Scarpetta

So, since I am the world’s greatest procrastinator I have been devouring Patricia Cornwell’s Scarpetta novels again. These books are so wonderful. ONLY IF you can stomach the fact they are about death. Constantly. Being the Chief Medical examiner or something like it in all the books, kind of lets you know that death is the main character. Not in the traditional “talk to me, develop”  sense but in the sense it is the reason that Kay exists.

I have read all her books before but had done so over a VERY long period. I read my first one in HS and that was oh … well, let’s just say a while ago. I read From Potter’s Field on the recommendation of my teacher -who also told  us that we had to have a note for the librarian telling her we were allowed to read from the “restricted” section- I don’t remember a thing about the book.  Glad I ordered the books that I do not have….

I have been reading reviews about these books and Cornwell and find that I am very sad to see that many of them are negative. After 20 some odd years, her books have changed. I don’t know, YET, if it is for better or worse. I want to read them all again and then make a decision. I have however noticed several differences in the way she used to write and the way she writes now. For example, the 1st couple books are written in 1st person-more up to date books have the “omnipresent’ narrator and allow the characters to come to the front when called. Cornwell also spent more time on the actual case of a specific book when she first began the series-epic-etc. Her books now are somewhat focused on the crime and the details but the character’s and their issues now seem to dominate the novels.

This could be for a number of reasons. She has gotten to know her characters better and thus allows them to insert their thoughts and specialties on the crime. And because as human beings, our “outside” life over flows into our “work” life. With each new situation that comes up, the characters are effected and behave as such. Cornwell’s uncanny ability to understand and adequately express her characters development is AMAZING. We get to see how each of the characters grow and change into the character that is now presented to us. She has developed each of her characters(main).

I have to admit that after reading the last three in the series and the first, the second book in the series is a bit more dry and I find myself ABLE to put it down. This doesn’t mean that it is a bad book per se. It simply means that you can only read them in short spurts. Reading the whole series all at once without a break is probably not going to happen (Twilight it did happen) but it will remain my subject of choice until the series is once again read.

Rereading something is also a compliment to the series, I think. If someone has read something once but finds it entertaining enough to reread it, there is value in what they are reading. I look forward to new releases of the Scarpetta series and am hopeful that it will hold my attention as the other books have.

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