Book Review

By Derryll White

Cornwell, Patricia (1992). All That Remains

Patricia Cornwell rolls out the familiar characters of Doctor Kay Scarpetta and Richmond, Virginia, homicide detective Pete Marino. FBI Special Agent Benton Wesley also comes back from the second Scarpetta novel, ‘Body of Evidence.’ Scarpetta’s distant niece Lucy comes in for several mentions as does Kay’s mother. Cornwell sets solid foundations for future character development.

This is the third novel in the Scarpetta series and the reader quickly grasps that Cornwell’s high standards of plot and character development apply. From the first double murder on page three the reader is pulled into a fascinating world of forensics, grief, police and human foibles.

‘All That Remains’ is about conspiracy, how conspiracy is perceived from without and how it is conceived within. FBI agent Benton Wesley is fleshed out, given a family and life, and puts Kay Scarpetta to the test. At points in the early stages she cannot even determine the characters in the unfolding drama. As in her other works Cornwell builds slowly, meticulously, layer on layer. The reader is introduced to the scientific method, to expert witnesses within independent institutions such as the Smithsonian, and to the meticulous way Dr. Scarpetta orders her data and layers independent sources one on another.

This novel is also about relationships, about the intertwining of human desire, about the need we have for each other. Cornwell pulls Pete Marino apart, explores the mess both his life and he himself are. She is merciless, although she does it with the love and knowledge fostered by deep, prolonged friendship. It will make any man think seriously about whether he wants a lover or a mommy. Cornwell let me realize I want a lover and forced me to look at the work that entails, to take someone into my life and yet sustain all the work that allows both of us independence. Cornwell consistently gives me more than just a good story.

Anyone who likes analysis of America’s federal agencies or embraces conspiracy theory will love this book. Both the FBI and the CIA come in for serious review. Many of the CIA’s ill-fated operations are reviewed and the whole relationship of America’s federal cops to its citizens is put under harsh light. And the reader should remember that this is prior to the whole shifting of U.S. worldview post 9-11 and the establishment of Homeland Security. Cornwell is ahead of political events but very current with sensitive, hard questions.

****

Excerpts from the novel:

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT – “I [Scarpetta] perceived he [Marino] resented me for no cause other than my gender, and in turn I dismissed him as a dolt with a brain pickled by testosterone. In truth he had secretly intimidated the hell out of me.”

MOOD – “A frigid wind wreaked havoc with the dark shapes of trees, and in the scant light of the moon the terrain looked foreign and foreboding…”

PERSONAL HISTORY – “I don’t know what it is you’re asking, but it’s impossible to forget the past. It’s impossible for the two of us to run into each other and pretend there was never anything between us.”

COMPLICATED LOVE – “I wanted the kiss to go on for hours, and yet I wanted to get away. Our passion had always been reckless. We had always lived for moments that never seemed to add up to any sort of future.”

– Derryll White once wrote books but now chooses to read and write about them.  When not reading he writes history for the web at www.basininstitute.org.

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