Black Notice

Listening to Cornwell's latest is like being in the middle of a family crisis--Virginia Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta is grieving over the death of her lover, veteran cop Marino is fighting with a witchy new boss, and niece Lucy faces yet another career snafu. Amid the fever pitch of emotion lies an international murder mystery involving--honest--a werewolf. Kate Reading portrays the professional Scarpetta as smart, energetic, uncompromising. But the raw and vulnerable Kay is too soft around the edges, "mushy" even. The polarity is a bit extreme. But Reading's Marino, a verbal bull in a china shop who's just begging to be fired, expresses all his endearing pugnacity. E.K.D. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine