Livid: A Scarpetta Novel (Kay Scarpetta, 26)

This was the first Patricia Cornwell book I have read and after hearing such wonderful things about her books, I was excited to read Livid, the latest installment in the Kay Scarpetta series. Sadly enough, I did not enjoy this book as it moved so slowly throughout the story and Medical Examiner Scarpetta seemed to take on the role of a detective more than an ME. The story starts out with Kay on the stand with her longtime friend Annie as the judge in a murder trial. The first five chapters take place in the courtroom, however, the reader is never given the outcome of the case. What a waste of time! A young woman named April had been murdered. While both women are in court, Annie’s sister, Rachael is killed and from the small burns on the woman, it seems to have been from some sort of microwave gun. The time it takes just for Kay and her partner Marino to get to the house to check out the body takes forever. Chapter after chapter of dialogue and long, drawn-out descriptions of the scenery made the story drag on. The ending was a disappointment as well with everything being summed up abruptly within the last chapter. Skip this one if you want something more engaging.