Susanne

Overwrought. Contrived.

The ending didn't fit my understanding of the characters. It was totally unbelievable for me. Suddenly everything works out because one of the characters has a sudden change of heart? What.

It wasn't a bad read, but it would have been better at 200 pages or so.

So, I'm not familiar with Cornwell's Scarpetta series, so maybe that biases me. (Though novels should stand on their own merits.) The plot was terrible - convoluted and contrived. There were so many coincidences I stopped caring. Sometimes you can pull off a “master plot” with lots of “coincidences” that end up being part of the plan all along, but this was just sloppy and overwrought. I didn't care about any of the characters, and identified the most with a minor character that took up all of ten pages. It was dull and bland and I'm sorry I actually finished it.

I ordered it after reading all the rave reviews and didn't get the hype. It read like the stuff I thought was poetry in the third grade - basic, boring sentences just spaced out on the page. I was hoping for beautiful language, interesting concepts, or something worthwhile, but it was like a gross mashup of every sentimental teenage angsty quote on Pinterest. Resold immediately.

The author was definitely brave to share her emotional journey with readers - but it didn't resonate with me, as I was hoping for something more along the lines of Richard Siken's Crush or even something Andrea Gibson-y.