Trace (Scarpetta Book 13)
by Patricia Cornwell
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2001)
Although I'm a big fan of Cornwell's Scarpetta series I had great trouble getting into this book.
Scarpetta goes back to Richmond after 5 years to help solve the case of a young girl found dead in her bed. She is called by the new Medical Examiner who reveals himself to be a less than competent man with a few skeletons in his closet. At the same time Benton is in Aspen trying to help a member of Lucy's team who was attacked in Lucy's house, having had to cancel the vacation plans he had with ...more
Scarpetta goes back to Richmond after 5 years to help solve the case of a young girl found dead in her bed. She is called by the new Medical Examiner who reveals himself to be a less than competent man with a few skeletons in his closet. At the same time Benton is in Aspen trying to help a member of Lucy's team who was attacked in Lucy's house, having had to cancel the vacation plans he had with ...more
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Read in January, 2004
recommends it for:
people who have read rest of the series only
As this series has gone on, the scenarios in these novels have grown progressively bleak. I did not enjoy this book very much, because it seemed to me that Cornwell was straining to come up with something more shocking than ever before. It takes a lot to shock people nowadays, and extremes are not as shocking as they once were. I saw too much effort in the writing: if Cornwell took a step back into examining life and death through the perceptions of these very interesting people she has intro...more
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Read in November, 2005
recommends it for:
Crime fiction lovers
Throw some sexual deviation and a few murders in there and I guess you'll have something that can sell, even if it's not worth writing. The killer this time is Edgar Allan Pogue, tragically child-like, suffering from familial trauma, like a thousand other postmodern murderers. Cornwell's insistence on present tense narrative is grating, and the ridiculous self-gratification of her main protagonist always being right and slighted anyway is done without humility or charm. The book is as bleak as a...more
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Not as shocking of a mystery as her other books. Still one that should be read. The Scarpetta series never had or probably will have a dull book. The ending was not as intense as the other books, but I like that because every story ending in something shocking would get old and unrealistic. Since the mysteries are plausible I wouldn't want the ending to wreck that.
Also Scarpetta has an issue with someone close as continued from the end of Blow Fly....
Also Scarpetta has an issue with someone close as continued from the end of Blow Fly....
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Read in December, 2006
I love the growing complexity of Kay's world and of Kay herself - also the gradual humanization of Kay as a vulnerable woman as well as a brilliant forensic doctor. Like all of us who choose to love and commit to life, life sometimes has its way with us. It is humbling and humanizing. I admire Patricia Cornwell's ability to bring that very real truth about aging to her development of Kay.
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Read in July, 2007
I've always been a huge Patricia Cornwell fan, especially of her Kay Scarpetta series. This book unfortunately was very dissapointing to me. It didn't seem to have much of the forensic investigation or murder investigations in it. In fact, all the murders had been commited by the start of the book. It's definately a take it or leave it book.
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Read in January, 2007
I thought this was good, having Cornwell rebuild on the scarpetta Franchise --having her relocate to Florida to start a new consulting service was good but bringing her back to Richmond to face the truth of why she was driven out and to bring the socalled good guys down was brilliant--Kind of brings closure to that part of her life.
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recommended to lionlady by:
Gabi
The Dr. Kay Scarpetta series is one of my very favorite mystery series. The character development from book to book is quite good, you really get to know them. The bad guys are really bad and, of course, there is one that keeps returning. There's some real good twists. Also, I loved the forensics.
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Read in April, 2005
I've been anticipating reading this book for weeks now. It was very good in Cornwell's usual style. I gave it a 7 because it was such a lead up until the capturing of the person they were after, that it happened so fast and so little time was spent on the capture, that I felt robbed of an ending.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in April, 2008
Scarpetta's life is getting dark--I've never read these books in any kind of order, so I haven't really followed her character arch, I'm just paying attention to the mystery. I guess I've been reading old books in the series, so it was strange to jump in and find that everything had changed.
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I am a huge fan of Patricia Cornwell and the Kay Scarpetta series but I am disappointed in the last few that I've read. They are no where near as good as the first books in the series. I hope Cornwell finds her way back to her original story telling in the Scarpetta series.
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"...Dyed, bleached, and gray hair are pretty worthless in microscopic comparison, and half the human population has dyed, bleached, gray, or permed hair. But these days in court, jurors expect a hair to announce who, what, when, where, why, and how." (page 111)
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This is the last Scarpetta novel I'm ever going to read. I wish I'd stopped several books ago when she started bringing characters back from the dead soap opera style. The early books were great yarns but somewhere along the line Cornwell started phoning it in.
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I've loved the first portion of the series but she switched to writing in the omniscient view instead of in the 1st person and it's a pretty crappy adjustment...I'll still read the Scarpetta books but it doesn't hold my interest like they did before..
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Read in September, 2007
If I wasn't listening to this, I probably would have put it down. I think she needs to retire this series. Edgar Allen Pogue? Give me a break.
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I listened to this on tape. It wasn't great but it was bizarre and twisted enough to keep my interest. I haven't read a Scarpetta book in a long time so there was a lot that I had forgotten but it was still entertaining.
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I used to enjoy Cornwell's forensic mystery series with Dr. Kay Scarpetta but I found this one short on plot and generally pretty stupid. I can't recommend it...but do try the others.
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Read in May, 2008
Good story line, but a bit disjointed; takes a few chapters to 'get it', but is worth the read. Not as good as other 'Scarpetta' Novels; Hope the new one on my shelf is better.
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Read in August, 2007
Started off promising yet fell flat. Very disappointing considering how the Kay Scarpetta series first began. This book just didn't hold my interest and was a waste of my time
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Read in November, 2007
The ending had a bit to be desired, but the story definitely sucked me in. I love crime stories and shows (like Law & Order), so reading Scarpetta books are always fun.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.59 (1621 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.59 (1510 ratings) number of reviews: 45popular shelves
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""..rain slowly slides down the glass as if the night is crying.""
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