Book Review-Older Books 8

Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell. Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, October 2003, 465 pages.

Kay Scarpetta is back…

Blow Fly, an insect frequently found in post-mortem discoveries.

This novel brings home why I read Patricia Cornwell. Kay has lost her job as Virginia’s Chief Medial Examiner, and she has lost the love of her life. She moves to Florida and resumes her life and now works as a private forensic consultant. She has just completed teaching a course at the National Forensic Academy, and has befriended a young woman from Zachary Louisiana. Shortly after her return, she is called in by the Coroner of Baton Rouge, to consult on an old case that was ruled an overdose. There also just happens to be a serial killer rampaging through the area where several women have disappeared.

Lucy, Kay’s niece is once again in the picture, where she runs her own internet company that also happens to be a quasi-investigation business. Marino, Kay’s old cohort, also works there. They both have a very big secret, one that could elate or crush this woman they care so much about. Lucy also crosses lines to save Marino, who is the closest thing to a father she has ever had.

Amidst all of the above, one of the most evil beings that Kay Scarpetta has ever dealt with is reaching out to her, Lucy and Marino. Jean-Baptiste Chandonne, also known as Loup-Garou, the werewolf, is contacting all of them and he hopes to manipulate and terrorize them from a maximum security setting.

In an amazing maze of twists and turns this book brings all of them together and every point from above is intersected. Along with a little boy thrown into the mix, there are specters and forces of evil from the past, making this a gripping and emotional novel. Patricia Cornwell had me turning pages looking forward to what would happen next, throughout this book, until the end. I did find the ending less explosive than I expected, and had so hoped to see the fire returned to Scarpetta, that I was left feeling mildly disappointed. But, otherwise the book had me hooked, and I still want more KAY.

T. G. Stanton