Chaos audiobook

Chaos is the 24th book in the 'Kay Scarpetta' thriller and suspense series focusing on a medical examiner's investigations. It is currently the last book Patricia Cornwell has written in this series as of 2016 as well as serves as the third issue in an arc about serial killer Carrie Grethen.The novel is a slower read than usual. We spend a lot of time in Kay's head worrying about things that we don't know a lot about yet. For the most part, the book takes place in just a few days. Several odd deaths occur, and little by little, Kay, Marino, Benton, and Lucy connect them together with the help of various staff. It seems like Carrie Grethen has found another accomplice, and she's sought revenge on Kay. Unfortunately, someone close to Kay pays the price in this installment. We also end the books with an incredibly concerning secret reveal about a new character who was introduced a couple of books ago. What drama!As a three-book arc, it was definitely interesting to see the progression of the serial killer's mind. I almost wish we had chapters from Carrie's perspective, so that we fully appreciated her psychotic need to get revenge. That's my biggest concern in this series right now... if an author wants to build up a huge nut as the crazy killer, we need to know why not just through other people's views, but through the killer's mind, too. We get that only if they provide messages in writing, make phone calls, or interact in scenes with dialog. That hasn't much happened in this arc, so I struggled to really understand 'why' it was so important to hurt Kay.As a standalone book, other than being a little too slow of a read, it was fascinating to learn all about the technology and weapons being used. It's probably one or two levels above my knowledge base and capability of understanding the detail, but not so much I felt removed. It clicked, but I found myself skimming on occasion when we got into paragraphs about exactly how it came to be in the hands of the serial killer. The best aspects were seeing Kay's connections with Marino and her staff. She shines with them. Not with Benton. He's a bit too boring for her. And Lucy has been too far removed for a boatload of books, so I've kinda lost any interest in her. The new girlfriend and son angle is interesting, but I wish we'd met them sooner.That said, it's a fine ending for the arc. I'm left wondering where the books go next... she's due for one this year, but I can't find anything about it. I'll get it when it comes out... this installment was a 3.5 for me.

Patricia Cornwell's entire Kay Scarpetta oeuvre deserves reading, including this book. No one else writes with such verve and authority about the tales the dead tell in the autopsy suite.That said, this book started very slowly and with an annoyingly constrained style. Too much repetition of "I can't say this, she/he can't tell me that," and much too long a scene at the Harvard Faculty Club. (yes, really)The pace picks up once Scarpetta is on the scene of an odd electrocution and then rockets to the end, with the usual soupcon of medical examiner's insight and authority, forensic details, technical innovation, deadlines, and plain old thriller high stakes. Well worth a read, but I wish Cornwell's editor (or whomever it is) would stop pushing to include romantic scenes in these books.

Perusing other reviews of this book, the 24th in the author's series featuring medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta, I was a bit surprised to see a few naysayers. Yes, I agree the story moves along slowly (sometimes almost excruciatingly so) until the very end, where I, at least, got a jolt. Yes, the esteemed doctor remains what I'd call paranoid egotistical - everybody's out to get her but since she's so good at what she does, she somehow never quite understands why. But that said, in many ways the writing here is the best I've seen in the past few books. And yes, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!In the beginning, Kay is prepping for a high-level presentation with a professional colleague. As she and hunky FBI profiler husband Benton Wesley stroll toward dinner in an exclusive Harvard University club, she discusses the upcoming unexpected visit from her not-so-beloved sister Dorothy - and, in typical fashion, tries to discern her motive for coming. Dorothy, for those who don't know, is the mother of Kay's technologically gifted niece Lucy - the one Kay pretty much raised as her own. Lucy and her partner, Janet, have settled down to take over the care and nurturing of Janet's late sister's son, Desi. While they play a key role in the book, Lucy is noticeably absent for most of it (not a problem for me since she's probably my least favorite recurring character, but other readers might miss her).Just as Kay and Benton are about to sip their first glasses of fine wine, though, they both get calls that mean dinner will go on the back burner. A mid-20s woman, it seems, has been killed under rather mysterious circumstances as she rode her bicycle along the Charles River. At first, it appears she was struck by lightning; but no bad weather anywhere near the area coupled with other suspicious goings-on prompt Kay to conclude the death is no accident.Meantime, Kay has been getting strange threatening messages from an anonymous source dubbed Tailend Charlie - someone who seems to have inside information about Kay's life that aren't public knowledge. When she gets another not long after the young woman's death, Kay begins to suspect there may be a connection - a suspicion she shares with her husband and longtime friend, investigator Pete Marino (who got a questionable phone call of his own). Evidence from the murder and the messages begins to converge, leading to the horrifying conclusion that long-time psychopathic nemesis Carrie Grethen may be the instigator, if not the killer. Most of the story takes place over a couple of days, and many chapters are spent on processing the murder scene before the murdered bicyclist is even taken back to Kay's lab at the Cambridge Forensic Center (much less positively identified). As usual, there's tension between Kay and Benton, who necessarily must keep certain details of their cases to themselves even when those cases overlap. And in the end, the killer's modus operandi does turn out to be something a little far-fetched, but it's grounded enough within the realm of possibility that I found it both intriguing and a bit unsettling.

