Patricia Cornwell - Trace

[Michelle]

Reading Cirlce book for Jan / Feb:

Trace by Patricia Cornwell
Against her own judgement and the advice of Benton Wesley and her niece, Lucy, Scarpetta agrees to return to Virginia as a consultant pathologist on a case involving the death of a fourteen-year-old girl. Accompanied by Pete Marino she finds the once familiar territory of her morgue and her department much changed, and the new Chief Medical Examiner treats her with disdain despite the obvious fact that he is in desperate need of her expertise. But professional as ever, she re-examines the evidence and proves the girl was murdered. She also finds trace evidence which matches that found on an accident victim and at the scene where one of Lucy's operatives was attacked. It is not only a forensic puzzle, but opens up the probability that someone is after those closest to Scarpetta.

I believe it's £3.99 in Amazon, but then there is the postage problem. (Do not forget to go through the banner or link on shopping page!)
Play have it £5.49 no postage (again, please use banner or link.)
GreenMetropolis has quite a few copies... £3.75 no postage.

This will run until the end of Feb, so there will be time for the quick readers to sell on or swap. :)

[chiral]

I've read all her books to date and there is a lot of history between the characters in the Scarpetta novels. I can't remember how much she goes back to 'refresh' reader's memories in Trace. Jack the Ripper was based on fact so yes totally different from her usual books.

I definitely prefer her earlier Scarpetta books, I wasn't too keen on Trace and was even less keen on Predator her latest offering.

[Michelle]

I definitely prefer her earlier Scarpetta books, I wasn't too keen on Trace and was even less keen on Predator her latest offering.

:roll: Now she tells us! lol

Make sure you keep an eye on this post.. as we read and comment, you can join in. :)

[chiral]

I definitely prefer her earlier Scarpetta books, I wasn't too keen on Trace and was even less keen on Predator her latest offering.

:roll: Now she tells us! lol

Make sure you keep an eye on this post.. as we read and comment, you can join in. :)

Well I did list Predator under the most disappointing book category lol :mrgreen:

I'm a huge fan her PC's but without giving too much away I wish she'd left Scarpetta where she was. For anyone who hasn't read the books in sequence I think it would be quite difficult to get a handle on the main characters, as I mentioned earlier, they all have a lengthy history (from her first Scarpetta novel in fact).

Hey you might even end up loving the book :)

[Michelle]

You can help us if we get stuck with the characters then. :)

[chiral]

You can help us if we get stuck with the characters then. :)

Sure, I'll do my best...there's about 12 books featuring Scarpetta & co before Trace :mrgreen:. It really is worth reading them in sequence, I got totally hooked from the start. I may even start reading them again from the beginning myself one of these days!

[Inanna]

LOL I just realised that I have already read Trace, thought I was voting on her latest book ~ so many book titles floating around my head at the moment :mrgreen:

But I'm more than happy to reread it, as I'm due to pick up her latest one from my library this week :wink:

[Kell]

I'm 3 chapters in & here are my impressions as they manifested in my brain:

Ch1: WHat? It's all written in present tense? Arrrgghhhh! I hate that! ANd an entire chapter about the demolition of a building? Hmmm.

Ch2: Hmmm. Necrocosmotology. And does she have to write Edgar Allan Pogue's entire name every time he's mentioned???

Ch3: Office politics. I feel I'm missing out on a huge lot of back-history here that was probably in previous books. Interest finally starting to kick in though - I was contemplating not going any further after Edgar Allan Pogue...

I'll persevere & see how it develops. The present tense is still annoying me though.

[jake]

I'm 3 chapters in & here are my impressions as they manifested in my brain:

Ch1: WHat? It's all written in present tense? Arrrgghhhh! I hate that! ANd an entire chapter about the demolition of a building? Hmmm.

Ch2: Hmmm. Necrocosmotology. And does she have to write Edgar Allan Pogue's entire name every time he's mentioned???

Ch3: Office politics. I feel I'm missing out on a huge lot of back-history here that was probably in previous books. Interest finally starting to kick in though - I was contemplating not going any further after Edgar Allan Pogue...

