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At Risk by Patricia Cornwell
Friday, June 09, 2006
The story begins with the character, Winston Garano walking through the rain in Cambridge to have dinner with the District Attorney, Monique Lamont, who is also his boss. He is a Massachusetts state investigator, and we learn quickly that he applied to Harvard seventeen years ago and did not get in and consequently feels somewhat at a disadvantage with people who did get into Harvard and who do have money. We find out that he is half black and half Italian, and dresses very nice for a state investigator. However, Win has learned where to find Hugo Boss suits for a discount and his Hummer was part of a drug seizure sale. Win is one of those people who always looks good but manages to do so on a budget.
Win was attending the National Forensic Academy in Knoxville, Tennessee at the insistence of Monique. However, he is abruptly called back for this dinner. Monique is one of those women who are driven, powerful, attractive and rich. Her current interest lies in making herself and her department look good because she would like to run for the governor's job in Massachusetts. Her current project is a crime initiative called At Risk, which has a motto of "any crime, any time." The main focus of this crime initiative is cutting-edge DNA technology, which she wants to use to solve a twenty year old crime to give her department some excellent publicity and to make her look like a potential candidate for governor. Vivian Finlay, a rich widow, was murdered in her home twenty years ago, and the crime remains unsolved to this day. Monique has called Win home from the academy to oversee the case for her. Win doesn't appreciate being ordered around by Monique and he doesn't trust her or her agenda.
A cast of characters is quickly introduced. Win's grandmother, who he calls Nana is a pleasant old woman who likes to read tarot cards and her conversations with Win are peppered with vague references and clue. The kind of girlfriend, Sykes, who is an investigator with Tennessee, is another character who is also attending the classes at the National Forensic Academy. We never learn her first name, and she is older than Win and is desperately attracted to him. She helps him with the case of Vivian Finlay as it begins to unravel, twenty years later. There is Toby Huber, who works in Monique's office as a favor to his father. He is a lazy recreational drug user who is incompetent.
Other characters are introduced as the story unfolds.
When Monique is the victim of a serious crime, things begin to unfold quickly. Win appears on the scene and saves her life. However, she is not grateful and is upset that he has seen her vulnerable. Win wonders if the attack was personal or professional, and is it tied to the At Risk program.
Although I usually really enjoy Ms. Cornwell's books, I did not really like this one. I felt as if all the characters were dark. The character development seemed thin, and I did not really care about or like any of the characters. It was a surprise to me because usually the characters in her books are well-developed. I am used to the dark tone of her style, but this book did not leave me with a good feeling at the end. I did not enjoy the story, and it was hard to feel any compassion for any of the characters. They all seemed to have more than their share of hang-ups, unpleasantness and personal angst. I finished the book more out of having nothing better to do than wanting to know what happened. I was missing the feeling of satisfaction I usually get when I finish a good book.
Throughout the 200 or so pages of the book, I was fairly sure about the outcome of the story. The twists and turns of the story were not that hard to guess ahead of time. Think political corruption, ambition, greed, etc. I also felt that the story did not wrap up some of the loose ends. Some of the characters were just left hanging. Ms. Cornwell did not ever really finish up with some of the characters, not that I cared enough to find out about them. You never find out exactly what happens to the "bad guys," either. She just gives you some possible information but never really follows it through. I suppose we are meant to guess whether or not the bad guys get what they deserve or not. I realize that real life is like that, but in books I prefer to have the loose ends tied up and the character's situations at least somewhat resolved. I also like hints to what the future holds for the characters. This book did none of that for me.
Of course, this is only one person's opinion. If you enjoy her other books, you might like this one. She is definitely an excellent writer in her genre, and knows her subject matter inside and out. I always learn a few things about forensic science when I read her books. However, this was not one I enjoyed at all. Still, if you like her books, you might like this one.
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