The Last Precinct audiobook

Book Review 4 out of 5 stars to The Last Precinct, the 11th book in the "Kay Scarpetta" mystery thriller series, written in 2000 by Patricia Cornwell. I really enjoyed this book as the complexity and the psychology of the killer was top-notch. Each chapter builds on the last, and in some ways, these books keep revisiting decisions and clues from previous book... so it gets quite explosive and intense. In this one, Scarpetta needs a break from the last case where she was batterd and bruised. But when she relies on a friend to help, she learns the friend is part of a trial against Scarpetta, forced into it due to circumstances pointing to Scarpetta possibly going rogue. Jamie Berger, the DA gets more involved, and we start this love/hate relationship with all the characters. This is definitely not a stand-alone book to read, you need to have read the rest of the series. It has a lot of great plot twists and characters, but it also takes a lot of energy out of you to pay attention and believe what's happening. I still liked it and was glad to see the growth in this one... tho it started to go down hill again afterwards in future books. If you enjoy the series, you will love this book. If not, don't pick it up here! About Me For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by.

Pretty bad in a lot of ways, yet I continue to enjoy this series.The bad: - Marino is becoming more of a raging asshole then he is growing as a character/person- This was less of a procedural than trying to tie up all of the ridiculousness from the last book... and after all those pages, looks like it'll carry into the next book too- Everything ties together really quickly and nearly at the end which is kind of par for the course by this point but we could move on any time from the conspiracies- People still have "evil eyes" whatever that means. You always know somethings up where there are evil eyes afoot. It's Scarpetta's tell.The good:- I gotta say I enjoyed the focus on Scarpetta's inner psychology here, despite Cornwell resorting to some pretty banal Freudian stuff at times- I liked learning more about Anna and seeing their relationship grow- My crush on Lucy is deepening despite the fact that she didn't see as much action in this story- Scarpetta is now not in favour of the death penalty which was surprising coming from Cornwell. Maybe there's hope for Marino yet...?

Wow! One of the most interesting and complex story lines I've ever read in this genre. Cornwall is really up to par with this one. I thoroughly enjoyed the intensity of Kay's current dilemma. How her closest friends and alibies quietly stand by her. The introduction of new, interesting characters and the steadfastness of the existing ones was genius.

Overall, very enjoyable! I am finding more and more gripes as the series continues (but not enough to stop.... yet) but I am still actively engaged in the story and characters. Here is what I didn't like about this book:1) This is basically a continuation of the last book. There was no new case. Someone who picked up this book without reading the last book wouldn't appreciate it as much2) The ending was very abrupt (but satisfying). As I was getting to the end of the book, I kept looking at how much plot was left unresolved and thinking "How are they going to get themselves out of this with so little left?" Knowing this is a book series, I knew not every plotline would be completed but there was a lot.3) Kay's age. I did the math and, due to info from this book, she would have been 28 in book 1. She went to college, medical school, law school and was somehow already well established as the chief medial examiner of Virginia by 28? When did she start college? 10 years old? It doesn't add up. I don't know. Stuff like that bugs me when a book is supposed to be realistic.4) New audiobook narrator. Now this narrator was not bad by any means, she is actually quite good. It is hard to forget the characterizations the narrator of the first 10 books did with the characters. They are different now. I will get used to it (as I understand this narrator does the rest of the series). It is hard to let go of the original narrator, who was brilliant.5) This book overstayed its welcome just a touch. A very long book without its own plot. There are some scenes that go on forever that don't seem to have anything to do with the story. It could have been tightened up a bit.I still give it 4 stars because I had to know what was going to happen. That counts for a lot (and I can forgive the above imperfections if the books till keeps my interest - which it did). So I still give it a thumbs up!

Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner, Kay Scarpetta, becomes the victim of the very legal system she works for. When a serial killer attempts to murder her she is caught up in a web of circunstancial evidence that implicates her in murder and complicity in various rather henos crimes.She is asked to confront what is an all too common reality, that the burden of proof is on the victim to establish that she is not guilty. As we are carefully led through an intricate web of evidence, including a good deal of blood and guts on the examiner's table, ( we may well ask... Gulp! Will they do that to my body when I die? To put that concern to rest, don't worry silly, you won't be there) it becomes increasingly apparent that our heroine is in deep trouble.Who will come to her rescue? For awhile it seems that nobody will and even those who have the best of intentions find their efforts seemingly turned to the killer's advantage. It becomes obvious that there is a good deal more going on here than a simple murder, or two.As often happens in life, help comes from an unexpected source and Kay is thankfully, saved from a miserable life in the slammer. What is more, the whole situation prompts her to rethink her life and take some major decisions. The stage is perfectly set for a sequel.The cast of characters offers someone for everyone; a loveable overweight and slightly redneck cop; an ageing Austrian psychiatrist; a gorgeous kick ass lesbian special forces agent; and a twisted federal agent, to name a few. The dialogue is as intelligent and real as the characters and one gets a palpable sense of presence as we live through each stage of the drama with them.For anyone interested in cutting up bodies (third year anatomy?) there is a wealth of vivid detail that should keep you sharpening your scalpels far into the night.There are many good lessons to be learned from Kay but should we ever meet I do want to ask her one question, Why did you sleep with that scum bag Jay, ...uh, what's his name?

As always a Great Read, Love the Scarpetta series. Full of was it this person or that, and no they couldn't of done it, it must be the other person or was it, sometimes getting who is quicker than others. I very often get into my own little argument with me telling me what's what and why.

tlp sounds promisingmy copy is the pits

3,5 estrelas

I picked this book up at a library sale and although I had once been a Patricia Cornwall fan, it was quite a while back but I was home sick and a trip to the library was out of the question. I was immediately hooked when I read the dedication to Linda Fairstein of whom I am a current fan. This book was written a few years before Ms. Fairstein became scorned by the literary community for her part in the wrongful conviction of the Central Park 5. In “The Last Precinct”, Linda Fairstein is portrayed by Jaime Berger who is sent to prosecute Kay Scarpetta for a murder she did not commit. In the final pages, Berger defends rather than prosecutes Scarpetta and convinces the grand jury of her innocence. The reader identifies Berger as a heroine and the opening dedication to “Prosecutor. Novelist. Mentor. Best Friend.” is realized. Although I did not read the previous books leading up to this one, I was not confused since the author did a masterful job of updating the reader of past events. I will definitely pick up Ms Cornwell’s newest novel and see where the last 20 years takes me!

I've been plowing through a re-read of the Kay Scarpetta mysteries over the last month and remembered what I liked and hated about the books. Black Notice was the first "new" read in the series for me and now The Last Precinct, I noticed that reading the books right after each other without any time between them gives you a different perspective on the series. When I first read the books years ago as they came out I was very frustrated with the apparent lack of closure at the end of each book but now, even before getting to the events in Black Notice and this book I realized there was an undercurrent in that "omission". The Last Precinct is definitely a deviation from the first 10 books in the series, there is a lot of soul searching and insightful dialog, there is much more "down time" or character development, and it brings Kay back into the forefront as a person with a heart and soul, albeit one that is fractured and breaking even if she won't admit it. I know on amazon the book was roundly detested but I did not find it to be bad at all and it moved the series along well, moving Kay forward, painfully so, but away from what has defined her in the past books and into new territory, something that's always difficult on fans but has to be done to keep a series fresh.