This week, the Library received the latest Patricia Cornwell novel “Scarpetta”. Leaving behind her forensic pathology practice in South Carolina, Kay Scarpetta takes up an assignment in New York City, where the NYPD has asked her to examine an injured patient in a psychiatric ward. The handcuffed and chained patient, Oscar Bane, has specifically asked for her, and when she literally has her gloved hands on him, he begins to talk- and the story he has to tell turns out to be one of the most bizarre she has ever heard.
Patricia Cornwell’s first published novel was Post Mortem, which also featured Dr Kay Scarpetta, and appeared in 1991. Over the years, some elements of the style of the Scarpetta novels have changed; from past to present tense and from first to third person. The character has changed too.
It is believed that these novels, which include a lot of forensic detail, influenced the development of a “forensic” genre of novels and television series, which has been very popular over the last ten years. In the USA, “Scarpetta” has been promoted as a “celebration of the entire series”. It will be interesting to hear what Gilgandra readers think of this book.
Another new arrival is “Portobello” by Ruth Rendell. Set in the area of West London of that name, this is the story of Eugene Wren. On a shopping trip one day, Eugene came across an envelope containing money. He picked it up. Rather than report the matter to the police, he wrote a note and stuck it up on a lamp post near his house.
“Found in Chepstow Villas, a sum of money between eighty and a hundred and sixty pounds. Anyone who has lost such a sum should apply to the phone number below.” The note links the lives of a number of very different people. Around them all, the hectic life of Portobello bustles on, and the different characters lives are eventually found to be linked in other ways.
In a
review for the London Sunday Times, Lucy Atkins said “The suspicion that these ways will be sinister (this is after all a novel by Ruth Rendell) is what hooks the reader. Far more than any extraordinary events, it is this narrative tension that keeps you turning the pages. Setting out her cast with absolute conviction, Rendell unrolls their lives at a stately, ominous pace.”
Both Cornwell and Rendell have been popular authors in Gilgandra for many years. Both have inevitably changed and developed different interests and styles. I wonder whether these latest novels will be enjoyed by readers who loved their earlier work.
“North Child” by Edith Pattou follows the life of an ordinary girl call Rose, who was born into a family with a superstitious mother, thus being called Ebba Rose after the East point of the compass. The story recounts Rose’s life growing up, with Rose being an adventurous child who only sat still to do weaving and sewing. As time goes on, her family becomes poorer and one of Rose’s sisters falls ill. So when an enormous white bear shows up on their doorstep promising an improvement in the family’s fortune and her sister’s health, Rose agrees to go with the bear, who takes her to a castle buried in the side of a mountain. Life is good for Rose, who except for suffering from home sickness, is well looked after. Like most other fairy tales, this one also contains a curse to overcome, so when Rose makes a mistake, will she be able to break the curse and win her prince? Based on the Norwegian tale “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” this tales also loosely relates to the story of “Beauty and the Beast”, and will leave you wanting more. 
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