4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Kay Scarpetta, RATING, Read in 2010, READING CHALLENGES 2010, SERIES

REVIEW: Black Notice by Patricia Cornwell

Black Notice
by Patricia Cornwell

Copyright: 1999
Pages: 441
Rating: 4/5
Read: June 17-23, 2010
Challenge: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; RYOB 2010
Yearly Count: 32

First Line: The late morning blazed with blue skies and the colors of fall, but none of it was for me.

When the body of an unidentified man is found in a cargo ship in Richmond, cause of death and an identification is nearly impossible. But Dr. Kay Scarpetta is able to make out an odd tattoo on the decomposing flesh. It will be that tattoo that will lead Kay to Interpol, over in France. But she also has to deal with a lot of stuff on the homefront. There seems to be someone out to get her and Marino: someone wants both of them out of their jobs. In order to figure out this latest puzzle, Kay will have to try and protect her career while also trying to get to the truth at the same time.

This is the 10th book the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series. I personally felt like it was another good installment in this series. However, I did have a few complaints: first, I got really tired of Kay and Marino constantly fighting in this book. I understood that emotions were still raw from what happened in the previous book, and I also understood that they were both having to deal with some changes in their jobs, but seriously? It was a little annoying after a while – I mean, their characters have always kind of gotten on each other’s nerves, but it was really obnoxious in this book. I also had some issues with Lucy’s attitude in this book. I hope that the characters straighten their attitudes out in the next installment of this book. Overall, I’m still enjoying this series and I did enjoy this book, but it wasn’t as good as some of the earlier books in the series.

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