Rating: 
Summary: A laughable mystery
Review: Well, I should have known better than to try another book in this series. But, as a Patricia Cornwell fan, I thought we could only go up from "Hornet's Nest." Wrong. Cornwell's main three characters -- Hammer, West and Brazil -- are portrayed too narrowly for us to ever care about any of them. In fact, readers will hear more insights from the pets in the story than from the detectives in charge. (By the way, there are several pages of insipid conversations from pet cats and a dog. Gimme a break!)I realize there was supposed to be some humor in this story, but it all falls flat. From now on I'll know to stick with Cornwell's series with Scarpetta.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointment from start to insufficient conclusion
Review: I am a huge Cornwell fan, and own all of her books - including Hornet's Nest. This outing is a true disappointment. The characters are ill defined, and completely unsympathetic. You simply don't care about them, their lives or their careers. The characters are sophomoric and immature. They bumble through the plot, and save the day by seat of the pants luck, not through skill or acumen. The plot revolves around divergent themes, that are never satisfactorily wrapped up. The book ends, leaving to many ends unexplained and completely without tie-in. Definately, not up to Cornwall standards. Don't waste your money on the hardback edition.
Rating: 
Summary: Great humorous satire!
Review: No book that opens with a character named Butler 'But' Fluck aka Bubba shuld be taken too seriously; so don't take this one seriously, as you would a Kay Scarpetta book. Relax, enjoy the puns and double-entendre (as when Bubba is fingering his gun). Lay the book aside and let yourself laugh 'til the tears subside; then pick it back up and read some more! LAUGH and ENJOY -- It's a Great light read!!
Rating:
Summary: This was a book of nonsense and a complete disappointment.
Review: I was extremely disappointed by this book. I love the Kay Scarpetta stories and the author's attempt at satire leaves much to be disired. I had to force myself to finish it. The characters and storyline had no suspense or sense. Even as satire, it failed. Dont't waste your money!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time on Southern Cross
Review: I read the first 50 pages of Southern Cross hoping that it would grab my interest. Needless to say I have since returned it to the library unfinished. Hornets Nest was a very poor book but I read it till the finish wondering why I went to the trouble. Moving the cast of Hornets Nest on to a sequel was poor judgement. They are weak and the plot in the book is just as weak. Stick to your original series in which the characters have matured along with the plots.
Rating:
Summary: Patricia Cornwell at her Worst!
Review: As a Richmond native, I was appalled at Patricia Cornwell's attempt at levity. The book is not funny. It portrays Richmonders as stupid and slow witted. Her writing style is horrible. One sentence had 118 words with no commas. I had to read that one several times to make any sense of it. I truly did not want to read about all the gas stations, restaurants, car washes, rundown building, etc. located in Richmond. I wanted a good storyline. If I was a guessing person, I'd guess Patricia Cornwell did not write this book.
Rating:
Summary: It was the worst of times
Review: After having read this "novel", I long for the days of "All that Remains" and "Postmorteum". The author has attempted to write the worst book she could have written and she has been successful. There is absolutely no plot or anything of interest to hold the viewer's attention. West, Hammer and Brazil were far more interesting in the "Hornet's Nest". I will put this implausible puppy aside and wait for Grisham in three weeks. Let us hope that the author returns to Scarpetta next year. It is unfortunate to have go two years for a quality book from an author who has demonstrated such talent. Save you money and wait for the movie.
Rating: 
Summary: very entertaining, good reading for those snowed in days
Review: Featured Judy Hammel, West and Brazil again together. No Kay Scarpetta this time, but equally interesting.
Rating:
Summary: This is really good if you give it a chance
Review: Charlotte police chief Judy Hammer remains shaken up by the death of her aristocratic but weak spouse. To escape the ghosts that haunt her she applies and receives an NIH grant and is subsequently hired by the city of Richmond to clean up its police force. Judy plans to model her approach after the successful New York COMSTAT prototype. To assist her on her endeavor, Judy brings with her deputy chief Virginia West and police officer Andy Brazil. Upon arrival, the trio meets strong opposition from long term residents who resent the outsiders and their New York Yankee ideas. Like most American cities, Richmond is loaded with its own peculiar eccentricities, high levels of crime, and a growing gang problem. Judy confronts a wide range of administrative problems such as pacifying pandering politicians and eliminating the blue fish screen saver that locks them out of COMSTAT. The trio also struggles to save a child being courted by a teen gang led by a dynamic psychopath. Finally, the heroic threesome battles corruption and resentment in an attempt to reform the police department. SOUTHERN CROSS, the sequel to HORNET'S NEST, is a serio-comic police thriller that reminds readers of POLICE SQUAD. The three stars are warm, witty, and somewhat frustrated. However, a warning label goes with this novel and its predecessor. Beware that this novel is not a Kay Scarpetta tale, nor is it an effort to take the renowned forensic medical examiner and relocate and rename her. Instead, Patricia Cornwell heads in an entirely different direction that turns into a different but enjoyable reading experience. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Another disappointment
Review: I wish Cornwell had stayed with her books based on her experiences as a medical examiner where she knew whereof she wrote. Now that she has decided to be a writer, she exhibits all the errors of a beginner. Her main police characters are incompetent; Hammer cannot even control a meeting where she is supposed to be in charge and none of the trio of top cops has a clue about the computer system they are supposed to teach others to use. The prose is worse. Telling me 1) the make, caliber, model number, and ammunition type of every weapon mentioned, 2) the name of every business on a long block on a Richmond, VA, street, and 3) the details of even the make of the tires on each vehicle is a laborious interference to the telling of the story. My theories (unsubstantiated): A) She knew coroner's work and wrote about it and does not know police work. B) The Carpetta books were written by somebody else and now she is trying to write. C) She wrote about Carpetta and turned this writing over to her junior high school child. I am sorry, Patricia. I really enjoyed your coroner books
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