Dr. Kay Scarpetta never gets a real vacation: Good news for us; bad news for her. In Predator, this ever-alert investigator is in tropical Florida, freelancing for the National Forensic Academy. But Kay doesn't have time to catch any rays. A series of teasing psychological clues drives her and her team to snowbound Boston to track down a serial killer who always manages to stay one corpse ahead of the competition. Superlative sleuthing.
Marilyn Stasio
The contrived plot that drags Scarpetta out of the classroom and onto the killing fields in pursuit of a madman…plays out in too fragmented a form to sustain much suspense. But Cornwell opens up a fascinating new field for Scarpetta when she involves her in the study that her lover, a forensic psychologist, is conducting up in Boston with compulsive murderers—terminology he considers more scientifically exact than "serial killers." Whatever you call them, they have the author's attention here, and when she isn't too busy doling out bits of business to Scarpetta's posse of co-sleuths, Cornwell brings them to full, frightening life.
—The New York Times
Library Journal
Now at Florida's National Forensic Academy, Dr. Kay Scarpetta is too busy to enjoy the sun: a nasty villain has burst forth. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
From the Publisher
Sensationally plotted, with a twist at the end that will leave you gasping for breath.”—The Daily Express (U.K.)
“A fine psychological thriller…recalls the work of writers like Minette Walters or Thomas Harris.”—The Denver Post
“[Readers] will find themselves entertained and surprised by the ending.”—The Stuart News/Port St. Lucie News (Stuart, FL)
“There is a steely authority to the prose.”—The Independent (London)
“Cornwell and her original heroine Kay Scarpetta are both back in top form.”—Birmingham Post
APR/MAY 06 - AudioFile
Kay Scarpetta, renowned criminal investigator with the National Forensic Academy in Florida, hunts another serial murderer. Basil Jenrette, imprisoned serial killer and research subject, is somehow connected. Kate Reading’s narration is good; she is particularly adept at depicting the therapist's calm, controlled voice, then switching to the anger and belligerence of Moreno, former city cop. Scarpetta fans may be disappointed that her focus in this novel is forensics of the dysfunctional , rather than murder and investigative work, and that the story’s ending is illogical. Some parts of the story are overly gruesome, as well. Even excellent narration and characterization can't salvage this poorly plotted mystery. One expects better from Cornwell. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
