Trace is part of the Kay Scarpetta series, by Patricia Cornwell.  I like Kay.  She's extremely smart and devoted to her job, always working really hard to find justice for the dead.

Unfortunately, my liking Kay is not enough to make me a fan of this book.  This is just a dull story, with a bunch of dangling subplots.  I understand it's part of a series, but each book should be able to be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.  In this case, it just fails.

Poor Kay.  She's been fired from her job as Richmond's chief medical examiner, and is doing some freelance work in South Florida, where her niece, Lucy, also resides.  But all of a sudden Kay is called back to Richmond, asked to consult on a particularly difficult case.  It seems a young girl has died, and no one can figure out how or why.  Despite the various reasons Kay had been fired, she's still the best, and thus she's brought back to her old stomping ground.

But you can never really go home again, and Kay finds this out in a heartbreaking way.  The office, which she had running like clockwork, is in disarray.  Her replacement, Dr. Marcus, is a buffoon.  Even some of Kay's old co-workers seem like completely different people.  As if all of this isn't enough to throw Kay into depression, clues to the girl's death are scarce.  It's only when a construction worker meets his own demise in a tractor accident, that a clue to the girl's death surfaces.  Now it's up to Kay and her friend/partner Marino to figure out why trace evidence in one case matches the evidence in another.

At the same time, Lucy's having her own problems down in Florida.  Her friend and partner, Henri, has been attacked.  The "beast" who attacked her is still out there, and Lucy has her own methods of seeking justice.

The book bounces back and forth between these stories.  Along the way there are many, many subplots.  Almost a ridiculous number of them, actually.  And some of them are completely unnecessary to the story, and seem almost silly.  For instance, we discover that Dr. Marcus has an interesting phobia.  But other than a couple chapters dedicated to this issue, we never hear about it again.  Since it had nothing to do with either of the major storylines, it was a total waste time.  Then there's a plot involving Marino and the dead girl's mother.  Can you say "inappropriate"??  There's the tension between Lucy and her partner, Rudy, which is never really explained.  And there's even tension between Kay and Lucy that's never really explained.  Basically, there are far too many things that are touched upon, but never followed up.    

And most of the characters are just wacky.  Off their rocker, and completely unlikeable.  Lucy gets more and more obnoxious in each book.  Marino is himself - that is - annoying.  The dead girl's mother is a real piece of work.   And Dr. Marcus should be fired.  Pretty much, Kay is the only person I like in this book. 

Then there's the ending.  Thrown together so quickly, you'll wonder what time clock Ms. Cornwell was punching, that day.

Kay's the only reason to read this book.  If you're trying to take in the entire series, go ahead and read it. Otherwise, skip it completely.


Other books by Patricia Cornwell:

Body Of Evidence

Cause Of Death

Point Of Origin

Port Mortuary

Post-Mortem

The Front


Recommended: No