The Scarpetta Factor (Kay Scarpetta #17) by Patricia Cornwell

Title: The Scarpetta Factor

Author: Patricia Cornwell

Series: 17th in Kay Scarpetta

Pages: 430

Published: October 2009 by Putnam

ISBN: 9780399156397

Source: Personal copy

Description: It is the week before Christmas. A tanking economy has prompted Dr. Kay Scarpetta—despite her busy schedule and her continuing work as the senior forensic analyst for CNN—to offer her services pro bono to New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. In no time at all, her increased visibility seems to precipitate a string of unexpected and unsettling events. She is asked live on the air about the sensational case of Hannah Starr, who has vanished and is presumed dead. Moments later during the same telecast she receives a startling call—in from a former psychiatrist patient of Benton Wesley's. When she returns after the show to the apartment where she and Benton live, she finds an ominous package—possibly a bomb—waiting for her at the front desk. Soon the apparent threat on Scarpetta's life finds her embroiled in a surreal plot that includes a famous actor accused of an unthinkable sex crime and the disappearance of a beautiful millionaires with whom Lucy seems to have shared a secret past.  Scarpetta's CNN producer wants her to launch a TV show called The Scarpetta Factor. Given the bizarre events already in play, she fears that her growing fame will generate the illusion that she has a "special factor," a mythical ability to solve all her cases. She wonders if she will end up like other TV personalities: her own stereotype.

I Give This ...

  

I've been dreading writing this review.  It actually pains me to give this book such a poor rating.  I use to love anything Patrica Cornwell wrote.  But, I've really been struggling with the series for a couple books now.  It's lost some of it's focus and has became something else.  I decided to give it one more shot and purchased this book.  And then it sat on my shelf for almost a year.  Now I know why.

The story started out strong.  I was hoping the book would stay focused on this crime and solving it.  I was wrong.  I totally lost interest shortly after the bomb was delivered.  The story starts to focus on a different case and I started to wonder what the point was of the initial murder.  There's way to much dialogue throughout the whole book.  The characters tell you the story instead of the author.  I found my mind wandering and skimming the pages.  

The story jolts back to reality so fast I didn't have time to process it all.  Why can't past characters just die off or stay out of the sotry?  Why do all of them have to come back and continue to haunt Scarpetta?  And I'm tired of the vibes between all the character.  I haven't like Wesley since he came back into the story.  Marino is barely there and a shadow of what he use to be.  And don't even get me started on Lucy.  I think I'm done and that isn't something I ever thought I would say.