Patricia Cornwell has written some terrific Kay Scarpetta thrillers. Unfortunately, this is not one of them. The plot is impossible to follow (even though I really wanted to) and the characters have morphed into extreme versions of their earlier selves. What I believe made Corwell's books initially unique was the inter-relationships of the characters (they actually spoke to each other) and the interesting as well as exciting stories. Now Marino is hateful and I have no ideas why, Benton Wesley is a zombie, Lucy ia a manic depressive looney and Kay Scarpetta is sleep walking through her private and professional life. Oh, and one more thing, no one EVER answers their cell phones when the calls are important. It's like the characters are even physically prevented from speaking to each other. Its absolutely laughable, particularly given the high tech nature of Lucy's company.All I can say is that I am begging for Cornwell to bring back the characters she has effectively killed off.