Lately, I haven't been very impressed with Cornwell's novels. I really loved her six years ago, but just haven't enjoyed any of her books I've read recently. I was excited for Port Mortuary because it was supposed to be like her old novels. I thought this would help me to identify if it's me and my attitude that's changed, or if I just really don't like Cornwell's recent stuff. I think it's the second one.

This novel was extremely slow, in spite of the promise for a fast-paced thriller listed in the flap. I found myself daydreaming while reading because the novel was so far from engaging. Scarpetta didn't seem to undergo much change in the novel, and it was poorly written. For example, there are three explanations on pages 384-85 in the hardcover novel where Cornwell uses analogies with "as if..." If things are so similar to something else within a short span of pages, just come out and say it, please! I felt like she was beating a dead horse with the quantity of analogies used.

Readers, I'm sorry this sounds like such a negative review. Bottom line? I think Cornwell's lost her touch. If you're currently a Cornwell/Scarpetta fan, do check out this novel. You may enjoy it. If you're at all on the fence, like me, I would not encourage you to pick it up.

Originally posted at Leah's Literature and Coffee

I listened to this and I'm not sure I was paying attention through the whole story... seems marginally better than some of her more recent books.

(3.5) Finally, after 10+ books, I like this series again. And what I didn't understand before is that Patricia Cornwell is deeply weird. Like, horny, nanorobot, "the suspect siphoned semen from dead corpses" weird (this is a summary of the book). So, I'm reeled in again. It helped that this one centered around one of the more interesting side characters (and looks like the next one will, too). Did I mention the corpse semen

This book is probably rated it a little higher than it might need to be since I have a certain sense of sentimentality with the series, but it was a good read aside from Scarpetta being a little too paranoid and the storyline being a little too conspiracy theory for me. It was nice to have the first person back and to get some new history on Scarpetta.

i just did not enjoy this enough to finish after the first 110 pages.

‘Things end where they begin and begin where they end.’

This is the 18th novel to feature Kay Scarpetta in the 20 years since ‘Postmortem’ first appeared. This novel is written from Kay Scarpetta’ s point of view, and it gives shares some secrets from the past and provides some new insights into her character.

At the beginning of the book, Scarpetta is undertaking a training fellowship on Computer Tomography (CT) – assisted virtual autopsies at Dover Air Force Base. However, as the chief of the new Cambridge Forensic Center (CFC) she is required to return home to Massachusetts when a case threatens the reputation of the CFC. A young man, who apparently died of a heart attack, begins to bleed in the cooler. Was he alive when he was shut in the cooler? As Scarpetta investigates this case, she discovers connections with another case. And nothing is as it seems: her husband Benton Wesley, her long-time colleague and friend Pete Marino, and her niece Lucy all seem to be withholding information. Scarpetta herself is obsessing about a guilty moment in her past and this, as much as solving the case, seems to be occupying her mind.

For those readers wanting more insights into the character and motivations of Kay Scarpetta, this will probably be a good read. I’d rather focus on the cases being solved, and I found Scarpetta’s angst irritating at times.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

So the book was not only "awful", it was also "difficult." The first thing I had a problem with was the present tense, first person pov that Cornwell employed. It was enough to throw me off balance when reading and required great concentration to "keep up" with what was happening. Even when fully focused, however, I found myself paging back to reread, certain I had missed something of consequence, thereby lending to my confusion about certain events. After rereading, however, I was no more "in the know" than I was the first time around. It was as if Cornwell actually skipped relevant and important information that made the entire plot burdensome to follow. The reader investment in key characters is never properly courted, nor are character relationships sufficiently addressed, so when tragedy strikes, one is left with a "yeah, who cares" response. Scarpetta's marriage; her skewed relationships with Fielding and Briggs; her off-beat parent vs. aunt relationship with her niece--none is developed past the point of doggerel. Add to that a plethora of acronyms that were extremely distracting, and what you have here folks is an EPIC failure to communicate. Save your money--this one is headed for the bargain bin.

This book was TERRIBLE. If it weren't Patricia Cornwell, I wouldn't have read it. If it weren't Patricia Cornwell, it would never have been published. It was vague, rambling, poorly written, poorly edited, and full of non sequiters and characters who used to be likeable but now aren't.

After not being able to finish the two previous Scarpetta novels ([b:Scarpetta|2833172|Scarpetta (Kay Scarpetta, #16)|Patricia Cornwell|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267304454s/2833172.jpg|2859278] and [b:The Scarpetta Factor|6495359|The Scarpetta Factor (Kay Scarpetta, #17)|Patricia Cornwell|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255577530s/6495359.jpg|6686808]) and barely finishing several ([b:Book of the Dead|6526|Book Of The Dead (Kay Scarpetta, #15)|Patricia Cornwell|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309200816s/6526.jpg|3602953], [b:Predator|6528|Predator (Kay Scarpetta, #14)|Patricia Cornwell|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1310552145s/6528.jpg|947822], [b:Trace|6530|Trace (Kay Scarpetta #13)|Patricia Cornwell|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1310723816s/6530.jpg|2503909], [b:Blow Fly|31623|Blow Fly (Kay Scarpetta, #12)|Patricia Cornwell|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309204251s/31623.jpg|1454733]), before them, I am fairly pleased with Port Mortuary. In comparison, that is.

I found it heavy on confusing dialog, but felt returning to Scarpetta's point of view was its saving grace. It was a complex story line with seemingly unrelated things ultimately being connected. There was a number of very clever lines of dialog and I enjoyed Kay's interaction with the Greyhound, Sock.

I will give the current Scarpetta novel, [b:Red Mist|11057626|Red Mist (Kay Scarpetta, #19)|Patricia Cornwell|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51L5uct3mjL._SL75_.jpg|15978848], a try and be hopeful that I find it interesting enough to finish as well.