Again Patricia Cornwell's research is phenomenal, the style of writing gripping, and the plot revealed at just the right pace. But it is now reaching the point where an avid reader of Cornwell's books could write the plot for her, so predictable have the basic elements become. Always there must be the plot to discredit Scarpetta, and force her out of office, orchestrated by her corrupt superiors, against whom she can prove nothing. And with growing frequency the murderer must have some extremely rare condition - profound B.O, overactive bodily hair etc - which makes them stand out. The feeling is one of reading the same book over and over.
In an effort to make each book unique, Cornwell makes some very drastic changes, such as allowing main characters to die off, and allowing Scarpetta to undergo large character changes, but somehow these just have the effect of making the book slightly unsettling, rather than masking the tiredness of the formula. In particular the sudden increase of expletives made this book unpleasant, as did Scarpetta's transformation into an amoral wimp.
The book must be recommended, but only so that readers don't lose the thread of the series and not because it is one of the finest contributions.