I can not fathom how this book is on the best-sellers list?! I had read and was disappointed in the Hornet's Nest but thought I would give this one a try. How and why these characters stay together is beyond me? Any interaction between Kay and Marino, or Kay and Lucy or Marino and Lucy or Kay and Agt. Talley etc etc. is simply negative, rude and obnoxious. I don't know why they speak to one another the next day. I certainly had no compassion or concern for any of the characters. The "twists" were hardly a ripple in the story line that were simply dropped or so anti-climatic that it became frustrating to continue reading. I would not recommend this book nor will I pick up another Kay Scarpetta, ME "extraordinaire" again.