure you are dreading); please leave a little more space for positive interpersonal relationships with communication and love.
Looking forward to the next Brazil and Scarpetta novels.

Patricia Cornwell was highly recommended to me by a friend and after hearing so much about her I picked up this book as an intro. Well...it took me about 3 weeks to finish because it just didn't grasp my attention. So many characters in the story I had to keep going back and figuring out who was who. It was humorous at some points and entertaining but I expected a little more suspense I guess. It gets interesting towards the very end, couldn't wait to see what happened and couldn't wait to finish this book and pick up a Scarpetta series instead.
I'll definately give her another try but would only suggest this story as a pastime if you've really got nothing else to read.

i am skipping whole paragraphs just to finish it, hoping it will make sense...i have every cornwell book except Scarpettas' winter table.southern cross is a bomb of a book.if cornwell puts more energy into these characters than kay,marino, and that goofy lucy...then i am done with cornwell.i love cornwell books, but i hated Hornets Nest and Southern Cross.BUBBA-SUMDGE-SMOKE-WEED-MUSCRAT???oh please, give me a break. i lived in the south for 5 years and she is really type casting a bunch of fools.so long, cornwell,it's been nice.p.s.--in future scarpetta books, put lucy in a mental hospitol, for if she represents our lawenforcement mentality---then i'm moving to another part of the world...

...or I might have wasted time finishing this book!! Just as I was thinking it had to get better, I decided to see what other readers thought. I sure am glad I checked this one out from the library, and didn't pay good money for it. It's a shame, because Patricia Cornwell had been one of my favorite authors. Not any more - I'll be more cautious about what I buy in the future. It's back to the library for this one, and on to better books!

Okay, people...it's a SATIRE! Have you never heard heard of Vonnegut? Jonathan Swift? The friggin' NATIONAL LAMPOON? Satire--in case you've not heard--has long been a powerful tool used by artists in order to highlight not only social problems, but human foibles, as well. In this case, Ms. Cornwell has mixed satire with a bit of Sartre-esque absurdity. (I mean, really, how much DOES a pack of cigarettes cost?)
And as for those who are disappointed in this particular book and who long for Ms. Cornwell's Scarpetta series...well, don't talk to me about "stock" characters. Ms. Scarpetta, with her impeccable taste and vague liberal sensibilities? Marino, the hard-boiled, red-meat-eating, cigarette-smoking, wisecracking cop? Lucy, the gorgeous, whizkid neice, who provides us with the requisite lesbian titillation to which we've all become accustomed lately? I don't think so... I'll take the offbeat--and infinitely more entertaining--characters from SOUTHERN CROSS anyday.
Believe it or not, some people LIKE to have to think about what they're reading. Makes it more interesting. You should try it some time. Ever read Faulkner? Some folks calls him a good writer, too. Mmmm-Hmmm. (Grunt.)
SOUTHERN CROSS is kind of like a joke, kids. Either you get it or you don't.
I got it.
And yes, I think that BLUE VELVET, PULP FICTION, and RUN LOLA RUN are great films. So there.

A really, REALLY bad book. I forced myself to finish it because I couldn't believe it could stink from start to finish, but it did. The book is a very amateurish writing attempt, a shocker coming from an author I usually like. Plot, characters, events, pacing, humor, nothing clicked for me. And this STOO-PID artificial speech she made up was right out of junior high. QUICK! SOMEBODY STOP CORNWELL BEFORE SHE TRIES TO BE FUNNY AGAIN!

I loved Hornet's Nest and bought Southern Cross as soon as it came out. I loved the character development in Hornet's Nest - but in this book, Hammer, West and Brazil are all but ignored, Cornwell only hints that we missed a lot of their stories in between these two books. Major disappointment. I can't even see what some are finding funny. I'm glad I'm not the only one hating this book. Thanks for permission not to finish it.

Although this is another great example of dialogue and a look into human behavior by Cornwell, it was rather a disappointment to my blood-desiring soul. And there was no Kay Scarpetta! Alas, I like character Andy Brazil and was glad at his return and the sexual tension between him and the icy officer Virginia West. I would never tell readers not to read a Cornwell book, but I would definitely recommend her others over this one!

