THE SCARPETTA FACTOR
Patricia Cornwell
Putnam Adult
Mystery
ISBN: 9780399156397
Well before Kathy Reichs and her popular Bones novels turned television series, author Patricia Cornwell had broken ground on forensic science mysteries featuring a female protagonist loosely based on the author herself. Cornwell and her creation, Dr. Kay Scarpetta, enjoy their 17th novel together with the release of THE SCARPETTA FACTOR.
The book’s title is two-fold. First, it’s the prospective name of a CNN series that Scarpetta’s agent is negotiating for her to star in. Secondly, it refers to the heart of the murders and other strange crimes that take place in New York City the week before Christmas --- crimes that all seem to have Scarpetta as the common denominator. She and her husband, psychiatrist Benton Wesley, are residing in an apartment off of Central Park in the heart of the city. Also around is her old friend, Peter Marino (now working for the NYPD), as well as her niece, Lucy, a former CIA investigator involved with New York prosecutor Jaime Berger.
All of these familiar characters become linked over a series of crimes: a murder of a young New York City woman, the suicide of one of Scarpetta and Wesley’s rivals, and the disappearance of an infamous tabloid personality, Hannah Starr. Not only is Scarpetta a “factor” in each case, Lucy may be tied to Hannah’s disappearance. All roads lead toward an old nemesis of hers, French underworld figure Jean-Baptiste Chandonne --- the infamous “Wolfman” who has figured prominently in several of Cornwell’s recent Scarpetta novels.
To further complicate matters, while Scarpetta is residing in New York City and temporarily lending her talents to the local Medical Examiner’s office, she agrees to appear as a guest on the Carley Crispin talk show. Incidentally, Warner Agee, a nemesis to Wesley, is also being featured on the program. During the live telecast, Scarpetta is presented with a dubious phone call inquiring about the Hannah Starr case. Avoiding any comment, she is led down the road by this mystery caller, and Crispin takes advantage of the situation to corner her into commenting on the private case. With the media frenzy surrounding this appearance on the show blowing up all around her, Scarpetta soon faces another threat: a mysterious (and possibly deadly) FedEx delivery that may be tied to a former patient of Benton named Dodie Hodge. And when an apparently crazed man jumps from a bridge, pieces begin fitting together that tie all of the aforementioned events together with Scarpetta in the middle of this deadly spider’s web.
Could Warner Agee, Hannah Starr and Dodie Hodge somehow all be linked to the French Chandonne crime family? If so, what role does Scarpetta’s niece Lucy play in the saga? Patricia Cornwell deftly juggles all of these characters and situations in a lengthy, nearly 500-page book. Readers of previous Scarpetta novels may be disappointed by the lack of forensic involvement here: where the earlier titles relied heavily on the Medical Examiner’s office, THE SCARPETTA FACTOR involves much more current media trends to move the story forward. Fans won’t mind being caught up in the lengthy soap opera-like passages involving Cornwell’s familiar characters, while those who enjoy blood-and-guts crime drama will have to wait patiently for the action.
But when the action comes, it is shocking and unexpected --- and it leaves the door wide open for storylines that will most assuredly be picked up in the next Scarpetta novel.
--- Reviewed by Ray Palen
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