Karen

This was a fantastic Alan Gregory story. The best I've read. It starts with something new (or at least something I don't recall from previous books) about the past involving Sam and Alan. A crime from a few years ago. Just when things seem to be going so well for Alan and Lauren and their two kids. The different threads of the crime, Diane & Raul, Alan's new clients, and Lauren's involvement really came together in a way I simply couldn't predict. Fantastic. I'm interested to see what happens in the future. Has Sam crossed a dangerous line for a police detective? What does the future hold for the Gregory family? What about the two guys in prison? Are they a future threat for Alan and Sam? I can't wait for the next one.

Sure. There was a good balance of plot and character development. Like Red Mist, this story was closer to the early Scarpetta books. Lucy and Marino are maturing, and Scarpetta has left her paranoid period behind.

Yes it did keep me on the edge of my seat. When Benton mentioned the killer was targeting women who reminded him of an older, strong woman from his life, I was sure I knew who the killer was. And I was wrong.

I'm not sure what other reviewers were unhappy about, but to me Kate Reading is Scarpetta.

It won't be shocking to anyone that Big Pharma isn't well behaved. But, just how far they'll go for money was eye-opening to me.

Noting all the medications Duxberry was on at the end of the story.

Without the drug reps, the story couldn't have been told, but I couldn't feel too sorry for them. They became drug sales reps to make lots of money. Their whistleblower suit wasn't about doing the right thing. They weren't suddenly concerned to learn that peoples' health and lives could be affected by the medication they were pushing. They wanted their money.

Those who are just looking for an amusing read. I've been doing a lot of my own research into diet and thought this might help me understand the issues and provide a few laughs along the way. I read and loved The Year of Living Biblically. This book failed on both accounts for me.

I wasn't expecting a rigorous study, but I thought this would be more of a real effort to look at different approaches to health. Instead he just did a little of this and a little of that, using the fringe approaches for laughs. I turned it off right when he said that he listened only to scientists about diet, and proceeded to settle the issue once and for all by saying that a mostly vegetarian diet is what scientists recommend. There are scientists from all points of view from vegan to 'eat lots of meat.' He chose only to listen to those who advocate a diet similar to his own and was pretty negative about alternative approaches to health - at least as far as I read.

This book seemed disjointed, lacking focus. First of all, I believe that it was revealed in one of the early Scarpetta novels that she did not have student loans because she got full scholarships through undergrad, medical, and law schools. Second, I have to agree with other reviewers that Scarpetta is quite self-centered, bitter, angry, and paranoid. If Marino is such an awful person, his character should be killed off or otherwise removed from Scarpetta's life. I coudn't understand the need for the South Africa story line. Come to think of it, I don't know what purpose the military angle served. Finally, the narrator was bad. I'm pretty tolerant of subpar narration, but this narrator was distracting, and I often had trouble distinguishing speakers/characters when both were female.

I agree that what Bugliosi proposes would not likely happen as he lays out in the book (e.g., what would be admitted as evidence, Bush's lawyer objecting to lines of questionning). Even so, he makes a great argument. Others were annoyed by "quote," but what got me was just how large Bugliosi's ego is. He spent the first 30 mins bragging about himself and then spendt the last 30 or so in an interview set up - it sounded like he interviewed himself. Again...his gigantic ego. My summary of Bugliosi's argument - (1) Bush lied and should be held responsible & (2) Bugliosi is in love w/ himself.

This book was terrific. I was hooked from the first sentence. Mikael and Lisbeth are very interesting and complex characters. I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers, and I couldn't predict what was going to happen next. I can't wait until the other 2 books in the Millenium Trilogy are translated and recorded.

When I look back at the positve reviews, I wonder if those reviewers weren't talking about another book. The story and characters remind me somewhat of the Sopranos - people connected to each other by their life in crime. But, that's where the similarities end. The characters here are flat and one-dimensional. Michael/Bruce is a dim-witted, self-centered creep. There is nothing romantic, interesting, or redeeming about him. The author tried a trick to keep the listener engaged. That trick was to refer to the future as in - "if only X happened - I would not have wound up in a Mexican prison." I found myself not caring at all what happened to Michael or any of the others. I gave this story more than the college try. I listened for 4.5 hours and simply couldn't take it anymore. This is my first exposure to the noir fiction genre. Maybe my problem is with the genre more than this story. The language was at time amusing and the Irish brogue of the narrator was a plus, but these 2 bright spots couldn't change the fact that this story is just horrible.