Dust

Scarpetta, Book 21

By: Patricia Cornwell

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

After working one of the worst mass killings in U.S. history, Scarpetta returns home to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Exhausted and ill, she's recovering at home when she receives an unsettling call. The body of a young woman has been discovered on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's rugby field. The victim, a graduate student named Gail Shipman, is oddly draped in ivory linen and posed in a way that is too deliberate to be the killer's first strike. A preliminary examination in the sea of red mud where the body has been left also reveals a bizarre residue that fluoresces blood red, emerald green, and sapphire blue.

Physical evidence links the case to a series of uniquely weird homicides in Washington, D.C., where Scarpetta's FBI husband has been deployed to help capture a serial killer dubbed the Capital Murderer. The cases all connect and yet seem to conflict. Gail Shipman was murdered for financial gain - or was she? It will require the usual ensemble of characters to find out the truth, including Scarpetta's sidekick Pete Marino, who has undergone a drastic change in his life that places him center stage in a Cambridge investigation that puts everyone at risk.

©2013 Patricia Cornwell (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Addicted... Yet year-after-year... Weaker Writing

What made the experience of listening to Dust the most enjoyable?

Have known characters for many years.

What did you like best about this story?

Cornwell worse, but remains one of the best in genre

Have you listened to any of Kate Reading’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Only for Cornwell's books. Used to her character renditions.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

Any additional comments?

Too much blah blah prose in places, and again what feels like a rushed, non-integrated, edited let-down of an ending.

good story telling

however the eternal conflict between Mariano and Scarpetta is tiresome and caused me anxiety and is so formula driven- same with Kay and Benton and niece

ok

If you could sum up Dust in three words, what would they be?

Not her best

If you’ve listened to books by Patricia Cornwell before, how does this one compare?

Needed something more.

What aspect of Kate Reading’s performance would you have changed?

Kate's reading was good. Story needed something more.

Not one of my favorite Patricia Cornwell stories!

I didn’t care for the reader and I thought the story had too many details that didn’t need to be in there!

great listen, started slow & ended slower

just had to stop several times rhen pick it up several times to keep mt attention

The excellent writing and narration made this a 5 star book!

This is not my first Patricia Cornwell book/audiobook, so my interest was not lessened by the professional citation of death or evidence. I enjoyed this part of the life of the the heroine, coworkers and family.
The descriptions of homes, yards, offices and vistas were done so well I followed all action as if I was there.
These plus more await you.

not my favorite Dr Scarpetta

the back and forth in time and events & the illness at the beginning is a bit tiresome and, at times, confusing. when it all comes together and the mystery begins is where the story should have started.... also had to speed up the playback. the narrators pace was just too slow.

Language

Ms Cornwell writes great stories but one thing I would love to see is the strong cursing be toned down. It detracts from the stories and does not add anything to it.

Thank you.q

Great book!

This book kept me guessing. I will definitely recommend to others. it is one of my favorite Cornwell books

Great

This book started out slow but after the first chapter it picked up! Good read!