Who says "you can't go home...?" Scarpetta retreads familiar ground.... (Trace - Patricia Cornwell)

Member Name: sparkymarky1973

Product:	Trace - Patricia Cornwell
Date:	17/05/08 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Better than BLOWFLY, reads better, flows better, is better!!

Disadvantages: Still not quite Cornwell on top form, ending is a bit of an anti-climax

Having pretty much dismissed Patrica Cornwell in recent reviews, and with what I think is the fourteenth Scarpetta novel, BOOK OF THE DEAD, just being released in paperback, I decided to give the woman another chance and re-read the last few books in the Scarpetta series so far. After feeling a bit disappointed with BLOWFLY but finding it a little better than I remembered, I have since moved onto the next book, TRACE, which I finished re-reading last night. This is the novel, that for me at least, comes closer to bringing back everything that made this popular crime series so good in the first place.

It has been five years since Scarpetta was fired from her job as Chief Medical Examiner of Richmond, Virginia amidst much political scandal following a near-deadly assault by the notorious serial killer, Jean Baptiste Chardonne. Now, working as a forensic consultant, she has been asked to return at the behest of the current Chief M.E and the new Governer to assist in the investigation of the potentially high-profile death of fourteen year old Gilly Paulson. But, as Scarpetta and her loyal side-kick, Marino, are soon to discover sometimes you really shouldn't go home again!!

The first thing Scarpetta notices as soon as she arrives is the tearing down of her old offices to be replaced by a parking lot for the newly re-furbished Amtrak train station. Entering the new building she later moved to is not much more of a better experience. New Chief, Dr.Joel Marcus, finds it extremely difficult to hide his distaste at her presence, old colleague Jack Fielding, can hardly meet her eye and much of the department seems to share in its' lack of respect for their new boss who comes across as distinctly cold and not really knowing what it is he is doing. Gilly Paulson's case too is further complicated when it becomes apparent that trace evidence from her crime scene could possibly have cross-contaminated the trace evidence found at the scene of a construction worker killed when a tractor ran over his body. As accusations start flying about how this could have happened, Scarpetta is reminded why she left Richmond, Virginia in the first place.

Meanwhile, Kay's relationship with FBI profiler, Benton Wesley (long thought dead after he entered wirtness protection) is feeling distinctly strained as he works on a case of his own in a mountain retreat in Aspen and neice, Lucy, has problems as well when one of her employees is first stalked then assaulted; espeically when it becomes apparent that Lucy may have been the intended target!!! How both these seperate and apparently unrelated events link up with Scarpetta's return to her old stomping ground combine to make the majority of this novel a highly gripping and compelling read. Ultimately, it is only the climax and closing chapters that really let the whole thing down like an unenflated balloon!!

Cornwell's latest endeavour tries desperately (and very nearly succeeds) to recapture what made the original Scarpetta stories so great but though the change from first to third person perspective may seem like such a small thing, it kind of makes this a bit of a difficult read for long-time fans who had come to think they knew what to expect from the series. Change is not always a bad thing but TRACE is nowhere near as good as it could've would've should've been and this is something of a travesty. Fans of Cornwell will so want to like this and, for 90% of the novel this does feel like old-skool Scarpetta, but the villian of the piece is unfortunately just that little bit too lame and fails to really come up with the goods when it all comes to a head.

Certainly this is better by far than BLOWFLY and the plot and writing flow much more comfortably across the page but if you've been reading Cornwell for awhile you are probably going to feel a little cheated by this book. New fans could easily pick this up as there is little or no reference to earlier novels and events other than what needs to be known and they will probably enjoy this more. Personally if this was written by any other author I probably wouldn't bother with anything else by them but me and Cornwell have history and so, for now, I will stick with her. For Cornwell to rely on her fans' loyalty feels a bit of a cheap trick though and it is a shame that she almost doesn't know what to do with her character of Scarpetta anymore. I gave up on Laurell.K.Hamilton's ANITA BLAKE series because I grew bored of what she was doing to the characters but it's a fact, I don't take any enjoyment from abandoning an author. I do not think that I will be buying any of Cornwell's newer books however despite the fact I still want and intend to read them; it will be much more preferable for me to get them as potential swaps on READITSWAPIT. But this book, it's true, does leave the reader with a certain sense of hope that Cornwell is headed back on track and it is so nice to finally read a novel where neither Jean Baptiste Chardonne or his extended crime-family play a part in the proceedings.

If you can get this cheap or borrow it from the libary, I would probably do that. This really isn't worth paying full price for though if BLOWFLY was a total let-down for you then this is going to reassure you that there is still potential in the series yet!!

Summary: Scarpetta discovers much has changed when she returns to Richmond on a case.