Product Description

Moving between the chill of Cambridge, Massachusetts and the sultry humidity of Knoxville, Tennessee, Winston Garano, a police investigator, is instructed to look into a twenty-year-old murder case. Although Win reckons there are many more pressing current cases which should have higher priority, he gets on with the task, unaware of the can of worms he will prise open. With her hallmark qualities of deft characterisation, perfect research and tense story-telling, Patricia Cornwell has created a novel which entertains, intrigues and satisfies.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18083 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Another Patricia Cornwell appears, and it's a pretty safe bet that At Risk will storm its way to the top of the best-selling charts. Cornwell has been at the top of the American crime writing tree for so long now that her position is virtually unassailable--even when she produces the odd misfire (which he has been known to do). Fortunately, At Risk can be counted among her successes, though its brevity may disappoint some.

The book is based on a recent story of the same name serialised in The New York Times, but those hoping for the return of Cornwell’s resourceful forensic specialist Dr Kay Scarpetta will have to wait a little longer, as Cornwell introduces a new central character in this book. Having inhabited the mind of a female protagonist for so long, the author has felt the need to move into very different territory with a charismatic male police investigator at the centre of the narrative. The book takes the reader from the cool climes of Cambridge, Massachusetts to the overbearing heat of Knoxville Tennessee. Win Garano is handed a tricky assignment: he is to investigate a murder case that is over two decades old. District Attorney Monique Lamont isn't concerned about the difficulties of the case, though--she simply wants results for personal reasons. Win is convinced that he has been saddled with a very low priority case, but quickly finds that there is much more to this twenty-year-old mystery than he thought. As some very dangerous secrets are uncovered, Win finds himself dealing with both the consequences of his investigation and the remarkable ambitiousness of Monique Lamont as he pursues a political grand prize. In the past, when Cornwell has moved away from the safe territory of the Kay Scarpetta novels, she has slightly alienated her dedicated fan base. But she is absolutely right to take chances like this in order to freshen her literary inspiration, and this fast-moving piece is a laudable effort, even if it comes in at a rather shortish page count. --Barry Forshaw

Review
'Cornwell still does it better than anyone else' Daily Mail ** 'Cornwell's books run on high octane fuel, a cocktail of adrenaline and fear' Times ** This is Cornwell writing at the top of her form ... a rich little feast of a book' Irish Times ** Few ... can compare to Patricia Cornwell' Sunday Business Post ** In her latest thriller, she has returned to what she does best ...' Independent ** Brilliant ... this book is just as exciting as any one of the author's Scarpetta mysteries and is thrilling from start to finish' The Lady ** An intriguing read' Asda magazine

Irish Times
`This is Cornwell writing at the top of her form . . . a rich
little feast of a book'

Customer Reviews

Sorely disappointed
In line with other readers I found this very disappointing. It seems hurried. Rushed out to make a bit more money. Preying on the gullibility of fans. Don't waste your money!

Oh Dear!!
I have always loved the Kay Scarpetta series and picked up this book thinking that it was going to be just as good. How mistaken I was. The story has no plot and jumps from one aspect to another without any thought. The charcters seem to have some sort of sixth sense (in my opinion) as they somehow manage to solve the crime without using any of the evidence, of which there is very little.

If you, like me are used to the standard of the Scarpetta series, then you would be better off ignoring this book, I wish I had!

Terrible - I've given up on Patricia Cornwell
This book is so terrible, its ridiculous that it even got published. I, like many of the other reviewers absolutely loved the early patricia Cornwell Scarpetta books, and still get excited when i know of a new Cornwell book. I bought this to read on holiday. I was suspicious when I saw how thin it was...I wondered how a good crime thriller could develop itself in just 200 pages. Guess what? It didn't. Ridiculous plot, storyline, characters that make no sense whatsoever, drivel, nothing is developed properly....a complete waste of money, paper and time!