Patricia Cornwell has a publisher that doesn’t love bloggers, but her books kick ass. For this reason, this white-knuckle thriller was one of perhaps half a dozen books on my Christmas wish list for 2016. So here, in this spot where I traditionally thank the publisher and the site that facilitates them, I will instead thank Benjamin, his lovely wife Amie, and their baby boy. Between them, they gave me three delicious books, but this is the one I had to flip open as soon as the Christmas celebration was over; excuse me everyone, but I am off to bed with my box of Christmas candy and Patricia Cornwell. I am just now getting to the review, since DRCs get first priority, but I gobbled this book up before the New Year holiday.Authors like Cornwell that write strong, long running thriller series have their work cut out for them. Whereas a debut novel and perhaps a few that follow can run along traditional lines, being trapped in a dark building with a killer on the premises somewhere; stuffed into the trunk of a vehicle (or the back seat with a gag and blindfold); held at gun point; family members kidnapped; it cannot go on forever. Eventually even the most faithful of readers is unwilling to buy into it anymore. Oh come on. No you didn’t. The best of these writers—here I am thinking of Cornwell along with Sue Grafton, Sara Paretsky, James Lee Burke, GM Ford, and I know you are thinking of several more as you read this review—find a way to make the series deeper and richer through character development. There’s more inner narrative perhaps, and the tension is more of the psychological variety than constant action. And at this point in a series, the reader that really does want nonstop action will howl and toss down their book, but many others, myself among them, find themselves more bonded to the character. And so it is with Kay Scarpetta, one of my favorite long running series protagonists. This story is set in Boston, and at the outset, Kay is receiving some disturbing communications on her phone. The worst thing about them is that they play without her choosing to open them, and then they vanish, so she has no proof they were ever there. It doesn’t take long for her to conclude that the hack has been effected by nemesis Carrie Grethen, ex-lover of her beloved niece Lucy, whom she raised like a daughter and loves like no one else. Grethen has become Scarpetta’s Moriarty over the last several novels in this series. And Scarpetta wonders what these have to do with the young woman murdered in the park, a woman she spoke to briefly at an art exhibit and ran into later. One of the things I love about this series is that Cornwell is unafraid to use her vocabulary. If someone out there doesn’t have the literacy level for it, let them stretch themselves to read this, or let them go away. In this era in which some writers are dumbing down their prose to meet the marketplace of American consumers with decreasing literacy levels, it’s a joy and a pleasure to find one that does not. The prose is richer, the descriptions more resonant than if she’d done otherwise.As the story progresses, this psychological thriller takes on the contours of a nightmare in which everyone dear to Scarpetta—husband Benton, who’s with the FBI, Lucy, and Pete Marino—are all behaving in ways that make Scarpetta wonder whether they are deceiving her. Since every one of them has done so once before, the reader doesn’t regard Kay as paranoid, but rather fears for her.Added into the picture is Kay’s sister Dorothy, who is Lucy’s mother. Kay and Dorothy hold a great deal of antagonism for one another, and an added twist is thrown in regarding sister Dorothy provides a huge surprise.I note that cop Pete Marino, depicted in episodes gone by as a deeply flawed and disturbed individual, has been rehabilitated. Cornwell has tidied him up and Scarpetta has mostly forgiven his misdeeds of the past. Should you pay full freight for this title? If you are a fan of the series and enjoyed the last one or two before this one, the answer is emphatically yes. Those new to the series might want to go for an earlier entry, as the series is much more fun when read in order. As of this writing, I also note that it’s available used online for less than five bucks, plus shipping charges. For others that are unsure, do remember that to develop character, Cornwell has to include a lot of details that have to do with the protagonist’s personal life. Some mystery readers just want the corpse, the puzzle, the guns, the action, and so if that describes you, see if you can read a sample before investing.For fans of the series and of psychological thrillers, this book is highly recommended.

