I am a lover of suspense thrillers. Michael Palmer, Tess Gerritson, Thomas Harris, Michael Crichton, John Grisham, are a few names that come to mind, and yet I had never experienced the literary work of Patricia Cornwell. Oh, to my regret. I am saddened that it has taken me so long to pick up a Cornwell novel. Likewise, to my joy, I have finally experienced the thrill of a Dr. Kay Scarpetta novel. Patricia Cornwell, a former crime reporter who spent years working for a medical examiner before writing her first Scarpetta novel, is first rate. Blow Fly, the fourteenth book in the Scarpetta series, is fascinating, gripping, and downright disturbing.

We learn at the onset of Blow Fly that Dr. Kay Scarpetta becomes a forensic consultant after a traumatic experience scarred her. She resigns her position as chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia, leaving the life she had before her attempted murder behind her. Scarpetta longs to forget the incident. Out of the blue, a coroner from Baton Rouge, Louisiana contacts her regarding a cold case that has baffled authorities. The doctor would like Scarpetta's professional opinion and for her to determine if the case might be related to a series of murders believed to be committed by a serial killer in the area. Scarpetta accepts the case.

As though in a macabre play, Scarpetta receives a letter from her would-be killer, Jean-Baptiste Chandonne who, in his own twisted game, requests an audience with Dr. Scarpetta in exchange for information that will ultimately betray his above-the-law family. The last thing Kay Scarpetta wants to do is sit face to face with the monster who tried to mutilate and murder her, but Scarpetta has a deep moral code that exhausts her selfish desires. She agrees to see the fiend if only to save other innocents from the Chandonne family who are deep in organized crime. Scarpetta agrees to play Jean-Baptiste's game and when all is said and done, maybe Scarpetta will confront her worst fear of all.

I was deeply immersed in the prose of this novel, my imagination gripped by Ms. Cornwell's magnificent use of the written word. The narrative was poetic at times that added a rich and colorful medium to the work and layered it with tangible emotions. I hadn't read previous Kay Scarpetta novels, but it didn't matter. Ms. Cornwell made the characters easily accessible for me, and I was able to get to know them all as if I had started with the first novel. The characters were rich and deep, complex and dynamic, worthy of the time I put into reading this novel.

I was disheartened a bit by the ending – a clear example of the ongoing saga of the Scarpetta world. I would like to have experienced a clearer and cleaner dénouement, but then again, I might not get to meet with Scarpetta and friends again if I had. All in all, I think that Blow Fly was an excellent read. I am looking forward to going back to where it all began and picking up where Ms. Cornwell's realistic Scarpetta started. I will definitely add Patricia Cornwell to my list of wonderful suspense fiction authors.

Review by Maci Walker
© 2005