33. Patricia Cornwell - At Risk

"A Massachusetts state investigator is called home from Knoxville, Tennessee, where he is completing a course at the National Forensic Academy. His boss, the district attorney, attractive but hard-charging, is planning to run for governor, and as a showcase she's planning to use a new crime initiative called At Risk-its motto: "Any crime, any time." In particular, she's been looking for a way to employ cutting-edge DNA technology, and she thinks she's found the perfect subject in an unsolved twenty-year-old murder-in Tennessee. If her office solves the case, it ought to make them all look pretty good, right? Her investigator is not so sure-not sure about anything to do with this woman, really-but before he can open his mouth, a shocking piece of violence intervenes, an act that shakes up not only both their lives but the lives of everyone around them. It's not a random event. Is it personal? Is it professional? Whatever it is, the implications are very, very bad indeed . . . and they're about to get much worse. Sparks fly, traps spring, twists abound-this is the master working at the top of her game." - Amazon.com

Two words: IT SUCKED

Why did I bother? I used to really love Patricia Cornwell. Her books were well written, the plots complicated and enjoyable, the characters endearing. Now, it's like she's suffering from James Patterson Syndrome: writing just to see how many books he/she can sell no matter how bad they are. I keep hoping and praying that she'll return to her old self, but alas, she disappoints once again. The characters were poorly developed, the plot (was there one?) was thin, and it seemed like she wrote it over a weekend. Also, I think I've read children's books with more words per page than this. I'm just glad I got it out of the library and didn't pay the $22 for it.