Postmortem

A Scarpetta Novel

By: Patricia Cornwell

Narrated by: C. J. Critt

Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

Four young women have been found murdered—tortured and strangled in their own beds—all victims of the same brilliant monster. Using a skilled hand and the latest technology in forensic medicine, Kay Scarpetta begins the process of gathering the microscopic clues the latest battered body has to give.

©1990 Patricia D. Cornwell (P)1993 Recorded Books, LLC

Forgot how much I loved the old Scarpetta novels

I just reread this book for the first time since its original publication in 1990 and I remember why I loved all the original Kay Scarpetta books. While the computer technology is WAY DATED now (!!), it was pretty advanced at the time and always made me go "wooowww" at the time. It was a fun journey to re-meet Kay, Marino, Wesley and Lucy in this First novel in a series that spanned 20+ years of my life.

Story:well worth it. Recording quality: horrible!

I liked her smoky voice, but the background doubling of her voice along with the quite audible swallowing and breathing were distracting and annoying. Spend a little more money on quality recording equipment because it really took away from her performance overall. Also, she was a little over the top with some character voices and some weren't distinct enough. Way outdated tech stuff for 2015, but story was good. Worth the listen. Looking forward to hearing the next story.

narration....not so much

if I hadn't already read the book I'm not sure if I could have finished it. she just doesn't bring the story or characters to life for me.

C.J. Critt ruins it

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

Great story line

How could the performance have been better?

It could have been read by someone else. C.J. Critt is terrible. I've read all the Scarpetta novels in print, and wanted to revisit them via audio book since I now have a long commute. After noticing that Critt narrates the first half of the entire series, I'm looking for other books. I can't possibly understand why this person was chosen to read these books. She should save her voice for reading to her own children, bless their tiny ears.

Good story, disappointing narrator

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

If you like procedurals, this is a very good one. It is a little bit dated, but not in a way that detracted from my enjoyment of the story.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

What I like about this plot is that it is always moving forward. Too many detective novels get overly sidetracked in ancillary plots about the protagonist's issues or there the investigation gets bogged down. This doesn't take too much time to linger on insignificant details.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator is terrible at doing the other characters' voices. She does a particularly offensive job with the blue collar detective, the gay scientist, and the nanny. She also reads slowly, so if you don't like a slow reader, she isn't for you. I

Could you see Postmortem being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I think it would look something like the UK's Prime Suspect with Helen Mirren, only Kay Scarpetta is a much softer character. It has that same well-paced but detailed procedural feeling to it.

Serial killer vs Dr. Scarpetta

Kept suspense moving, enjoyed how it unraveled (with nothing stupid getting in the way). It was entertaining and well worth the listen. The DNA and computer technology was outdated, but not a problem, the character development was adequate and the writing was crime-novel level (no literary content, in fact she misuses laconic for sardonic).

Is the narrator smoking?

Very distracting b/c the narrator sounds like she's smoking a Marlboro. Will avoid Criti in the future.

Gritty -- featuring an intelligent & strong woman

I loved this book when I read it 27 years ago, and continued to love the series through the first 10(ish) books. But then I stopped reading them... for no reason. Recently I made the decision to revisit the series and so I am starting from the beginning. The result is that I still love this book. It was fascinating to find how far technology has come. Often I was surprised by the difficulties they encountered from things that would be easy today. Actually, in some ways this added to the enjoyment for me.

The book is gritty and dark; it is often profane and sometimes a little gruesome. It features a woman in job that is still dominated by men almost 30 years together. It is fierce. And I really like her soon-to-be good friend Pete Marino. Like Milo in the Alex Delaware series, he is gruff, grumpy and sometimes atrocious. Also like Milo, he is dogged in his pursuit of the bad guys and steadfast in his defense of the law. He provides a little levity to the book and is my favorite character.

CJ Critt is one of my favorite narrators. She never fails to give the characters life.

was I hearing thins?

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

What was the deal with the recording of this book? i could hear background noises an talking behind the story.
it was really distracting.

Waste of money

Would you consider the audio edition of Postmortem to be better than the print version?

The reader puts you to sleep. Reading the series is better.

How could the performance have been better?

Having a different reader to bring the story alive.