The last of the series I plan to read. Rambling, boring, and poorly punctuated.

I'm not actually going to finish this one. I read a Corwell Scarpetta book a number of years ago and enjoyed it. After getting 1/3 of the way through this one it became clear enough that it isn't likely to get good enough to justify the time required to finish it. The writing isn't compelling or engaging. And I think the prose is detrimental to the entertainment value of the audible presentation.

I read each installment in this series more out of habit now than anything else. This book had the usual: an enemy (Carrie) out to get Lucy and Kay, tension between Benton and Kay due to the conflicting interests of their respective jobs, Lucy her usual sullen, whip smart self. Gone are the days when the plots had a heavy emphasis on forensic medicine, and there isn't much character development, but at least there was enough action to keep the pages turning.

This probably wasn't the best Scarpetta novel to cut my teeth on. Lol. But Cornwell does a good job of filling the reader in on all they've missed. Perhaps too much. The true action doesn't start until halfway through the book. I loved Scarpetta as a character. I wasn't impressed by Benton or Lucy. Having no background knowledge of either, I found them both narcissistic and emotionally aloof. The entire book I kept rooting for Scarpetta to leave their sorry butts in the dust. The mystery part of the book was good and suspenseful. I didn't guess what was going to happen next. And, in the end, reading this made me want to go back and read the first books in the series. So, mission accomplished. :)

Another heart pounding thriller in the Kay Scarpetta series. Depraved Heart takes place only 2 months after the end of the last book. The hunt for Carrie continues as well as proving her existence. Depraved Heart kept me intrigued the entire read. Lots of interesting twists in the plot. Going to be reading the next novel soon, because I have to find out what happens next.

It's been a long time since I've truly enjoyed a Scarpetta novel. This one made it all worth the wait. Finally back to the way I enjoyed them in the beginning.

Received via Goodreads FirstReads and Harper Collins Canada in exchange for an completely unbiased review.
Also posted on Silk & Serif

Okay, so first off, this book is LONG. I don't mean "this took forever to read because it was lengthy", I mean "the first half nothing happened". I haven't read a Scarpetta novel before so I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew she was a leader in her literary niche with plenty of novels under her belt but I had no idea she's wrote 23 of this series! This knowledge still didn't prepare me for all the history and past experiences the characters have under gone during the previous novels although Cornwell did an excellent job of catching me up.

Depraved Heart was easy to read and all the character's previous experiences were explained thoroughly so a new reader like myself wasn't too lost for long. I also got a feeling for personalities early on that never wavered from my initial impressions. Although, I found myself not particularly liking any of the characters. Benson is a duplicitous man who is not only a cheat but also a liar, Scarpetta is naive and a bit judgmental while Lucy is a toddler in adult clothing. I think, for me personally, that it might have been beneficial to see how each character came to be the flawed individuals they are portrayed in Depraved Heart in order to make a positive connection to the characters, but without prior knowledge I found myself struggling to like most of the characters. I get they are going through a difficult time or in Scarpetta's case she's struggling with PTSD but again, I have no prior experience with these characters so it was hard to connect with them in their current states.

What did I like? The science was interesting, the way that Cornwell dumbed down some of the more complicated evidence details was far superior to Rieches and I enjoyed how I wasn't sure what would happen next. The series seems to have a previous flair for dramatics so reading this novel I wasn't sure when the "action" would start or even if it would. It does, it just arrives a little late and instead of helicopter chases and James Bond style scuba diving assignations, there's some science sleuthing and bad guy catching.

Plus, it seems they answer the question of who shot Scarpetta while on a evidence dive. Meanwhile, is Carrie alive? Is she still State side and what is her new agenda? Things definitely left off in an interesting place with all the characters on the precipice of an irrecoverably life changing event. I honestly will probably buy the next book in the series to learn more about Carrie and how she intends to exact her revenge. Oh, and to understand why she wants revenge - I don't really fully understand why she hates Scarpetta or Lucy so much..

In the end, Depraved Heart was a long, arduous journey that ended with plenty of questions that made this read worthwhile. The entire novel was a giant detective story that slowly developed over a period of 24 hours that could have probably been written in 100 less pages. Nevertheless, the novel was enjoyable and I never found myself particularly bored with the contents or Cornwell's clearly skilled writing. I don't think ill ever be able to write a book near Cornwell's level of mastery.

This book will appeal to readers who enjoy forensics, crime novels, action novels and extremely long series. I definitely believe a new reader can leap right into the story with Depraved Heart, but readers of previous installments of this series might be a bit frustrated with the level of detail concerning the last 22 books.

I've read this entire series. I do feel the books are getting a little more "off" for some reason and hard to follow but I still enjoy them and refuse to stop reading the series until I find out how it ends!