Looking Back - Cause of Death

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell
Kay Scarpetta #7
Mystery
1996 Berkley
Finished in June 1997
Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

It is New Year's Eve, the last day of Virginia's bloodiest year since the Civil War. Dr. Kay Scarpetta plunges into the murky depths of a ship graveyard to recover the very human remains of Ted Eddings, an investigative reporter. What kind of story was Eddings chasing below the icy surface of the Elizabeth River? And why did Scarpetta receive a phone call from someone reporting the death before the police were notified? She soon discovers that Eddings' murder is merely the first layer of something much deeper --- a labyrinthine conspiracy that will put all of her criminal and forensic knowledge to the test like never before. For Scarpetts, the real challenge won't be cataloging the growing number of dead bodies, but preventing herself and those she loves from becoming the next victims.


My Original Notes (1997):

Good - Almost wonderful, but not quite. I kind of got bored with it toward the last third. Cornwell tends to state the obvious or spends too much time on details. Who cares what kind of mushrooms and pasta she (Kay Scarpetta) uses?! A good summer/beach read - not literature, that's for sure.

My Current Thoughts:

This is the seventh installment in the series and I'm fairly sure that I read the previous six. I don't think I've read any others in the series, which has now reached a total of 24 titles. It might be fun to go back and listen to the audiobooks and continue with the series. I do remember that I liked the characters (Kay, Lucy, Pete Marino, and Benton Wesley).