I have never read a book by Patricia Cornwell and this is my first, and I am sure it will be the first of many. Cornwell lives in Virginia and marviously brings out the local charicteristics in her book. The charicters are humerous and Cornwell describes them brilliantly.
It is ironic that a few days ago the portrait of Robert E. Lee on the River Walk was burned by a vandal. This is the same situation that occured in the book when the statue of President Jefferson Davis was vandalized. Cornwell could not have been more correct in predictions of what would happen in this situation.
I was very entertained by the book. I do not see why there are negative comments on here. I can see how the book would upset some (especially liberals and democrats), but even if you are upset, you should still be entertained by the book. If you do not like the book, then "Fluck" off.

After having read every Cornwell book except one, I feel this was the most shallow and flimsy book she has written. I only finished the book because I never leave a book not finished. I was disappointed in the Brazil-West aspect, and in their previous story, they were much more viable and likable. The character development was thin, if almost nonexistent. This book left me wondering if I will read anymore of Cornwell's books.

Ms. Cornwell's attempt at a humorous book captivated my attention and I stuck with it all the way through. I became interested in the characters and cared about what became of them. Unfortunately, the author doesn't seem to have cared as much as I did. The ending was a jumbled web of tangled loose-ends, without a really satisfying tie-up of plot-lines. Nonetheless, it was worth the read, and I wish she would do it again with more patience and care to the plot, as well.

Customarily, I painstakingly evaluate the sources of reviews of those works that appear interesting before deciding to buy. In rare instances, including this author's work, however, I had developed the confidence to pick up her books simply upon seeing her name on the cover -- NO MORE! This effort in no way resembles Ms. Cornwell's other work; even the writing style is different. I am accustomed to enjoying a complex and intelligent approach to each plot and its characters through this author. This novel was, at best, completely silly. The characters were poorly drawn and shallow, the technique of using a pet's perspective was ridiculous in a work of this author's caliber, the narrative and dialog (and the plot for that matter) read like a really bad romance novel, and several technical details, including the website fiasco, were totally fabricated and misleading. Any attempt on this reader's part to explain possible reasons for this most disappointing departure from the author's usually much higher standards would be pure speculation, and have no place here.

I love this author! I found the characters in Hornet's Nest so much fun that I immediately had to read Southern Cross. But she's really crossed a line with those weird names she uses. "Judge Bovine" was bad enough in H.N. but "Butner Fluck" in this one? And hey - we already had a "Bubba" in H.N., so why another? And what's with the Boston Terrier dogs in both books? Nevertheless, I am crossing my fingers that Cornwell writes another book in this series, because I am enthralled. Dr. Scarpetta can wait; I like Andy Brazil.

Patricia Cornwell is my favorite author and Kay Scarpetta my favorite character. However, once I was willing to accept the fact that this was not a Kay Scarpetta book I started to really like Southern Cross. Of course, some of the names are a little goofy but eventually do add to the humor and lightheartedness of the story. It's just a different book but a good read. I am looking forward to Kay's return!

Cornwell's books have generally been good reads, but she has tended to ignore the possibilities of humor. No more! _Southern Cross_ is a wickedly funny look at the underside of Richmond, Virginia and by extension of the urban South. At times evoking memories of _A Confederacy of Dunces_, the book skewers the self-satisfied pomposity of the Southern establishment with a deftness that only a local could manage. As a longtime Richmonder, I found myself constantly smiling and occasionally breaking into a guffaw. Non-Richmonders should enjoy it almost as much as those who recognize the people behind the fiction.

I believe people have trouble with Patricia Cornwell's two books, HORNETS NEST, and SOUTHERN CROSS, because they keep expecting to see Dr Kay, and Lucy and Marino to come into it somewhere along the line, and they don't. You must remember these books are about totally different characters, and Kay,Lucy, and Marino are not part of either of these books. I had the same proplem, because I wanted to see these loveable characters enter somewhere within the story, and I kept flicking trying to find them on a page further along, but trust me you wont find them, cause they aint there! You need to read these books in a different light, they have totally different characters in them, whom you will grow to like as well. Patricia Cornwell is a wonderful writer, and puts a tremendous amount of research into her work, which I believe so many of her readers dont realise...I have enjoyed every book Patricia has written, and I look forward to the release of her new book in the summer of 2000.

