sci_mom's review against another edition
1.0
I think it may be time for me to part ways with Kay Scarpetta. I spend all of my time either being bored with her or frustrated and I won't even bother with how I feel about Benton, Marino, and Lucy. I only finished this book because it was on CD and I didn't have another to replace it for my commute. Oh, and whoever the reader was for the audio version is awful. The reading was very stilted and formal. I would have thought that was why I didn't like it, but the ending quickly demonstrated that the reading was not the main issue and that I would not have liked this book more if I read it myself. Someone is shooting people from long distances with great precision and accuracy and decides to kill face to face...in the ocean no less...for the 4th kill when numbered bullets were being used previously. Whatever it is that Patricia Cornwell is selling now, I'm no longer buying.
roe_bookworm's review
2.0
This is the first book I read of Kay Scarpetta, and it was a mistake. First, I hadn’t any idea that I needed to read the others before in order to get everything I needed to understand the plot; second, the story is not really over, and now I’m thinking if I want to see how it ends or if I can just leave this here and forget about it.
Because I didn’t really like it. I’m not a fan of Kay, Benton, Lucy or anyone else, I wasn’t invested by the plot, I didn’t understand the “plot twists” because I don’t know the whole story, and I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna start the whole series just to get it.
I didn’t dnf this book just because it was the first book I picked up in 2020 and I didn’t want to start the year with a dnf, but I was very close to leave it.
Because I didn’t really like it. I’m not a fan of Kay, Benton, Lucy or anyone else, I wasn’t invested by the plot, I didn’t understand the “plot twists” because I don’t know the whole story, and I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna start the whole series just to get it.
I didn’t dnf this book just because it was the first book I picked up in 2020 and I didn’t want to start the year with a dnf, but I was very close to leave it.
lindajo's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
This book was so bad I stopped reading and went on to something else. I did eventually come back to it and finish it. But it was not great at all.
sg1987's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
carlajo713's review against another edition
3.0
well dang it.... I somehow read the last two Scarpetta books out of order. Sadly, it didn't matter. Like other reviewers, I think I continue to read these books because of how much I used to LOVE the series. I keep hoping if I keep reading Kay will come back to being Kay. Since when did she become such an insecure and fearful damsel in distress. I've always thought her somewhat of a badass, but those times may be gone. I may go back to Postmortem and reread the books again, perhaps I've been fooled all along. It was a better book than Depraved Heart certainly, but I felt myself skimming towards the end just to get it over with. That admission really pains me to say! Hopefully Scarpetta takes a nice relaxing vacation and finds herself. And please, no more Carrie! ugh
ritaholliman's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed "Flesh and Blood" quite a lot but maybe not as much as the earlier books in the Kay Scarpetta series. I particularly didn't like the cliff hanger ending. Ms. Cornwell usually ties up each book in the series more neatly than that. However, it was probably a good move on her part. If not for the ending, I might not read #23.
Or maybe I would. Lucy, my favorite character, has a lot going on that I would like to find out more about. I would be happy if more pages in the next book were devoted to her. She is so interesting, yet so secretive. I want more of Lucy's life.
Or maybe I would. Lucy, my favorite character, has a lot going on that I would like to find out more about. I would be happy if more pages in the next book were devoted to her. She is so interesting, yet so secretive. I want more of Lucy's life.
jennflattery's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
impybelle's review against another edition
3.0
Freakin' cliffhanger!
That's your warning.
Otherwise, Flesh and Blood inches us back to the Scarpetta novels not requiring alcohol and a short memory in order to get through them. Yay! I'm not entirely sure I would get on board with anyone saying current Kay isn't cold (I think I found her less so earlier in the series but I'm not positive this isn't a case of rose colored glasses) but whatever floats your boat, guys.
The book starts off more like the cookbook we got eons ago and then kind of throws us into a series of murders that don't seem connected but most definitely are.
I do wonder how many pages we'd lose if anyone around Kay would actually communicate with her and not start a conversation in the middle and wait for chapters to circle around to the beginning.
Marino is on the road to recovery from his previous character assassination (yay!) but Lucy is still... whatever Lucy is. I continue to find Benton to be as dull as dishwater but that's a step up from wanting to throttle him as I have in previous books, so that's a thing. Also, I do fear for him in the cliffhanger and that's also a positive. (Me not wishing him dead, I mean. Not that he's in danger.)
