HORNET'S NEST by PATRICIA CORNWELL

This is PATRICIA CORNWELL'S HORNET'S NEST – 1997. ISBN 0-399-14228-2. Andy Brazil series.

SYNOPSIS: The decision to abandon her forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta (Body of Evidence; Cause of Death; etc.) leaves Cornwell lacking more than a fail-safe series heroine. The only credible element in this novel is the urban New South setting. The story-about two women top cops and a young male newspaper reporter in Charlotte, N.C.-is routine fare at best. The three characters-42-year-old Deputy Chief Virginia West; her boss, unhappily married Chief Judy Hammer; and handsome wunderkind journalist and volunteer cop, Andy Brazil-are preternaturally competent automatons, obsessive and utterly devoid of self-awareness. A sequence of serial killings of out-of-towners, men who are pulled from their rental cars, sexually mutilated, marked with orange spray paint and shot, creates tension in Charlotte. While Hammer struggles with city politics and a depressed, obese husband, West contends with Brazil (a "handsome and fierce" 22-year-old with "total photographic recall"), who is on assignment to write about police activity, having impressed his editor by turning in "a hundred of hours' overtime five months in a row."

This book was published by the BERKELEY PUBLISHING GROUP in 1998. It is the paperback edition. I am not a professional book grader but I would consider this book to be in GOOD CONDITION. This book has been very carefully read. It has a few minor imperfections on the cover and some creasing along the spine. The pages are crisp, clean and complete. I would consider this to be a great addition to any Patricia Cornwell collection. This book comes from a non-smoking environment and has been stored in an archival box. It will be bagged and wrapped in cardboard when shipped.

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