I have never read any of Patricia Cornwell's books.

Are these any good? I'm not sure whether to start them or not. I notice a lot of people have them listed.

I used to really like them. The first few are very good, but as the series wore on the thrill wore off for me. It might just be me, though. But definitely the first four or five are good reading.

I used to wait with baited breath for the next one to come out.         The last two I read just didn't keep my interest and I didn't even read the last one.    Kinda makes me sad because the first ones were SO exciting.

i will try the first one from the library to see if I like them.

Thanks for your input.

I love them! It's like a literary CSI! She has a nonfiction book too, about Jack the Ripper, that was very interesting: Portrait of a Killer Jack the Ripper Case Closed

I really enjoyed the first four or so, and then I read one, can't remember which, that bored me beyond death.  I tried the next, and never got very far for the same reason.  Plus, I can take such maiming for fun only so much before I can't read another word.  I would definitely recommend that you at least give them a try.  Like anything else, you don't like it, list it here, give it away, just stop reading!

I liked the first couple. The rest were pretty boring.

I agree with everyone else.....the first several books were really good, but then the books started to become more about Kay's personal life, and the life of her family and friends, and they got really bogged down.  I still read them, but they just don't have that intensity and originility that they used to.

I agree with pretty much everyone else - the first several were really good, but the last few were not - the tone changed and I didn't like them nearly as much.  I do still want to read the new one coming out, though.

I too enjoyed the earlier ones the best.I keep reading her new ones but sometimes I wonder why.

I listened to them and liked all the ones that I listened to. 

I've loved all the ones I've read, but I haven't gotten around to reading the most recent two or so.

Same reaction... My wife and I read the first four or five and thought they were wonderful.  Then something happened.  In the last one that I read, which turned me off so badly that I gave them up for good, the perp turns out on the last few pages to be someone that was never even mentioned in the book up till that time.  Like, oops, I forgot to figure out who done it, so I'll just create some offstage character and trot him out at the end.  It was appalling.

Then there's the question of just how many serial killers there can be in --is it Richmond, Virginia where these take place?--Kay's city who all have an obsession requiring them to seek out and kill the medical examiner.  Huh?  It's like the author found a formula and stuck with it no matter how silly it became.

Good luck.  Read the first few--you'll know when the author lost her edge.

Rich

I also enjoyed a lot of them, but then there was the ones about a real wierdo and it was continued in 2 or 3 books, the whole story line just turned me off of her books completely.

The first few are great - highly recommended!  But, the minute the werewolf, Loup Garou, appears, the series takes a straight 90-degree nosedive!

I totally agree with Seajack.  Once the werewolf is introduced, it gets boring and just off the wall.  My hubby has read more of her series than I have, and he says the same.

I agree with everyone else.  I just got sick of her whining and negativity about everything!  Geez!   This is an intelligent doctor for heaven's sake??   I LOVED her first books and was so excited at each new one.  Then she just started to be SO self-centered and shall I just say it, STUPID!  Big disappointment.  I wonder what happened...

The first few are great - highly recommended!  But, the minute the werewolf, Loup Garou, appears, the series takes a straight 90-degree nosedive!

I agree 100%!!!  The first ones were great, then UGH!

I loved them until I came to "Blow Fly" and then I was turned off.  What a horrible book that turned out to be.  I skimmed it and then posted it.  It was taken right away.  So, now I don't read her books.  I have enough wonderful books to read that I won't spend the time on her trash.

the 1st books were the best, and then she got so far out in the left field she left me far behind, couldn't see her even with telescope. Have u read Kathy Reichs? Do u watch the series "bones" on tv? Kathy Reichs writes very much like the 1st books of Patricia Cornwell. That's why I liked her books. The Cross bones i couldn't even finish & haven't read any more by her. The series Bones on tv is based on Kathy Reichs characters. I really enjoy Tess Gerritsen, Karin Slaughter, if u are looking for good female authors, but yes, Patricia Cornwall's 1st books are excellent.

I agree, if you do want to read her start back from the beginning, each of her books has a seperate crime story but you get to grow up with her so to speak and hear about relatinships and so forth....but after the first 10 or 12....i started to lose interest....i'm posting "All that Remains" on my bookshelf now if you want.........

Paula

I've only read one, All That Remains, and I wasn't a big fan.  I like to have a chance at figuring out 'whodunit' and she doesn't introduce the bad guy until he's pretty much captured.