I've recently jumped back into Patricia Cornwell's famed Kay Scarpetta series. My love/hate relationship with the main character caused me to shelf the series for some time, but I couldn't stay away for long. For my money, no one writes with the thrilling reality that Cornwell does. Given my enjoyment of the past couple novels, I came into this latest one with high expectations. This 24th installment begins with Scarpetta and her FBI agent husband Benton attempting to have dinner at the exclusive Harvard University club. Scarpetta is preparing to give a lecture to some students there. All too often, the couple's meals are interrupted by their work, and this occasion is no different. They both receive calls about a mysterious death on the campus. A female biker has been found dead of an apparent lightning strike. Immediately, something seems off. How could a woman be killed by lightning on such a clear night?The situation is compounded by a string of mysterious texts from a figure called Tailend Charlie. Scarpetta receives these odd poems that contain personal details that only someone close to her would know. As the details of these messages begin to coincide with her ongoing investigation, Scarpetta's paranoia reaches a peak. All evidence has her believing that the nefarious serial-killer Carie Grethen, who has been at large for the last couple of novels, is somehow connected to the murder. Like the previous novel, Depraved Heart, Chaos takes place over a short period of time and focuses mostly on Scarpetta's inner dialogue. In the words of Elvis Presley, "A little less conversation, a little more action" could have gone a long way in helping the pace of most of the early portions of this book. Scarpetta's inward paranoia was not enough to propel the beginning of the story. Fortunately, the action increased as the investigation progressed. It was great to see Scarpetta be a little more hands on with examining the body and crime scene. This is what captured my imagination in the early books, and it was nice to see Cornwell return to these elements. The narrative arc that began in Flesh and Blood comes to a satisfying, but slightly too convenient, conclusion in this story. With the promising progression of the last three novels, I'm excited to see how Cornwell evolves her character next.

I'm still amazed that Scarpetta can hold my attention when the book is basically set within a 24 hour period, but hold my attention she did.This book is called Chaos and I feel as the reader you experience this right from the word go where Marino is talking to Scarpetta on the phone and nothing is making sense to anyone. It sets the scene for the continued Chaos and the return of a much-hated enemy.The relationships between the characters is so well defined. I love that Kay is still not 100% about her relationship with Lucy now that her mum is back on the scene. It is rare to see such vulnerability from the Doctor. Not knowing her place makes her question everything with her sister, her niece and her great nephew. This seems like a side story but it is integral to everything. As per usual, Cornwall weaves the threads like a spider in the web and you don't realise you have been caught up in it until it is too late. Bravo on book 24 in the Kay Scarpetta series. Please keep them coming! Without giving away too much, I can't wait to read book 25 to see what happens with this tight-knit family and the revelations that sprang forth from this book!

I have been hooked on Kathy Scarpetta novels since I picked up "Postmortem" in the mid-90's. Sometimes I miss the earlier books when Kay lived in Richmond and would be working to tie a string of murders together, but if she were still that Kay she would not have grown as a character.The older, successful and mature Kay does have more on her mind. She has a reason to be paranoid about what people like Benton, Lucy and Marino are not telling her. They have done it before. . .I believe Patricia Cornwell is still going strong. May Dr. Scarpetta have many more cases to solve so that we can read about her for years to come.

I have been a fan of Patricia Cornwell for several years now and I have all her books. When I was offered the chance to not only read and review her new book ‘Chaos’, but to kick off the blog tour, naturally I jumped at it.I love the character of Dr. Kay Scarpetta and I suppose that I am more than a wee bit envious of her job. I have two ‘fantasy’ jobs, one of which is a medical examiner and the other is as a criminal/ forensic psychologist.No matter what is thrown at her, Kay Scarpetta gets straight back up, dusts herself off and carries on. She is a real trooper. Kay is dedicated to her job but she has the ability to balance the demands of her work life and her personal life. She also seems to be able to get on with people from all walks of life. Kay Scarpetta is married to a (handsome) FBI agent called Benton Wesley. By the end of the book, I had fallen in love with Benton myself. Both Kay and Benton can switch into work mode at the drop of a hat. Indeed this is what happens when they go for a meal at the university where Kay is due to give a speech. Kay also has a ‘work husband’ in Pete Marino and it is him that she teams up with when she gets the phone call that a body has been found in a nearby park. This is only the start of a very complex investigation with many different strands to it. As time goes on, Kay’s team and her very technologically minded niece, Lucy become involved in the case. I don’t want to say too much more about the plot as I wouldn’t want to spoil it for anyone.I must admit that I binge read this book in that I read it over a couple of days. To begin with, I was a bit confused by the events in the book and the plot but because I was continuously reading it everything quickly slotted into place. The book starts at a gentle pace, but as the reader is drip fed little bits of information and further events occur the book gathers pace, until it reaches a tense and terrifying conclusion. Towards the end of the book I almost had to read through my fingers as I feared what was going to happen next.It’s certainly true that some of the details are rather gruesome in nature but since Kay Scarpetta is a medical examiner what do you expect? The gruesome bits didn’t really bother me but then I have a strong stomach and I had to have because both of my parents were nurses.‘Chaos’ can be read as a standalone novel but for certain references to past events to make sense I would advise that you read the series in order. This is the 24th book in the series and the series is still going strong. Once you start this series you will become addicted to it and you won’t want to stop reading.In short I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to others. I can’t wait to read further books in the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series.