Ignore the fact that the characters came from Hornet's Nest, and that it says Patricia Cornwell on the cover, and you could be forgiven for thinking that Southern Cross had been written by Carl Hiassen. That is, Carl Hiassen firing on three cylinders. Had he been the author, and been firing on the rest, the point and click narrative carnival would have overflowed with sharp observation, characters gritty with unattenuated contrast and lashings of "meanwhile . . ." cunning as the players converge exponentially toward the conclusion. Equally, had the Patricia Cornwell who more or less got back to form with Point Of Origin written Southern Cross, the firm of Hammer, West & Brazil could be squaring up for some firecracker close-quarter action in their next appearance. In the face of cartoon rednecks, inept homeboys and spoonerising immigrants, they are in real danger of getting stereotyped as those clowns who divide up the Scarpetta stories.

No book that opens with a character named Butler 'But' Fluck aka Bubba shuld be taken too seriously; so don't take this one seriously, as you would a Kay Scarpetta book. Relax, enjoy the puns and double-entendre (as when Bubba is fingering his gun). Lay the book aside and let yourself laugh 'til the tears subside; then pick it back up and read some more! LAUGH and ENJOY -- It's a Great light read!!

I just finished reading Southern Cross as I have been a fan of Patricia Cornwell for a number of years and have probably read all of her books. This book was as big a disappointment as I think I have ever read. If you read the excerpt on Page 2,it says.."she casts her shrewd and knowing eye at the men and women in blue, in a story of corruption, scandal and murder." It goes on to say in paragraph two.."....to solve a brutal murder that springs straight from the rotting core of Richmonds heart..." Well, if a juvenile painting a statue and one woman being shot and a "Bubba" who loves the cops makes for all of this, I sure did not find it. Yes, there is prejudice against outsiders wanting to convert the police department to computerized crime prevention and one council member who can't speak english. But for murder and intrigue..no way. I am not even bothering to give this book to anyone..I tossed it. I hope she is not writing books at random and selling them with her name...what a shame. I gave it a one star only because there is not a 0 star rating available.

Unlike many other readers I LOVED this book.
What confuses me is why so many people couldn't figure out this book was meant to be funny. For the love of God, she writes about what a dog is thinking in this book. I don't understand why so many people thought this novel was meant to be read in the same tone of her Scarpetta novels. I did not buy this book expecting to read a Kay Scarpetta type novel . If Ms. Cornwell wanted to write a Scarpetta novel that is what she would have done. She would not have created a new set of characters.
Further, I find it necessary to state the somehow forgotten fact that Ms. Cornwell is a writer of stories. Just because she has created one character that so many people love does not mean she is doomed to spend the rest of her life writing about that one character, or even typecast to only be able to write serial killer driven novels. I was pleasantly surprised that she had this novel (and the series) in her. Not many writers can flawlessly write books that make you want to sleep with your night light on then turn and write a book that makes you laugh out loud.
I apologize if I seem to be bashing previous reviewers because I am not. I'm simply wearied by all of the current Cornwell bashing. It somehow seems to have become the vogue thing to insult Ms. Cornwell and everything she does. I, however, remain a fan of hers and plan to continue buying her books.

Oh mister publisher just because her name is famous doesn't mean you don't need to read it before you publish it. This must have been what you did though. If you had read it you would never have published it. I can't believe that Patricia Cornwell wrote this terrible rubbish. Her other books are much better. If this is all she can write she'd better quit while she's ahead (behind?).

This is arguably PC's most incoherent novel -- and I thought she'd never beat Hornet's Nest on that count. I didn't care about any of the characters, couldn't follow any of the subplots, and as a Richmond native was highly offended by her portrayal of residents as idiots. Get over it Patsy -- leave the Charlotte characters behind and treat the city where you live with more respect

Patricia Cornwell really outdid herself with the creation of characters Butner Fluck and Lelia Ehrhart, either one of whom is worth the price of admission. The former, is more or less a redneck Homer Simpson, and the latter an arrogant Country Club Woman whose immigrant English has some of the funniest malapropisms I can remember reading in a long time. Oh yes, there's a plot with murders and police/detective work, but this book is more appealing because of the hilarious sub-plots and stock characters. You can almost hear Ms. Cornwell laughing as she was writing......

