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Summary and Reviews of Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell

Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell

Blow Fly

by Patricia Cornwell
  • Critics' Consensus (2):
  • Readers' Rating (20):
  • First Published:
  • Oct 1, 2003, 480 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Sep 2004, 480 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

The world's number-one-bestselling crime writer is back with another scorching thriller featuring medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta.

Dr. Kay Scarpetta has left Virginia in quest of peace but instead finds herself drawn into baffling, horrific murders in Florida. There she becomes entangled in an international conspiracy that confronts her with the shock of her life.

Chapter 1

DR. KAY SCARPETTA moves the tiny glass vial close to candlelight, illuminating a maggot drifting in a poisonous bath of ethanol.

At a glance, she knows the exact stage of metamorphosis before the creamy carcass, no larger than a grain of rice, was preserved in a specimen vessel fitted with a black screw cap. Had the larva lived, it would have matured into a bluebottle Calliphora vicina, a blow fly. It might have laid its eggs in a dead human body's mouth or eyes, or in a living person's malodorous wounds.

"Thank you very much," Scarpetta says, looking around the table at the fourteen cops and crime-scene technicians of the National Forensic Academy's class of 2003. Her eyes linger on Nic Robillard's innocent face. "I don't know who collected this from a location best not to contemplate at the dinner table, and preserved it with me in mind . . . but . . ."

Blank looks and shrugs.

"I have to say that this is the first time I've been given a ...

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Reviews

Media Reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review - Tom Piccirilli
...an engaging, well-crafted story that lures you with a series of chilling incidents....This powerful entry in the Scarpetta canon mesmerizes with its unflinching glimpse into the darkest depths of the human heart.

Kirkus Reviews
Cornwell never provides any of the unblinking set pieces that have made her so widely imitated. A more serious problem is that the perils feel recycled, shapeless, and so soaked in evil that they're headed nowhere in particular for Sisyphus Scarpetta.

Author Blurb Harriet Klausner, Amazon #1 Reviewer
Outstanding - one shock after another - Ms. Cornwell is at the top of her game with her latest novel. It keeps readers on the edge of their seats absorbing one shock after another.

Reader Reviews

Lila J

Are all these reviews by the SAME PERSON?
I actually liked this book. Sorry, folks! As people evolve, and things happen to them: they change. Such as in real life! I am wondering if all these reviews are written by the same person! They sound the same. Scarpetta is burnt out and so is...   Read More
Sharisse Lewis

I really enjoyed the book. It answered some questions that I had from previous books that I was able to put together from this book. The other characters got more life in this book, it was not all centered around Kay and her problems in Virginia, ...   Read More
LJ

Giver her a break! I finished the book about an hour ago and am in a state of semi-post shock. I agree this isn't her best book, as the characters are all so defensive & angry and there is no humanity in it, but it is still a good read. The path is ...   Read More
Irene Cannon

Since Benton Wesley appears at the beginning of the book, it would not be giving away the information that--a miracle! Benton Wesley has been resurrected and is alive and in hiding. I own all of Cornwell's books and am a loyal reader, to say the ...   Read More

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Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Blow Fly, try these:

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    Isolation Ward

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    About this book

    Straight out of today's hospitals and labs, and tomorrow's headlines, comes a frightening, scalpel-sharp debut medical thriller. In an astounding debut, Spanogle takes us on an all-too-real race against time - as a young doctor enters the dark side of scientific research, desperate to stop a terrifying epidemic before it is too late.

  • Bare Bones jacket

    Bare Bones

    by Kathy Reichs

    Published 2004

    About this book

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    A masterful novel of cutting-edge forensics and gripping suspense.

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