7/10Several explosive events and a fair amount of forensic science, but I think I’m done with Dr. Kay Scarpetta and her families, whether connected by blood or otherwise. The boundaries of believability have been breached a bit too often.

Outstanding! One of her best yet. Even the method of murder was a new one which I could not figure out until the end. A must read!

This is another absorbing thriller by Patricia Cornwell. It is seen from the viewpoint of Dr Kay Scarpetta, forensic pathologist. The death Scarpetta is investigating takes place on a fitness path in a public park in Cambridge, Massachusetts in a very hot summer. Also involved are Kay’s husband, Benton, who is a forensic psychologist, and Police Investigator, Pete Marino, whom we also know from previous books. There is Lucy, who is a computer genius and an accomplished helicoptor pilot; she aids Kay in the investigation. She is a former FBI agent who spent years undercover. Lucy is the gifted daughter of Dorothy, Kay’s sister, who is not a particularly pleasant person. Lucy’s partner is Janet and they have an adopted nine-year-old son, Desi. A young woman dies inexplicably while riding her bicycle through the park. Strangely enough, Kay encounters the woman twice and even talks to her a little before the incident occurs. It is hard to see whether the woman dies by accident or whether she has been deliberately killed. The woman’s name is Elisa Vandersteel, 23 years-old, from London. It affects Kay strongly that she encountered her before the incident since she wonders whether the could have said or done something to save her. Of course she had no idea that anything was going to happen to her. Someone calls in and reports an altercation between Kay and her chief of staff, Bryce. This is strange and they wonder who it was that called in. Also Marino receives a phone call from someone claiming to be an Interpol investigator, but is he really? When Marino calls back, it turns out the call was actually from a Washington hotel. There are two fourteen-year old girls at the scene, identical twins, one in pink one in yellow.There is something not quite right about them. It seems strange that such young children are out at night alone. It was they who found the body. The body was ten foot from the bicycle and the girl’s helmet is far from where the bicycle went down. A lamp post near the body had been smashed and the glass blown all over the place. Kay’s sister, Dorothy, is on her way to visit Kay, though she isn’t usually keen to do so. Kay is worried that Dorothy and Marino are having an affair. The wife of Kay’s friend, the head of U.S. Medical Intelligence, General John Briggs, has been trying to reach Kay. It is beginning to appear that the “monstrous psychopath” Carrie Grethen, whom we know from previous books, may possibly be involved in the case they’re investigating. Kay was “physically mauled” by Carrie Grethen and almost died. There is a negative character called Tailend Charlie sending Kay and Lucy communications, all sent at six-twelve P.M. Six-twelve was also the time of the 911 call complaining about Kay fighting with Bryce. Tailend Charlie mentioned the name “SisterTwister”, a name Kay gave to her unpleasant sister when they were children. How did he know of this name? Lucy thinks Tailend Charlie is Carrie Grethen, while it could be a new assistant of hers. Carrie is definitely not working alone. Carrie had been locked up in a forensic facility for the criminally insane but then escaped and it was thought that she had been killed. But, sadly no. Carrie had been spying on Natalie, Lucy’s first partner, who died of cancer in a hospice. Lucy says Carrie is an addict, addicted to them. Kay is getting canned recordings using the voice of her deceased father, which is unsettling. Kay’s father’s voice had never been recorded, as far as she knew, and he died before Carrie was born. Lucy feel they’re “sort of screwed”. Lucy knows all about computer technology, but apparently Carrie knows just as much. Carrie’s eyes are eerily blue. Her mother was a deranged religious freak, “pathologically jealous with a plethora of personality disorders and delusional ideations”. Carrie’s superior mental discipline and ability to dissociate have made her a “supremely successful psychopath.” There is surprise, rather shocking, information about Desi, Lucy and Janet’s adopted son, at the end of the book. I can’t reveal what this is of course, but I'm sure there will be more about it in a later book.

