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

great writing

I read this book in 1997. I was definitely worth hearing it again. don't pass it by.

Wonderful Listen

The Scarpetta Novels provide more "meat" to the characters. They are well developed with great dialogue. There are plenty of turns and twists. But there is none of the gratuitous sex and needless violence. Just plain old fashioned interesting detective work.

Don't jump in in the middle

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This was the first Scarpetta novel for me, and I should have started closer to the beginning of the series. There were relationships and undercurrents I couldn't appreciate as they'd started in earlier books. So I'd recommend starting at the start...

What three words best describe C. J. Critt’s performance?

Speaks too slowly.

Kept me on the edge of my seat!

Loved it! Was riveting. Was very enjoyable. The plot kept me going all the way from start to finish.

Good Story

Good Story. The technology discussed, like DNA, bloodtyping, and data processing is a bit dated but still interesting.

A step back in history . . .

I have read most of Patricia Cornwell's books. I loved her gift as a wordsmith . . . not an academic, but a person who has learned her craft well. I was surprised in this book to realize that it was a step way back in time . . . the characters were young and many of the "latest" technical developments are ancient history in the technological sense of the word. Having said that . . . Patricia Cornwell is a masterful story teller and this book is no exception. It is skillfully written and reflects the technology and environment of the day. (does anyone else remember the gritty powdered hand soap in public washrooms????). The story is certain to hold your attention - and the issues addressed (police scandal) are remarkably forward thinking.

I must however, take exception to the narrator. I gave her 2 stars only because she didn't mispronounce any words. Her accents were everywhere from the deep south to downtown Boston (and everything in between - sometimes in the same sentence). The volume of her voice ranges from very quiet to very loud - making it a difficult listen because of the variations in volume. Her narrating was a detraction from a very well written mystery!

For those medical mystery lovers, however, this is a great "read." Just hold disbelief in suspense when the accents for the characters are "off-putting" - and keep your hand on the volume control so you neither miss important passages nor blast your ears to an unhealthy jump in volume. It's well worth the effort.

Great story - subpar narrator

Love this author! Loved this book! Moving on to book #2.
Narrator kept swallowing and you could hear the dryness in her mouth.

Amazing story

I loved listening to the story. It had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who the killer was.

The racism hurts & the guys are cartoons

The author works hard to be authentic with the presented information. However, the racism and bigotry in the book are really difficult to make it through and I can't tell how much is the author and how much is the reader's interpretation. For the male characters, why are none of the main male characters not from Virginia but sound like they are from the New York tri-state area?
The reader: she has a lovely voice, but she has difficulty pronouncing words like "women" (plural), which she pronounces as "woman" (singular) and that takes me out of the story (that's just one example). Also, she is an annoying reader. All the male voices are constantly the same. They don't vary in tone or tenderness or harshness within each character. The lead detective was annoying enough, written as a 2-dimensional character, but the reader made it worse.
I won't be continuing with this series.

Loved every minute, a very detailed.

I always enjoy the historical content. Detailed moments and of course Kay, Lucy and Pete