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Dust  By  cover art

Dust

By: Patricia Cornwell
Narrated by: Kate Reading
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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

What listeners say about Dust

Average customer ratings
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Story
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  • 3 Stars
    364
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful!!!

great book and narration. i love the series and it wasnt who i thought it would be. a must listen

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not Her Best

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I felt like there was a lot of stale time in the book, There was too little time spent in the lab where we all know Scarpetta is at her best.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I'm not very fond of Patricia Cornwell's new stuff. Scarpetta does't have the same drive and spunk and the stories aren't as detailed. I'm moving on for now.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The male voices are a bit forced, but not cad otherwise.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Way too long and repetative

While the story itself is interesting and the narrator as great as always, there was too much repetition in expressing ideas, opinions and arguments. Perhaps an abridged version would be preferable this time.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
  • D.
  • 08-11-20

marginal

The narrator is always good. Story was a disappointment. Repeat, Repeat.... it took up half the story. No real surprises..

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

so-so

voices done by narrator are distracting.
I focused more on the speaking than the story
not my favorite scarpetta book.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Disappointed with narrator

The female narrator voicing the gruff male policeman is do irritating, we did not finish the book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Scarpetta at her Best !!!

Scarpetta is back! Cornwell is back to the style we all love and missed. The gang is working together again without all the outlandish antics of the last few books. Well worth our credit.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

She's SOOOOOOOOOOO angry.

Any additional comments?

I admit it's been a while since I listened to a Kay Scarpetta book but she was one of my favorites for years. Then not so much. I was excited to see a new book and gave it a try. This book is SO depressing, not because of the content, which is typical scarpetta, but because Miss Kay is angry from page 1 to about 2 pages before the end. I got so tired of her complaining and griping and voicing her anger I could hardly finish. And by the time the book was through, I just wanted it to be over. I didn't even care how it turned out. As always Kate Reading does a great job...unfortunately there's not much she can do to fix this.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Love this series

This series is wonderful and super interesting! Love this series. Can’t wait to listen to the next book!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Too Much About Characters

Any additional comments?

I just thought the book was more about the characters, then it was about the story itself... I would have liked more about the crime, and the investigation... Kay and her family are always so doom and gloom... rather depressing family to be part of... so I tend to like hearing about the crime more... but I do like her books... I keep buying them and reading them...

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