Whatever critics may say, over the years book lovers have seen and read some enthralling, fascinating and exciting fictional characters vividly imagined and superbly crafted by their creators. Between 1983 – 2015, Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series spanning 41 books kept the book-world buzzing around the date of each new release. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher which is now sixteen years and 17 books old, keeping paranormal and urban fantasy lovers whacked. In my high school days I was glued to The Hardy Boys. I learned that it is now 190 plus books. Then there is the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories of more than 175 books. Fewer but equally exciting was the Jack Ryan series by Tom Clancy. Even after the master’s death, the series is continuing. So it is the case with James Bond by Ian Fleming. Another very successful series was 87th Precinct by Ed McBain, between 1956 – 2005, a total of 55 novels plus short stories were written. Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie spanned between 1920 – 1972, a total of 38 books. Marcus Didius Falco by Lindsey Davis is twenty books and 27 years old and is going strong.Bestselling author Patricia Cornwell’s latest outing Chaos is the twenty-fourth instalment in her successful and long-running Kay Scarpetta series. A series that started with Postmortem in 1990 is still going strong. Vying for the same space and honor along with Patricia Cornwell are quite a few illustrious contemporaries like James Patterson, Janet Evanovich and Stuart Woods. James Patterson’s Alex Cross series that began in 1993 is 24 books and 3 movies old. Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich still brings a knuckle here and there after 23 books. Stone Barrington series by Stuart Woods is twenty-five years old with 39 books, and there’s no stopping him. What is it that fans love in a series? Is it the familiarity with the character(s) or anything else? Do series really keep up the momentum?Chaos by Patricia Cornwell is a classic example of the two sides of the argument. I’m sure some readers will find the character and the story engrossing while others will find it ill-conceived and as chaotic as the title. But digging it deeper, while I certainly don’t think this is Patricia Cornwell's best work-to-date, it was certainly an absorbing thriller. The mystery surrounding the death of twenty-six years old Elisa Vandersteel, and how Dr. Kay Scarpetta intervened, investigated and disentangle the puzzle is quite gripping. The premise is also original, and the author’s writing is as good as ever. Comparatively, Chaos is much better than last year’s Depraved Heart. If you loved the 23rd instalment I don’t see any reason why you’ll not like this one. It is suspenseful all throughout the book.

I have mixed feelings about Chaos. I struggled getting through the first third of the book because it seemed to me to be quite pretentious and downright boring. However, once I got past this stage, the forensics and analysis of the crime piqued my interest and reminded me of the good ‘ol days from the early Scarpetta novels.Chaos begins with Kay Scarpetta strolling through Harvard yard on her way to have dinner with her FBI agent and forensic profiler husband, Benton Wesley, at the exclusive Harvard Faculty Club. I know that Patricia Cornwell is married to Harvard faculty member Staci Ann Gruber, so the Harvard campus and surrounding Cambridge would be quite familiar to her and writers often include places and things that they are familiar with in their fictional writing. So it is no surprise that Cornwell would want to include the Harvard campus in one of her novels. However, in this day and age when about half of the US population is put off by the so called ‘educated elite’, I felt this part of the book came off as being rather arrogant and untimely as Cornwell went to great lengths to describe the surrounding area and the prestige of Harvard and Scarpetta’s connection to it. Of course the typical ramblings between Marino, Lucy, Benton, and Scarpetta takes place to which many of the readers of the series have come to know.So after a lengthy prologue, one finally gets introduced to the true criminal element of the novel and Scarpetta begins her investigation into the murder of a young women that she had briefly met not long before the victim’s untimely death. I felt, at this point, the novel did become more interesting which touched on the forensic science that had originally made the series popular. Though once again the plotline and the murder ends up focusing on the fantastic four, Lucy, Marino, Scarpetta and Benton, so there is nothing new to expect here. I feel that Cornwell needs a fresh outlook on the series, so I posted not long ago a poll suggesting that one of the fantastic four must go. The poll indicates, so far, that 56% of the readers like the series and don’t want it changed, but the other 44% do want to see one of the main characters take a hike, and Benton Wesley is their main choice. At this point there is not enough votes to consider the results to be statistically sound, so if you want to voice your opinion go to Fed Up With Kay Scarpetta? and place your vote.If you are interested in learning more about the Kay Scarpetta Series check it out on my blog A-Thrill-A-Week