The Last Precinct (Scarpetta)
by Patricia Cornwell

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Book Reviews of The Last Precinct (Scarpetta)

Book Review: Oh what a book!
Summary: 5 Stars

This book, whilst perhaps not being the best in terms of "intrigue" is nonetheless an extremely good entry in the series. It is a very strong and powerful book, which is full of emotion and shimmers with despair, injustice, unfairness, and in the middle of it all is Scarpetta, with Marino and Lucy, who at times seem to be the only people trying to right the wrongs of the world. (A downside to this comes when you get the sense that Scarpetta somehow feels very "superior" to everyone else.) The sense of loneliness Cornwell portrays is very compelling, and at times very moving. You feel Scarpetta's despair and depression at the terrible things going on in her world.

Many people criticise the latest Scarpetta books for being too depressing and dark. But, i ask you, what else do you expect? The main character is a medical examiner who deals in death every single day...Are you expecting picnics by a river, or what? Death is depressing. So, by default, these novels shoudl also be quite depressing.

It is also very moving the way that, over the course of the series, we have seen Scarpetta become gradually more and more immersed in her job, more obsessed by it and with justice, and yet with almost every book it brings her a further step down into the pit of depression.

This latest book has a much slower pace than most of her previous novels, which is good. It is good for Scarpetta's life to slow down sometimes, so she has time to get to grips with things. Also, the reader has too.

i cannot praise this series highly enough. It has so many levels, so many things which are praiseworthy. It goes from strength to strength, and all the books are different. The characters are great, if sometimes a tad pretentious. But hey, i can live with that, as long as Cornwell continues to write such good books. Her mastery of the English language is unquestionable. She rarely uses much descriptive prose, instead choosing to make her writing to the point and engaging, but when she does, it really gives the writing a shimmering edge.

Brilliant, Patricia. Thank you. Ignore the doubters. I cannot wait for Scarpetta 12 (supposed to be the next part in this ongoing "Chandonne" saga.)

Summary of The Last Precinct (Scarpetta)

We enter THE LAST PRECINCT through the reverberating aftershocks of BLACK NOTICE, finding Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner herself under criminal investigation. The nightmare perpetrated on Scarpetta's doorstep continues as she discovers that the so-called Werewolf murders may have extended to New York City. When a formidable female assistant district attorney is brought into the case, Scarpetta struggles to make the truth prevail against unnerving evidence to the contrary. Tested interminably, she turns inward to ask, Where do you go when there is nowhere left? The answer : The Last Precinct.

"Cunningly designed, ingeniously laid out, composed with Cornwellian skill, this far from the "Last Precinct"is a model of the art." (L.A. Times)

The 11th Scarpetta novel, The Last Precinct, doesn't add any new names to the second roster. Instead, in a sweeping narrative gesture toward retrospection (less-than-fervent fans might whisper "or stagnation"), the novel depends largely on ground already covered in its predecessors, Black Notice and, to a lesser extent, Point of Origin. All the familiar faces--friend and foe--are here: police captain Marino, Kay's niece Lucy, the so-called Werewolf murderer, and (in memoriam) Kay's lover Benton Wesley and his killer, Carrie Grethen. Kay, who nearly killed the Werewolf in self-defense as Black Notice came to a close, now finds herself the target of a corrupt police investigation that will dredge her darkest secrets from the deepest corners of her past.

Torn between a desire to clear her name and the instinct of a wounded animal to turn against even its would-be rescuers, Kay sifts through the forensic evidence that seems to link Chandonne to other horrific events in her past, up to and including Wesley's murder. Physical analysis, however, will not be enough to right her up-ended world. Instead, Kay must rely on the strategic support of her niece, cofounder of the Last Precinct (an odd, ill-defined organization that is, in the words of its motto, "where you go when there is nowhere left"), and on her willingness to examine her own fears, misconceptions, and anything-but-altruistic motives. The most important setting in this novel is not the morgue--it's the living room where Kay's therapist forces her to address (you guessed it) "unresolved issues."

The novel's focus on Kay's emotional evolution does not, unfortunately, mask the leaps of illogic that pepper the plot's murky stew. More disturbing than these occasional lapses, however, is the feeling that Cornwell has written herself into a corner. The Scarpetta of The Last Precinct is a far cry from the irritably independent woman of previous books. Her often over-inflated musings are more tiresome than tantalizing. Cornwell's impressive track record makes this excursion a bit disappointing, but that same record means that loyal fans will race to acquire the book anyway and that the odds of her returning to her usual stellar form next time are (hurrah!) favorable. --Kelly Flynn

Genre Fiction Books

• Books > Subjects > Literature & Fiction
• Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery > Women Sleuths
• Thrillers > Medical
• Suspense