Flesh and Blood

A Scarpetta Novel, Book 22

By: Patricia Cornwell

Narrated by: Lorelei King

Number one New York Times best-selling author Patricia Cornwell delivers the next enthralling thriller in her high-stakes series starring Kay Scarpetta - a complex tale involving a serial sniper who strikes chillingly close to the forensic sleuth herself.

It's Dr. Kay Scarpetta's birthday, and she's about to head to Miami for a vacation with Benton Wesley, her FBI profiler husband, when she notices seven pennies on a wall behind their Cambridge house. Is this a kids' game? If so, why are all of the coins dated 1981 and so shiny they could be newly minted? Her cellphone rings, and Detective Pete Marino tells her there's been a homicide five minutes away. A high school music teacher has been shot with uncanny precision as he unloaded groceries from his car. No one has heard or seen a thing.

In this twenty-second Scarpetta novel, the master forensic sleuth finds herself in the unsettling pursuit of a serial sniper who leaves no incriminating evidence except fragments of copper. The shots seem impossible, yet they are so perfect they cause instant death. The victims appear to have had nothing in common, and there is no pattern to indicate where the killer will strike next. First New Jersey, then Massachusetts, and then the murky depths off the coast of South Florida, where Scarpetta investigates a shipwreck, looking for answers that only she can discover and analyze. And it is there that she comes face to face with shocking evidence that implicates her techno genius niece, Lucy, Scarpetta's own flesh and blood.

©2014 Cornwell Entertainment, Inc. (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers

Great book, Poor choice for narrator

Great book - liked seeing her work with Benton for a change. Even some sharing of her personal life with descriptions of hpuse and home. Scarpetta is always excited about learning new stuff - I like that about her. This book takes us mostly out of the morgue, an interesting approach to what else Scarpetta is capable of. I am also a Janet Evanovitch fan and have listened to all of her books - Benton sounding like Joe Morelli is just wrong! Lorelei King is Stephanie, not Kay!

Death Tells a Story

Never sure where we were after the first few chapters went by. Too much detail and medical lingo. Hard to keep up with who was who, as the story went from place to place and different people in each place. I have read several books with the forensic doctor, main character. All better than this.

disappointed

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, narrator was unfamiliar with inflection of voice when reading... Lorelei King, the narrator, did not seem to read to the punctuation of the sentences; often left hanging in mid air and could not successfully complete a thought.

If you’ve listened to books by Patricia Cornwell before, how does this one compare?

Poor comparison to other Cornwell books

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Not at all. no feeling to it

Could you see Flesh and Blood being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No

Any additional comments?

For a mystery you would expect a climax in storyline to a great finale; this didn't happen. I felt the ending was from left field!

Love it

always a fan of kay scarpetta....hanging on the edge of my seat for this to continue

Plot did not disappoint; Lorelei King was aweful

I'm familiar with Lorelei King from her naration of Janet Evanovich's series. It was all I could do to not turn off the recording when I realized that she was giving the voices of the characters in this book the exact same voices and characteristics of the characters in Janet Evanovich's books. And reading this book at the exact same speed - very fast.
Could King not have done a little home work before doing the reading? There have only been 21 books before this one! interestingly, about 3/4 of the way through the book, she finally slowed down her reading a bit. I even book marked where that happened, since it was so noticable.

I guess my biggest question is - where were the normal narators for the Scarpetta books?

As for the book itself, Cornwell seemed to focus on bringing out the characters more - loosening them up some. The plot was good, and it certainly left readers hanging for the next installment. I liked it.

Scarpetta needs to go back to Virginia

Where does Flesh and Blood rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In The middle

If you’ve listened to books by Patricia Cornwell before, how does this one compare?

About 4 of 10 on a scale of 10

What does Lorelei King bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

King does a great job. She saves this book

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

Over the years Scarpetta has become an arrogant Bitch and I don't know why. The descriptions in this book are over the top and most of them are totally unnecessary- you start to get bored. The characters are morphing into totally unpleasant people and characters that are hard to associate with mentally. Scarpetta and her cast of friends are coming off pretty unstable and while they all had problems in earlier books you could somewhat understand personalities. Since they have all traveled all over the east coast doing God knows what in books that had little or no meaning, this one gives hope that the gang is going to get back together in one single destination. The problem with the descriptions of Scarpetta and other characters is they come off way too arrogant to interact with most common people. Tone it DOWN!

Clever and captivating.

As always Patricia Cornwell has drawn you into Kay Scarpetta's world. And what a world it is! This journey with Kay and her friends will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Patricia Cornwell at back to her best.

I enjoyed this book more then any in the recent past. She is back to a story, less technical jargon. In previous books I was lost in too much technical talk that I had a hard time listening to the end. Thanks for getting back your mojo.

Find a permanent reader

If you could sum up Flesh and Blood in three words, what would they be?

This is the worst reader I have ever heard. Find someone to be the voice of Kay Scarpetta and stick with her. JD Robb"s in death tried using a new reader a few years back and the listeners hated her. Now Eve Dallas has her regular voice, cadence, etc.

Would you be willing to try another book from Patricia Cornwell? Why or why not?

I have listened to them all. I am not sure anymore. I hate this reader and if she reads the
next book, I think I will pass.

How could the performance have been better?

A regular reader

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I wouldn't make it into a movie

Flesh and Blood

Another great Scarpetta book! Still glad I started this series. Looking forward to the next one.