Hornet's Nest (Andy Brazil)

This book is not a Dr. Kay Scarpetta series book. Instead, it is a police procedural that focuses on three individuals: Charlotte's stalwart Police Chief Judy Hammer, her drop dead gorgeous Deputy Chief Virginia West, and Andy Brazil, an intrepid, young news reporter. Unfortunately, while the premise may have been inspired, the book fails in its execution, with characters that never quite work, relationships that are far fetched or never quite gel, a plot that lacks focus and fails to capture the reader's imagination, as well as an excess of mediocre writing in need of serious editing.

This audio book also suffers from a painful reading by noted actor Chris Sarandon, whose performance on this audio book is almost embarrassing. Narrated in a precise, almost prissy manner, his performance lacks a certain grit that is almost demanded by a police procedural. Moreover, his segues into the different characters are done in a way that grate upon the ear. Chris, a word to the wise...don't quit your day job.

Readers beware. This book was DOA. Do not spend one cent on this turkey. If you feel the urge for turkey, Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Be thankful that you have not wasted your money on this book.


Southern Cross   January 11, 2000
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

I have enjoyed reading Patricia's series about Dr. Scarpetta so when she came out with Hornet's Nest and Southern Cross, I was excited about reading them. I found them both to be very disjointed and hard to read. I got very frustrated when reading them both and I don't believe I will read anything else pertaining to Chief Judy Hammer, Virginia West, or Andy Brazil. I'll stick to the Scarpetta series.


Feline humor   March 21, 2000
Mr. K. Mahoney (authortrek, London, UK)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful

There are some nasty rumours going around that Patricia Cornwell has written a bad book. However, I read 'Hornet's Nest' at an extremely rapid rate, which was not entirely due to a tight deadline. Admittedly, I had only read one previous Cornwell novel, 'Cruel and Unusual', and that was a tightly plotted thriller.

'Hornet's Nest' isn't, and is all the better for it. I can only think that the negative reactions have been caused by Cornwell usurping expectations. She has reached the stage of her career at which she can only feel shackled by genre. There are a number of revelations here. The most obvious is that Cornwell is funny - funny in the Pratchett way of making you laugh out loud in otherwise silent staff rooms. What Cornwell achieves here is to effectively convey the irrational thoughts which go through everyone's mind. So, there is no forensic approach to the solving of the crime. In fact, I would go as far as to say that Cornwell has gone some way to writing an entertaining literary novel, rather than a conventional crime thriller. The only character who knows exactly what's going on is the Deputy Police Chief's cat. In short, Cornwell's 'Hornet's Nest' is nothing but cool. Read it, and you'll be pleasantly surprised, if more than a little embarrassed by laughing on the tube.


Loved this book!   January 5, 2000
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

I must have read a different book than so many of these other reviewers! No, this was not about Kay Scarpetta. And yes, I love that series. But so often authors who rely on one set of characters get stale. I think Hornet's Nest and Southern Cross are a very entertaining, engaging, and at times humorous departure from the KS series, and I look forward to reading more about the adventures of Hammer, West, and Brazil. I enjoyed the insights into the personalities that made up the story. I laughed till I almost embarassed myself over the courtroom scene. And I loved Niles, the cat. Those who didn't should get a sense of humour.

I got Hornet's Nest on tape from our library and played it for my husband on a long car trip recently. He agreed that it was well written and a great book. His only criticism was that it tended to overdevelop some of the characters that didn't figure prominently into the story.


Still pondering.   June 16, 2003
D. Martinez (Denton, TX USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I was warned about this but I couldn't remember which title until I was about four pages into the book. It was a great (big)departure from the Scarpetta series that I had gotten used to. The characters were great in and of themselves. They interacted well. The story was alright but not terrific. I found it lacking coming from Cornwell but I have to remember that it was NOT a Scarpetta story. As much as it pains me as a woman to say this, it kept creeping into my mind that Cornwell was having the same hot flashes that West had throughout the book.

The beginning to about 3/5 in was overtly sexual in tone, all the descriptions of persons for one and most characters being either wildly homosexual or homophobic, then it leapt to kooky when she began telling parts of the story from the point of view of characters who mattered little and do I have to mention the cat? Then it was back to the heavy sexual tones and interlaced with kooky feline perspective that was rather distracting and detracted from the main story.

The book is not great. Like I said, I can imagine this being written under the Change or a menacing deadline, maybe even as an exercise to vent gone weirdly awry. While not told in a very Scarpetta way, it was okay. If anyone paid attention to the beginning of the novel and the explanation about the Hornet's nest and takes that into the account through the rest of the book, it makes an insane sort of sense.

I was not thrilled with the ending and would have thrown the book had I not feared harming someone else in the room. I don't recommend buying the book. Check it out from a library if you're curious. Or, if you have to buy it, make sure you have the address where you can sell it back. It will help pass the time of two days, I guess I read it rather quickly, and lend to some interesting psychological profiles but other than that... I can't say the book would do much for diehard Scarpetta fans.