Flesh and Blood by Patricia Cornwell (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"Dr. Kay Scarpetta is about to head to Miami for a vacation when she notices seven pennies on a wall behind their home. Is this a kids' game? If so, why are all of the coins dated 1981 and so shiny they could be newly minted? Then she learns there's been a homicide five minutes away. A high school teacher was shot with uncanny precision as he unloaded groceries from his car. Yet no one heard or saw a thing.

Soon more victims surface. The shots seem impossible to achieve, yet they are so perfect they cause death in an instant. There is no pattern to indicate where the killer will strike next. First it was New Jersey, then Massachusetts, and then the murky depths off the coast. There she comes face to face with shocking news that implicates her niece, Lucy—Scarpetta's own flesh and blood."

My Thoughts:

This was a thrilling read that I won't be forgetting about any time soon!  From page one of this book I was utterly hooked and that didn't end until the very last page.  And that last page!!!  But I am getting ahead of myself.  I was originally trying to listen to this series on audio.  As we all know I have no self control and jumped at the opportunity to read this book.  I am so glad that I did because just wow!  This book was suspenseful, it was dark, it was fast-paced....basically this was everything that I look for in a thriller!  I just couldn't read this one fast enough!  It took some getting used to as I am reading this one completely out of order (I believe there are 22 books in this series so far) so things have changed some since the second book.  Okay, actually things have changed a lot but that didn't detract from my reading experience at all.  Instead I know now that I have many more good reads to look forward to that will show me more of how the characters have gotten to the places that they are at in their lives.  I can't wait!

In this book though, Scarpetta finds herself caught up in the midst of multiple cases that seem to have a few disturbing similarities.  From the moment that she finds the seven pennies on the wall outside of her house I just knew it was going to be personal.  It was a feeling that I had and because of this there was an extra level of tension for me while reading as I tried to figure it all out.  I wasn't sure who she could trust and there were just so many questions that I didn't have answers to.  Even those who are closest to her seemed to have secrets that they weren't sharing.  I cannot emphasize enough just how intense this book was for me while I was reading it!  I was completely sucked in!  For the majority of the book I was just trying to keep up with everything that was going on while also trying to figure it out for myself.  The last section of the book was spent reading as fast as I possibly could trying to see how everything would end.  I cannot tell you how many times I had to stop myself from peeking at the last few pages just because I didn't want to wait any longer.  I needed to know everything was going to be okay!  I resisted (barely) and it was well worth the wait!  Although that last page left me completely at a loss for words.  I NEED the next book right NOW!!!  

Overall, I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end.  It could easily make my top reads list for this year based off the intensity factor alone!  This book was a page turner and those are my favorites!  I am left wishing that I had book twenty-three in my hands but until then I think I will work on catching up with all of the other books I have missed.  Maybe that will satisfy me and make the wait seem less awful?  A girl can hope!   Highly recommended but be warned you aren't going to want to put it down!!

Bottom Line:  A thrilling read that had me flying through the pages!  

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher as part of a Partners in Crime Book Tour.  Thoughts are my own!