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I should have known better ....
But it had been so long .....
And I was sick this weekend and desperately wanted a quick "throw-away" read - preferably a mystery ...
And Marilyn Stasio gave it an OK review in the NYTBR - not a great or even a good review - but an OK one (compared to past entries in the series) ...
And remarked that this entry finally had a plot ....
So, in a delirium of fever I took a chance and bought the latest Patricia Cornwell Scarpetta book "The Bone Bed" ... and read it ...
Well .... it had a plot ... of sorts ... with large parts of it not included in this book.
The first 1/4 of the book read as a series of product placement ads - for everything Apple has ever made, plus coffee/expresso makers, office furniture, clothes, etc. You really began to expect hyperlinks to purchase this stuff.
And lots of cooking - with lists of ingredients ... (do we really need to know that Scarpetta has 2 refrigerators?) (or care?)
The villain was .... odd ... and a really awful stereotype .... with high-tech "toys" and a worn out motive.
The narrative lives inside Scarpetta's head ... which can get quite claustrophobic - since there's barely enough room there for Cornwell .... not to mention Scarpetta.
There was a cameo appearance by a giant sea turtle - one of the most egregious "coincidences" I've ever encountered in fiction - apparently included b/c Cornwell got to touch one in real life.
And the other "usual" side kick characters are sort of there ...
And ....
The final indignity? A happy ending! In a Scarpetta book? A bit unbelievable ....
Long time mystery fans are aware of the decline in quality of the Scarpetta series over time - and Cornwell's attempts to prolong the series (perhaps past its sell-by date) with the addition of high-tech gadgets and forays into experimental psychiatry ... but the old magic of actually solving criminal cases through a spirited blend of old fashioned police work and insights from the victim via a thorough autopsy -- is gone.
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