I'll persevere & see how it develops. The present tense is still annoying me though.

The present tense is something you have to get used to the in the Scarpetta books. Re office politics, yes there is a massive back history, right back to the first book in fact. I would recommend reading them in sequence to be honest e.g. Lucy was just a young child in the first book and there's a lot of history surrounding her character.

[Inanna]

Scarpetta books make more sense being read in order, if 'Trace' is your first then it prob won't make a good impression, I think its the worst of her books and had trouble finishing it, it drove me mad with boredom most of the time.

[jake]

Scarpetta books make more sense being read in order, if 'Trace' is your first then it prob won't make a good impression, I think its the worst of her books and had trouble finishing it, it drove me mad with boredom most of the time.

Apologies to those reading it, but I felt the same.

[Inanna]

There's no harm is reading 'Trace' first, its just a shame she's changed so much.

I will say this, that if you don't enjoy the book, please try her earlier ones they are brilliant, its not that 'Trace' is total rubbish, its just that compared to her earlier stuff is it a letdown, she 'waffles' a bit more, almost as if she is trying to fill the pages up.

I am still going to reread it so I can discuss the book with you guys, though I'll probably skim through it rather than read every page :wink:

[Kell]

I'm now onto Ch7 & I'm a little confused, but I'm getting more into it (despite the present tense - I've just never been a fan of that style - LOL!)

[Maureen]

Gosh I'm terribly sorry. I have read all the Scarpetta novels before Trace, and they were a totally riveting read. WAs looking forwards to Trace and Predetor in fact!

[Kell]

LOL - don't fret, Mau - it's picking up, really it is. It's just the present tense threw me a bit is all & not knowing all the back history means I'll be meeting the characters for the 1st time, but perhaps someone who's read past books could give a brief rundown of recurring characters?

[Maureen]

Kay Scarpetta is the Chief Medical Examiner in Virginia. She is located in Richmond and works closely together with police officer Pete Marino and FBI profiler Benton Wesley. Her niece Lucy is a computer whiz kid and often helps with computer related problems.


The above is in brief. If interested take a look at

http://www.246.dk/cornwell.html

[Kell]

Thanks for that, Mau. I'm now wondering about the relationship between Lucy, Henri & Rudy as there seems to be some tension there between L&R. (I've just finished ch10). It's certainly interesting me with the interplay between the characters as it's obvious they've known each other for a long time, while I feel a bit like an interloper at the moment, so I'll certainly be havnig a look at that site, Mau.

My fave character so far is definitely Marino - he sems to have a bit of bite to him. ;)

[Maureen]

Me too! I used to love him...someone mentioned that now his character has been changed drastically. :( In the earlier novels he was really great.

[Inanna]

That was me, I feel he has changed, but I guess that happens to alot of characters after so many books. :mrgreen:

[Kell]

I'm sorry - it's beaten me. I can't read any more. The present tense is hard enough to deal with, the lack of knowledge of backhistory doesn't help,but the constant repetition is doing my nut! I hate to be beaten my any book, but I've read 14 chapters now & I've lost the battle.

I feel completely horrid now - I hate giving up on any book. Hell, I've finished some bl**dy bad ones in my time & this one, I think, would be good if I could get past the things that are annoying me because I could already see the basics of the story unfolding.

Perhaps I'll come backto it some day if I ever get round to reading the others first.

[Michelle]

That's a shame. I guess the thing to learn from this is not to choosed books from the middle of a series.

[Inanna]

I think that I started in number 5 in her series, but as the book was brilliant it really didn't make a difference as she was still developing the characters.

Is anyone else still reading it, or will a new book for Jan be chosen?

[Michelle]

Is anyone else still reading it, or will a new book for Jan be chosen?

It's too late for Jan now. We can concentrate on the Feb one. :)

[Maureen]

And does she have to write Edgar Allan Pogue's entire name every time he's mentioned???