What was the author thinking? How did the editor allow this mess? You think even the typesetter would have disassociated himself with this blatent mass market rip off. Please....dogs and cats giving the play by play of their masters' actions? A cat dialing a phone to try to reconnect two lovers. GAGGGGGGGGGGG. Where is Kay when we needed her? She could have chopped this book to pieces with her scapel and band saw.

Yes, this is a different style. The characters were terrific, especially Weed. I enjoyed the humor. Hammer and Scarpetta have similar personalities. And since I have never written a book nor dare to think I Could, I would never critize her books so harshly. I will continue to read everything she has written and enjoy the fact that she is trying to change her style.

Patricia Cornwell is not up to her usual standards in Southern Cross. Her characters are shallow, so the reader doesn't get to know them. Unfortunately the reader also has no desire to know the characters or even like them. The plot and story line are too contrived and don't pull you in. I trudged through this book believing it would get better. The end has no suspense, it's something that a high school Freshman would contrive for a short story assignment. (I know I teach high school.) As for the pet angle, leave it to Lillian Jackson Braun who does a much better job. You'll be better off to stick to reading books in the Kay Scarpetta series. They are witty, with interesting characters you like knowing, and the suspense will keep you up reading all night.

I was a fan of Ms. Cornwell. Southern Cross convinced me that I am no longer. Her usually well developed, well researched novels are a thing of the past. She displays a shocking ignorance about the internet, a critical part of advancing the plot. I also found her use of telling the story from the perspective of her main characters' pets painful. The cat scrolling through the phone numbers and until it found the one it wanted convinced me to never read another novel of hers.
It is too late for me. Save yourself.

Though I found the couple of Kay Scarpetta books I've read passable, I can't help wondering why Patricia Cornwell has been wasting her time turning out grisly detailed descriptions of autopsies, when she can write with such humor, compassion, and understanding of human frailty. I look forward to getting my hands on "Hornet's Nest" and any future books in the vein of these two.

If you approach this book as the usual Cornwell tightly packed, grim crime story, then you will probably be disappointed and wonder what happened to the lucid Cornwell. If you are ready for a "tongue-in-cheek" Cornwell mixed with a little grimness, then you are ready for a good time.
Butner Fluck? Cigarettes $11 dollars a pack? A web site with an address 10 lines long that uses Orrin Hatch for its initial entry? A cop named Fling who is a computer unteachable? A blue fish virus?
For the first 50 pages, I was a little outraged and then began to go with the flow. The snips of reveiws in the front of the book made me wonder if those people had actually read the book. Hello, notice anything unusual? I guess serious Cornwell fans are fairly humorless. As I write this, her rating is only two stars from them.

This Cornwell was a real letdown. Even the strong female characters and the great "pet dialogue" couldn't save this one. Ms. Cornwell, go back to Kay Scarpetta and recreate the forensics thriller for which you are so well known. Hammer's a good character. Charlotte's okay. But we don't need any more Southern Police Department escapades.

I've read several of Patricia Cornwell's books and customarily enjoy them. Southern Cross, however, was a different story. As a police officer for the past 12 years, I can say that, from a police perspective, this book was childish, stereotypic, and, in general, poorly informed. No police chief in any major city actually works cases. Save your money for a well-researched book.

Southern Cross is a refreshing change from the increasingly-dark Scarpetta series. The book is infused with light absurdity that relaxes you. The action is still there, and the interplay between the three main characters, West, Hammer, and Brazil, is very interesting. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, as well as the next Scarpetta.

As almost anyone connected to theatre knows, comedy is the most demanding. Many top comedians make it as serious actors, but few do it the other way around.
Cornwell has not proven herself to be a good comedic writer. I couldn't take more than 44 pages of Southern Cross, before I thought to open up my computer to find out if I was marching to a different drum. I have too many other good authors awaiting me, and at 67, I don't think I should waste time on more of this book. I hope Cornwell gets back to what she does so much better. As a former arts/entertainment writer, I frequently told painters that writers had the good sense to toss bad stuff into the garbage. I guess Cornwell can't (or doesn't want) to do that with stuff nicely stored in her Macintosh.

