As a fan of Patricia Cornwel, Black Notice was a great disppointment.It was an ordeal to continue reading this book, hoping it would get better. The dialogue is disjointed and the plot momentum is non-existent. The character development relies on heavy knowledge of Cornwell's past books and her characters do not grow in any meaningful way,they actually de-volve instead of evolve. The author's previous Scarpetta book and her most recent are so absent mindedly written that I assume she has lost interest in this character and is ready to move on. The book ends abruptly and leaves the reader hanging and dissatisfied. The international flavor and romantic interest is forced and comes into the book as an after thought.Cornwell's best Scarpetta novels are the early ones and end with "From Potters Field".