To tell you the truth, every time I read his full name, my dislike of this person intensifies. Perhaps that's the aim!! The story so far is O.K.,but much slower than usual, I think.

However I am quite disappointed re how the characters have changed. Pete Marino - I loved him in earlier novels - has been given "An Extreme Make-Over", and I am left with my mouth hanging open! Even Scarpetta and Lucy are different - and not more likeable either. I feel let down, as they were "better" characters in the previous novels.

[Maureen]

...Actually at one point Kay is talking to EAP, and she keeps telling him "Hello Edgar Allan", and "How are you Edgar Allan?" I found that rather irritating - no one will call a person by two full names if they are saying hello I would think!

[Kell]

...Actually at one point Kay is talking to EAP, and she keeps telling him "Hello Edgar Allan", and "How are you Edgar Allan?" I found that rather irritating - no one will call a person by two full names if they are saying hello I would think!
Isn't that a particularly American thing, though? You get a million Mary Kates & Loura Louises & Marylin Mays. If I were over there I would most likely be Kell Andrea all the time - that would drive me nuts!

[Maureen]

I have read all the previous Scarpetta novels, so know where the characters are coming from. However if I were to start with this book, I would not get into the characters so much, and I would not make it a point to read all the books as the first one i picked up made me do. Personally I think this book falls short of the usual good stories her earlier novels were, and I was a bit disappointed.

[Kell]

At least this is coming from someone who's read the others first - I was completely put off, but if someone who's read them says this is a disappointing one by the standard of the others, I may well reconsider & perhaps pick up the 1st one at some point in the future. It won't be high on my list of priorities, but if I come across it when I'm short on reading material, I might give it a go.

[Inanna]

I was obsessed with her earlier books, when I read Trace it was a disappointing read, but not as bad as her latest one Predator, I may go back and reread her other books as they were so good. :mrgreen:

[Maureen]

At least this is coming from someone who's read the others first - I was completely put off, but if someone who's read them says this is a disappointing one by the standard of the others, I may well reconsider & perhaps pick up the 1st one at some point in the future. It won't be high on my list of priorities, but if I come across it when I'm short on reading material, I might give it a go.

You really should Kell. Her earlier novels were brilliant!

[Debbie]

Big spoiler in this so don't read on if you haven't read the novel!




I had never read any Patricia Cornwell, so last September started with the first Scarpetta novel, Postmortem, and have read them all now in order up to Trace.

I really liked the first ones and became very pulled into the stories and characters, though as the books progressed I got a bit confused as Scarpetta hardly seemed to age at all and Lucy aged at a rate of knots!

I was really starting to think before I got to Trace that the author was writing Scarpetta novels more because her readers expected it than that she had anything new to say about the characters, and Trace has confirmed it for me.

I very much disliked the fact that we were introduced to Edgar Allen by name so early, and as her books always link seemingly disparate crimes in the end, it was obvious that he was the perpetrator of the Richmond death. It was like watching Columbo - will they catch him, rather than whodunnit! And what was the point of all the stuff between the girl's mother and Marino - it ended up going nowhere really - the end was really rushed and not followed through effectively.

Bringing Benton back in the last book struck me as a Bobby Ewing moment as well, totally unbelievable and unnecessary.

Why does everyone always seem to be conspiring against them as well?

Very disappointed. I have started Predator, the last one, but this seems very similar, and probably won't read any more Scarpetta novels if she writes them.

Debbie

[Maureen]

! And what was the point of all the stuff between the girl's mother and Marino - it ended up going nowhere really - the end was really rushed and not followed through effectively.

Debbie

Not only that - he came out a big huge wimp because of the whole episode, whereas I always used to see him as a hero. Come on, if it were me I would have told her(him) where to go!!

[Maureen]

Bringing Benton back in the last book struck me as a Bobby Ewing moment as well, totally unbelievable and unnecessary.

Debbie

I agree! I would not have done that. Apart from that, I do not believe it could happen in real life - I cannot imagine leaving my family, making them think I am dead, and living a "made-up" life, for a job!!!