Patricia Cornwell - Blowfly (2004)
It is no secret that women make up the majority of the audience for general fiction. If anecdotal evidence can be relied on, female readers are the main consumers of mystery novels as well.
It comes as no surprise, therefore, that some of the most talked-about writers in the mystery and suspense genre are women, with new authors being added to the list all the time.
One of the best known names is Patricia Cornwell, the best-selling author of the series featuring medical examiner Kay Scarpetta. After a handful of disappointing books notable mostly for the absence of Scarpetta, the beloved doctor has returned, giving fans much to celebrate.
Blowfly features a disgraced Scarpetta, driven from her job and her home, still mourning the death of her true love. She may have lost some of her dignity, but she still has one of the finest investigative minds in the business.
Unfortunately, Cornwell doesn't give Scarpetta a whole lot to do in this book. She dabbles as a consultant on a couple of cases, but the mystery isn't really the focus of Blowfly. The author is more interested in telling the story of Scarpetta's life, and that of her close-knit circle of family and friends.
While that story is reasonably interesting -- and contains at least one huge shocker -- it would have been nice if the doctor had been more involved in actually solving a mystery or two. Still, if not actually a return to form, Blowfly is a mildly entertaining book that will appeal mostly to readers who are already fans of the series.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Book Reviews | Permalink
