Sparks fly and twists abound in this electrifying thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling crime author Patricia Cornwell.Massachusetts state investigator Win Garano is called home from Knoxville, Tennessee, where he is completing a course at the National Forensic Academy. His boss, the district attorney, attractive but hard-charging, is planning to run for governor, and as a showcase she’s … and as a showcase she’s planning to use a new crime initiative called At Risk—its motto: “Any crime, any time.” In particular, she’s been looking for a way to employ cutting-edge DNA technology, and she thinks she’s found the perfect subject in an unsolved twenty-year-old murder in Tennessee. If her office solves the case, it ought to make them all look pretty good, right?
Win isn’t so sure—not sure about anything to do with this woman, really—but before he can open his mouth, a shocking piece of violence intervenes, an act that shakes up both their lives and the lives of everyone around them. It’s not a random event. Is it personal? Is it professional? Whatever it is, the implications are very, very bad indeed…and they’re about to get much worse.
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Another great book by an exceptional author!
The book is based on a story of the same name serialised in The New York Times: Cornwell introduces a new central character in this book. She has a charismatic male police investigator at the centre of the narrative. The story takes the reader from the cool climes of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA 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 is not concerned about the difficulties of the case. She simply wants results for her own 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 old mystery than he thought.
Some very dangerous secrets are uncovered. Win finds himself dealing with both the consequences of his investigation and Lamont’s ambition as he pursues a political prize.
Sometimes when Cornwell has moved away from the safe territory of the Scarpetta stories, she has alienated some of her fan base. However, she is right to take chances like this in order to renew her inspiration. This fast-moving piece is a good read, even if it comes in at a rather shortish page count. I really did enjoy At Risk.
Love all her books.
You can hardly beat this author. Read everything she writes!
Have read most of her books, enjoy her writing style and characters
Not her best, but well worth my time!
Fast, short, quick read in 1 sit-down. Good puzzle, subtle outcome.
If it didn’t have Cornwell’s name on the title, I would never have known she wrote this and truthfully it wasn’t up to her standards. I was very disappointed, as I love her books.
Love her work
A real page turner! Enjoyed it.
Have read most of the author’s other series of books and got weary of the gore and somewhat depressing plots and characters. This book is the start of a new series and did nothing to entice me into reading more of them. Convoluted plot, not very likable or interesting characters. Meh.
Much darker than her earlier books, but a good read.
this story dragged and did not keep my interest. the plot was sketchy at times
Nice break from usual characters with same quality of writing you’d expect from author
Disappointing.
Th err was plenty of action but it jumped around a bit. I do like Patricia Cornwell!
very shallow overall–characters and plot both weak
Disappointing plot. The characters seemed hackneyed to me and the ending leaves the reader with no closure. Not one of her best efforts.
I love Ms Cornwall!
Patricia Cornwell always writes a great story line. This one is no exception! Great read!