Summary and Reviews of Southern Cross by Patricia Cornwell

Southern Cross by Patricia Cornwell

Southern Cross

by Patricia Cornwell
  • Critics' Consensus (5):
  • Readers' Rating (8):
  • First Published:
  • Jan 11, 1999, 359 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Dec 1999, 400 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

A story of corruption, scandal, and robberies that escalate to murder set in Richmond, Virginia, where Charlotte Police Chief Judy Hammer has been brought by an NIJ grant to clean up the police force.

Patricia Cornwell has a sixth sense about the men and women in blue. In Southern Cross she leads us through a story of corruption, scandal, and robberies that escalate to murder. Her setting is Richmond, Virginia, where Charlotte Police Chief Judy Hammer has been brought by an NIJ grant to clean up the police force. Reeling from the recent death of her husband, and resented by the police force, city manager, and mayor of Richmond, Hammer is joined by her deputy chief Virginia West and rookie Andy Brazil on the most difficult assignment of her career. In the face of overwhelming public scrutiny, the trio must bring truth, order, and sanity to a city in trouble.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

The Denver Post
Patricia Cornwell, known for her forensic thrillers, has switched to Carl Hiaasen's world of black humor and nearly conquers it. Judy Hammer, the police chief of Charlotte, N.C., has accepted a year's commission to overhaul the Richmond, Va., police department. It is rich in eccentric characters and raucous language. This is a really funny, satirical takeoff on the murder mystery genre.

The Durham Herald
No matter how the explicit language, the graphic details, the unlovely characters, may repulse you, you're mesmerized by her awe-inspiring narrative skill. You'll stay with it, hanging on for dear life, proud of the guts it took to stay the course.

The San Francisco Examiner - Bobby Hess
Move over Carl Hiaasen, you have company. Patricia Cornwell, known for her forensic thrillers, has switched to Mr. Hiaasen's world of black humor and nearly conquers it in the hilarious Southern Cross.

People Magazine
[P]uts laughs ahead of logic....Cornwell has done better.

Publisher's Weekly
It's fortunate that Cornwell has a new Kay Scarpetta thriller (Black Notice) coming out in July, because this second novel featuring southern police chief Judy Hammer is as disappointing as last year's Hornet's Nest.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Southern Cross, try these:

  • The Kingdoms of Savannah jacket

    The Kingdoms of Savannah

    by George Dawes Green

    Published 2023

    About this book

    More by this author

    Savannah may appear to be "some town out of a fable," with its vine flowers, turreted mansions, and ghost tours that romanticize the city's history. But look deeper and you'll uncover secrets, past and present, that tell a more sinister tale. It's the story at the heart of George Dawes Green's chilling new novel, The Kingdoms of Savannah.

  • Suburban Dicks jacket

    Suburban Dicks

    by Fabian Nicieza

    Published 2022

    About this book

    From the cocreator of Deadpool comes a hilariously entertaining debut featuring two unlikely and unforgettable amateur sleuths. An engrossing and entertaining murder mystery full of skewering social commentary, Suburban Dicks examines the racial tensions exposed in a New Jersey suburb after the murder of a gas station attendant.

We have 4 read-alikes for Southern Cross, but non-members are limited to two results. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member.
More books by Patricia Cornwell
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    The River Knows Your Name
    by Kelly Mustian
    A haunting Southern novel about memory and love, from the author of The Girls in the Stilt House.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Girl Falling
    by Hayley Scrivenor

    The USA Today bestselling author of Dirt Creek returns with a story of grief and truth.

  • Book Jacket

    Jane and Dan at the End of the World
    by Colleen Oakley

    Date Night meets Bel Canto in this hilarious tale.

  • Book Jacket

    The Antidote
    by Karen Russell

    A gripping dust bowl epic about five characters whose fates become entangled after a storm ravages their small Nebraskan town.

Who Said...

When I get a little money I buy books...

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

T B S of T F

and be entered to win..