After enjoying many of this author's previous books, I was terribly disappointed to read this one. There were far too many characters, some of whom were introduced late in the story. The main characters were unsympathetic because they were not fully developed. Where was a smart, courageous, plucky woman like Kay Scarpetta? The minor characters were dark and uninteresting. Unfortunately, there was little plot to speak of. The numerous fragments of the book did not, as one would hope, come together by the end. It is difficult to comprehend what this otherwise wonderful author was thinking when she wrote Southern Cross. I had come to expect far better quality in Cornwell's writing, character, and plot.

I bought this book with excitement. I read Hornet's Nest and liked it. I wasn't expecting another Scarpetta story. This book was AWFUL. I found many instances where plot lines took a turn that couldn't be explained and then just went....nowhere. They were dropped completely! I have read every single book by Cromwell, but this was trash.

I just finished reading this book and was glad when I was through. It was slow and even boring in some parts. Nothing even happened until the book was 3/4 finished. I only finished the book because I wanted to see if the killer was caught. I have read all of her books and this one was at the botton of the list. I was very disapointed in this book. Not worth reading.

We were excited when we started Southern Cross only to be let down big time. It took us the longest book to read and we didn't want to pick it up. Found the plot very boring and this surely can not be the same author that interged us so much with The Body Farm. We were not impressed with Hornest's Nest either so we guess it is time 4 a break from this author. mysteries4you.com books4you

I've enjoyed all of Patricia Cornwell's books except Hornet's Nest and Southern Cross. I continued reading, hoping it would get better... it didn't! Too many characters, very confusing sentences...they didn't make any sense. The characters are boring. I'm sorry I wasted my weekend reading this book...PLEASE bring Dr. Scarpetta back!

This book was an incredible disappointment. I am a faithful Patricia Cornwell reader and had high expectations for this follow-up to Hornet's Nest. Normally I cannot put her books down because they are so engrossing; however, I had a hard time finishing this one. I tired quickly of West and Brazil's "love-hate-hate to admit it" relationship. And while I'm certainly no stranger to crude language, Cornwell broke a personal record in using the infamous "F-word" throughout the gang members' dialogue. She (and other writers) should note that vulgarity loses its effectiveness and ability to shock when used to extremes; it only disgusts. I hope Cornwell will soon return to writing the kind of book that made her one of my favorites. Long live Scarpetta!

I can not imagine Patricia being pleased with her name on this book as writer with so many errors. For instance check pages 50-51. There are at least 11 instances where errors were made resulting in sentences making no sense. Other than the grammatical distractions I have totally enjoyed this book. I feel this is one of her best.

Patricia Cornwell's latest book "Southern Cross" was a dissapointment, due to the fact that it seemed a "rushed to be printed" novel. The characters did not seem to have enough personality, nor "character", as her other novels have had. I found the book to flow quite nicely, but was not a book I could not put down at any time. The plot was skimpy, and even though the book flowed well, did not have enough "body" to it. Perhaps, I have been spoiled by her other novels which have been rich in thought and content. After waiting expectantly to receive this book, was not prepared mentally to be dissapointed. Will be looking forward to her next novel, however as do enjoy her writings.

I think I have bought nearly all Scarpetta novels by Patricia Cornwell in hardcover, and mostly enjoyed them (though the bad characters have a tendency to get more improbably from volume to volume, soon we will see green monsters from Mars as Cornwell's serial killers).
Southern cross is just pulp which should have never moved beyond any editors desk, but landed in the garbage bin where it belongs. I will never again buy a hardcover by Cornwell.
Just because an author has made his/her name publishers and authors often seem to think they can get away with anything and make money out of the established name. I hope this strategy backfires so bdaly in this case that others will also learn from it.
Please excuse my limited English, I am not a native speaker of it.

Having Not Read any of Patricia Cornwell's books for quite some time, i was reluctant to pick up Southern Cross because it did not look interesting. Instead, the storyline was funny, people being argumentive, misunderstood, while addressing a real concern - youth violence. I felt that the book read smoothly and had neat characters. Enjoyed it very much!

