Rating: 
Summary: WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?
Review: This book was just so silly. I was very displeased with this latest effort. I thought the women were silly and the men sillier. The whole cat and mouse with Andy and Viriginia was just boring. All of the men were silly and weak. The women were sad and lonely. I just didn't like this at all. I only read it in hopes that it would get better. If this had been the first novel by Cornwell that I read, I would not be going back for more. I have read all of her works and this is by far the worst.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time or money
Review: This is absolutely the worst book I have read from this author. Did she write it or did a high school student write it for her?
Rating:
Summary: waste of time
Review: Save your money and time, Southern Cross is not up to Ms, Cornwell's standards. All of her previous books were enjoyable, this is a waste.
Rating:
Summary: rubbish
Review: I have always looked forward to the Patricia Cornwell books, but believe this one has broken the 'habit'. 'Scarpetta's Winter Table' was a big disappointment, but Southern Cross? The absolute pits. Gutter talk, ill-defined characters, and so-called plots that go nowhere. I suspect that this was an early Cornwell effort which was turned down at that time. Now, apparently, anything she writes can be published. For shame, Ms Cornwell! Your fans surely deserve better!
Rating:
Summary: Southern Cross - Not typical Cornwell
Review: I'll admit it. I'm a Patricia Cornwell junkie. Having read all her novels, and identifying with Kay Scarpetta, Pete Marino, Benton Wesley and Lucy, I am one of the first to get in line to purchase her latest works.However, the superb character development hit a bump in the road with Hornet's Nest and became completely sidetracked with Southern Cross. While Judy Hammer is a strong character, both Virginia West and Andy Brazil lack the unique personality traits to make you want to live these adventures through them. What Cornwell did so well in her Kay Scarpetta series, she does poorly in Southern Cross. The sophomoric attempts at dialog, specifically in the confrontations between a Ricmmond police officer and Butner "Bubba" Fluck IV, leads one to wonder if those particular exchanges were farmed out to ghost writers. How could her editors let these ridiculous exchanges and plays on words remain in the text? While the plot has enough intrigue to keep you interested, it goes nowhere. There are too many questions and loose ends remaining at the story's end. I found myself wishing for some serious strong Cornwell character to take over the story a la Kay Scarpetta and rescue me from mediocrity. When I reached the last page, I felt empty, and this is not typical of the way I feel when I finish a Cornwell novel. This only happened once before, and that was with Hornet's Nest. Please, Patricia, stick to what you do best with the characters you have developed so uniquely and well. Bury the Charlotte trio (and you can throw in Niles the cat while you're at it).
Rating:
Summary: Southern Cross
Review: It was a letdown to read Southern Cross after having enjoyed so many of this author's offerings with the Scarpetta protagonist. The characters were two-dimensional, and the story poorly crafted. It is actually very difficult to believe that the same person that wrote the Scarpetta novels was the one who authored this unfulfilling book. I guess I'll have to check Ms. Cornwell's reviews instead of buying her books on the strength of her past work. Bottom line - don't waste your time with this one.
Rating:
Summary: Sorry, Miss Cornwell
Review: I have not missed reading many of Cornwell's books, but by changing something that was already working she screwed up with Southern Cross. She needs to stick with her original script for writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't expect Scarpetta and you'll be thrilled.
Review: I think too many people went into this expecting Scarpetta, or at least a Scarpetta-esque flavor. Don't. Sit back and enjoy this for what it is--a darned funny, very entertaining detour from Cornwell.
Rating:
Summary: Nil Points
Review: I have read and enjoyed many of Cornwells novels (including Hornets Nest) but this was utter utter rubbish. It is unfunny in the extreme. Any atempt at humour is obviously just that - an attempt. It just doesn't work - the plot is weak, unbelievable and completely uninteresting, the pet's opinions are nothing more than plain stupid. West and Brazil's relationship appeared to be run on the level of 10 year olds rather than with the maturity I would presume they should have. Subjects are only touched on, nothing is really finished or tied up (for example Hammer's unresolved grief) PLEASE save your cash. This just isn't worth the actual effort of trying to plough it. Not one star at all - minus ten.
Rating: 
Summary: A dark and funny Cornwell
Review: Cornwell's books have generally been good reads, but she has tended to ignore the possibilities of humor. No more! _Southern Cross_ is a wickedly funny look at the underside of Richmond, Virginia and by extension of the urban South. At times evoking memories of _A Confederacy of Dunces_, the book skewers the self-satisfied pomposity of the Southern establishment with a deftness that only a local could manage. As a longtime Richmonder, I found myself constantly smiling and occasionally breaking into a guffaw. Non-Richmonders should enjoy it almost as much as those who recognize the people behind the fiction.
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