The Bone Bed

The Bone Bed is the twentieth book in the Kay Scarpetta series by American author, Patricia Cornwell. A paleontologist goes missing near a dinosaur bone bed in Alberta; a philanthropic widow’s body is recovered from the Bay; a rich industrialist is on trial for the murder of his wife; and an alcoholic handyman dies after falling down the basement stairs. Somehow, all these events are connected, and Kay, Lucy, Marino and Benton manage to solve it all. At the same time, Lucy champions victims of animal cruelty and continues to hack into any computer she likes; Marino gets himself into hot water with Twitter; Kay has a rough time in the witness box; and Benton is the subject of unwanted attentions. This Scarpetta instalment has a fair plot which padded out with tedious, minute over-analysis of every interaction Scarpetta has with those around her. With some judicious editing (cutting most of the first two hundred pages would be a good start), this could have been a page-turner. The actual science and procedure is quite interesting and explores desiccated bodies, trace evidence, lip-reading software, blood-stained cloth and wireless internet. Betrayal by a staff member not adhering to Scarpetta’s high standards is a theme that Cornwell has now employed well beyond its use-by date. Scarpetta’s default mood seems to be angry, annoyed or snarky. In Australia or Britain, she would be told to stop her whinging. The title is a little misleading as there is very little in the actual story about the bone bed. Will readers be prepared to invest more precious reading time and money in the next of the series, Dust? Unlikely if Cornwell sticks to the same formula. Once again, far too wordy.