Welcome to this week’s Reading Roundup post! I have two books to share with you…

I haven’t read a book from the famous Scarpetta series for a long time, but Patricia Cornwell’s Autopsy (Kay Scarpetta #25) was on offer so I decided to try one again. This is the blurb:

“Forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta has returned to Virginia as the chief medical examiner. Finding herself the new girl in town once again after being away for many years, she’s inherited an overbearing secretary and a legacy of neglect and possible corruption.

She and her husband Benton Wesley, now a forensic psychologist with the U.S. Secret Service, have relocated to Old Town Alexandria where she’s headquartered five miles from the Pentagon in a post-pandemic world that’s been torn by civil and political unrest. Just weeks on the job, she’s called to a scene by railroad tracks where a woman’s body has been shockingly displayed, her throat cut down to the spine, and as Scarpetta begins to follow the trail, it leads unnervingly close to her own historic neighborhood.

At the same time, a catastrophe occurs in a top secret private laboratory in outer space, and at least two scientists aboard are found dead. Appointed to the highly classified Doomsday Commission that specializes in sensitive national security cases, Scarpetta is summoned to the White House Situation Room and tasked with finding out what happened. But even as she works the first crime scene in space remotely, an apparent serial killer strikes again. And this time, Scarpetta could be in greater danger than ever before.”

It took me a little while to catch up with Scarpetta’s personal life and relationships, but I soon sorted all of that out in my mind. Unfortunately, there were several issues with this book. Here is my review on Goodreads:

Autopsy by Patricia Cornwell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What a shame. The early books in the series were amongst my favourites, but everything has gone downhill in the more recent books. There was far too much waffling about family and friendship issues and not enough to drive the main plot. The ending was terribly rushed too. I was kind in awarding three stars. Perhaps it was for old times sake! The verdict: disappointing.

View all my reviews

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Oh, final point: I noticed an error in the text. There is no office of “the prime minister of England” – oops!

My second book of the week was this:

Yes, this is the third book that I have read by Susanna Kearsley in recent weeks: Season of Storms. Let’s go straight to the blurb, unfortunately it is very short and rather uninformative:

“When Celia Sands arrives at a remote Italian villa to star in the first performance of a deceased playwright’s masterpiece, she is instantly drawn to the mysteries surrounding the play — and to her compelling, compassionate employer.”

I think I am going to have to search for all of Kearsley’s books now! Although this one was not quite as good as the other two I have already read, I still enjoyed it. Great escapism during hard times. This is my review:

Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This the third book that I have read by Susanna Kearsley. I really loved the first two and rated them highly. This one was not quite as good, but was enjoyable. Having been to the Italian lakes a long time ago, the descriptions of the scenery, the towns and villages sent me right back. The area is so beautiful. Also, the villa itself and its surroundings were so nicely depicted. The plot was interesting, although I felt that some of the characters were not as well drawn as in previous books.

I will definitely look out for more by the author as they are great escapist reads.

View all my reviews

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I hope you have enjoyed this week’s post. Now I will choose my next book. Elder Son is working today, so I will have plenty of time to start reading it.

Happy Reading to you all!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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