This book was very disappointing. Have read Ms. Cornwell's books in the past and found them interesing and the characters likeable.
The only character in the book that you could feel any affinity for was Weed. All the rest of the characters were whiny and irritating.
Would not recommend this book at all.

Cornwell needs to stick with Kay Scarpetta. Both books that did not feature her were lacking greatly in depth and character development. ALL of the Cornwell books that featured Kay Scarpetta as the main character were books I couldn't put down. She's an excellent author and can do better than this one.

Southern Cross brings a new set of crime fighters onto the scene Ms Cornwell's writing is lively and the story is compelling It is always hard for an author to move to new settings and characters She does so well!

Much better than "Hornet's Nest", but totally different genre than the Scarpetta series, which I like better. Her satire is very, very rich, with frankly better characterizations than the Scarpetta series, especially of Bubba Fluck and the Police dispatcher. However, I was overwhelmed because I was trying to understand how the three main protagonists could ever function in the total insanity she projects as Richmond, VA. She must have a strong dislike of Richmond..I guess this means that Scarpetta will never go back there, but continue to work out of DC, or where ever.

I know that the Scarpetta series is hard to beat, but come on people! This was Patricia's first attempt at wry humor, for me it worked. I enjoy the grit of her writing and her characters. True, some of the names were a bit screwy, but have you ever read an author by the name of Charles Dickens?

I found this P. Cornwell book to be refreshingly different than her psychological killers with excessive descriptions of the victim and the subsequent autopsy. The book held my interest, the plot was full of suspense and you couldn't wait to see how the events would evolve until the real psychotic killer was subdued, and Weed was safe.

I was very disappointed in Southern Cross...definitely not up to Cornwell's standards. I kept reading hoping that all the disjointed stories would start clicking together...which they did on about the last page! If you are a Cornwell fan, I would just pass this one up. Either someone wrote it for her, or she's beginning to fall into the write-what-sells trap.

I stopped reading this halfway through when I figured out nothing was happening either plotwise or characterwise. Too much like the author is trying to imitate Elmore Leonard or Hiassen. The previous book by Patricia Cornwall was disappointing as well. It just ended very abruptly. I'm not sure what's going on here -- too much time spending research? Or maybe Ms. Cornwall, now that she is rich and famous, is rejecting some good editing or her editors are now too intimidated to insist on changes. Whatever it is, I will not be buying more.

Disappointing. Cornwell hit one out of the park with "Hornet's Nest" and I was hoping for a repeat performance. She set a great foundation for a new series with Judy Hammer, but this book isn't it. Weak plot, weaker characters and sub-plots that add nothing to the story.

I was extremely disappointed by this book. I love the Kay Scarpetta stories and the author's attempt at satire leaves much to be disired. I had to force myself to finish it. The characters and storyline had no suspense or sense. Even as satire, it failed. Dont't waste your money!

Cornwell's former books were entertaining, witty and unoffensive. This book, about predejudice, bizarre, brutal characters and a beleaguered southern city is nothing new, though it borders on boring vulgarity. I am very disappointed in this book and regret even more that I purchased it.

What a disappointment. I pre-ordered this book before I scanned the reveiws and failed to remove it from my shopping cart! What a mistake and a waste of money. Boring, disjointed and a dull read. I am an avid fan of Cornwell, but even I had trouble getting through this one!

Judy hammer, police chief, tries to clean up Richmond, Va., and reorganize the computer system. I like these people but it took me a while to like the book. Murder, compassion, romance, even pets. Some really evil people brings out the rage in the reader. The book comes together very good in the end

As a veracious reader of Patricia Cornwell novels, I cannot believe that yet another has disappointed me. Growing up in Richmond, VA, it was always a thrill for me to follow Kay Scarpetta and her entourage of crime-fighting buddies through the "mean" streets which are all familiar to me This novel, however, is a sorry waste of words and a waste of my time. It is disjointed at best, and the plot--if indeed there is one--eludes me. It is sad to think that an author of her caliber is more committed to her large book deal by churning out "fluff" than maintaining her journalistic talent and integrity. What was she thinking???