I called the bad guy (well, one of them) but then spent the rest of the book trying desperately to remember anything about them aside from the obvious. I'm not so sure I should be re-reading Scarpetta books from before the shark jump, honestly, especially since it's taken so long to get back to a place where I enjoy more than I don't.
That's your warning.
Otherwise, Flesh and Blood inches us back to the Scarpetta novels not requiring alcohol and a short memory in order to get through them. Yay! I'm not entirely sure I would get on board with anyone saying current Kay isn't cold (I think I found her less so earlier in the series but I'm not positive this isn't a case of rose colored glasses) but whatever floats your boat, guys.
The book starts off more like the cookbook we got eons ago and then kind of throws us into a series of murders that don't seem connected but most definitely are.
I do wonder how many pages we'd lose if anyone around Kay would actually communicate with her and not start a conversation in the middle and wait for chapters to circle around to the beginning.
Marino is on the road to recovery from his previous character assassination (yay!) but Lucy is still... whatever Lucy is. I continue to find Benton to be as dull as dishwater but that's a step up from wanting to throttle him as I have in previous books, so that's a thing. Also, I do fear for him in the cliffhanger and that's also a positive. (Me not wishing him dead, I mean. Not that he's in danger.)
I called the bad guy (well, one of them) but then spent the rest of the book trying desperately to remember anything about them aside from the obvious. I'm not so sure I should be re-reading Scarpetta books from before the shark jump, honestly, especially since it's taken so long to get back to a place where I enjoy more than I don't.
arthur_pendrgn's review against another edition
3.0
I never want to live in Cambridge or Boston or any state in that area in the winter. Too much snow as Cornwell talks about them. At least I didn't have to shudder about the weather in this one.
I did learn what a Prince Albert piercing is, so there's that.
I am dismayed at the amount of food that is wasted in this series. Kay is constantly in the last stage of cooking repasts (that take hours of preparation--how does she find the time?) that are never eaten. Nor does anyone seem to eat, really. Does she really do her best work underhydrated and underfed?
Benton and Kay have been imperiled in the latest installments, so I guess it's Lucy's turn. Carrie Grethen? Blech. Not a character worthy of being resurrected. Chandonne was already recycled in this series; this is a re-tread of a plot (and unfortunately--a 3 novel one). Lucy is my least favorite character.
After Benton and Kay seemed to actually work as partners--in both their professional and marital lives--in Dust, the boring not-share-info-even-though-it-harms-the-other-person routine is disappointing. I dislike the first person pov. I preferred knowing how the other characters were thinking--it not only made the book more interesting, it made inexplicable behavior explicable.
If any character needs some growth, it's Bryce. Either the man learns discretion or he loses his job. Kay could certainly, finally, hire a HR person to deal with staff issues. She obviously is bad at hiring.
Too many turns & twists in this one. This is not the first time that I think the entrance to the plot could have been done differently. Remove Nari and Bloom, the plot still works. The clues that lead to Carrie are the deaths of the girl and the construction guy.
I did learn what a Prince Albert piercing is, so there's that.
I am dismayed at the amount of food that is wasted in this series. Kay is constantly in the last stage of cooking repasts (that take hours of preparation--how does she find the time?) that are never eaten. Nor does anyone seem to eat, really. Does she really do her best work underhydrated and underfed?
Benton and Kay have been imperiled in the latest installments, so I guess it's Lucy's turn. Carrie Grethen? Blech. Not a character worthy of being resurrected. Chandonne was already recycled in this series; this is a re-tread of a plot (and unfortunately--a 3 novel one). Lucy is my least favorite character.
After Benton and Kay seemed to actually work as partners--in both their professional and marital lives--in Dust, the boring not-share-info-even-though-it-harms-the-other-person routine is disappointing. I dislike the first person pov. I preferred knowing how the other characters were thinking--it not only made the book more interesting, it made inexplicable behavior explicable.
If any character needs some growth, it's Bryce. Either the man learns discretion or he loses his job. Kay could certainly, finally, hire a HR person to deal with staff issues. She obviously is bad at hiring.
Too many turns & twists in this one. This is not the first time that I think the entrance to the plot could have been done differently. Remove Nari and Bloom, the plot still works. The clues that lead to Carrie are the deaths of the girl and the construction guy.