Samyann
Couple of years on my to-do list, purchased in February, 2012, this audiobook is read by J. C. Critt and is about eleven and a half hours of listening. The story centers on Kay Scarpetta and her investigation into the brutal slayings of several women in Richmond, VA. First, I’m a fan of Kay Scarpetta. A great character, a bit saucy and supremely competent in her chosen profession as a medical examiner. She also shows a bit of vulnerability in her personal relationships, which is a nice, real-life trait. In Postmortem, there is a great deal of speculation on the part of Scarpetta and the lead police investigator, Marino. They ruminate, think, ponder, chat, argue, and Scarpetta has a load of internal dialogue. etc., to the point that I was a little anxious to get to the meat of the story … the serial killer himself. Some sections could have been a bit shorter, in my opinion, and some eliminated entirely as not having much, if anything, to do with the story. I drifted away from the audio, which forced me to either rewind or just let it go. Sadly, I let it go often.
There has been a bit of criticism of J. C. Critt, the narrator. Frankly, I disagree. I thought she did a great job, particularly with the voice of Marino. Very distinctive voices for both Marino, and Scarpetta.
If you like Patricia Cornwell, and in particular, the character of Kay Scarpetta, you’ll enjoy. You’ll get a kick out of the 1990 technology, i.e., no cell phones :-), and DNA is a questionable tool in the courtroom, but a forensics bonanza.
Personally, I believe other Scarpetta novels are better.
