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Depraved Heart cover art

Depraved Heart

By: Patricia Cornwell
Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
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Publisher's Summary

Number-one New York Times best-selling author Patricia Cornwell delivers the 23rd engrossing thriller in her high-stakes series starring medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta.

Dr. Kay Scarpetta is working a suspicious death scene in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when an emergency alert sounds on her phone. A video link lands in her text messages and seems to be from her computer-genius niece, Lucy. But how can it be? It's clearly a surveillance film of Lucy taken almost twenty years ago.

As Scarpetta watches, she begins to learn frightening secrets about her niece, whom she has loved and raised like a daughter. That film clip and then others sent soon after raise dangerous legal implications that increasingly isolate Scarpetta and leave her confused, worried, and not knowing where to turn.

She doesn't know whom she can tell - not her FBI husband, Benton Wesley, or her investigative partner, Pete Marino. Not even Lucy.

In this new novel, Cornwell launches these unforgettable characters on an intensely psychological odyssey that includes the mysterious death of a Hollywood mogul's daughter, aircraft wreckage on the bottom of the sea in the Bermuda Triangle, a grisly gift left in the back of a crime scene truck, and videos from the past that threaten to destroy Scarpetta's entire world and everyone she loves.

The diabolical presence behind what unfolds seems obvious - but, strangely, not to the FBI. Certainly that's the message they send when they raid Lucy's estate and begin building a case that could send her to prison for the rest of her life.

©2015 Patricia Cornwell (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic Reviews

"Cornwell's books run on high octane fuel, a cocktail of adrenalin and fear." ( The Times)
"Forget the pretenders. Cornwell reigns." ( Mirror)
"When it comes to the forensic sciences, nobody can touch Cornwell." ( New York Times Book Review)
"Cornwell has created a character so real, so compelling, so driven that this reader has to remind herself regularly that Scarpetta is just a product of an author's imagination." ( USA Today)
"Cornwell remains a master of the genre, instilling in readers an appetite that only she can satisfy." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Depraved Heart

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Cornwell - Disappointing Narration

Patricia Cornwell has delivered another riveting story in the great Scarpetta series! This novel should not be read as a standalone. For followers of the series it ticks all the boxes, but would be hard to grasp as a first-time Scarpetta read. My advice is always start at the beginning and work up from there.

Sadly I found the narration by Susan Ericksen to be grating and irritating. Unlike Lorelei King, there was little difference between character voices, and a great deal of unnecessary pressured speech, making it hard to listen to. I only kept going because, well, it's Scarpetta!

I believe the latest Patricia Cornwell release, Chaos, has also been narrated by Ericksen which is disappointing.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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Disappointed with the book

What would have made Depraved Heart better?

I have been a big Patricia Cornwell fan for a long time and have loved and enjoyed all the Scarpetta books.This one I am really disappointed in, the story is slow and the Narrator is terrible. I have always liked the portrayal of the character in previous booksI always pictured Kay Scarpetta to be a dignified refined lady, but this narrator makes her sound very low brow and from the same ilk as Pete Marino, the change is not for the better.I won't be getting another audio book if the Narrator is Susan Ericksen.

What will your next listen be?

I will be going back to Kathy Reichs or maybe try and different genre

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Just listening to her voice, it is like listening to Marino all the way through,

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Depraved Heart?

I still like the way that Patricia Cornwell writes but have found this book a little under par,
Also I get a bit fed up of the way Kay is always mentally feeling sorry for her wounds, it makes her come across as mainly focused on herself.

Any additional comments?

Just such a shame to change the Narrator to someone so totally different,Because I am listening to this and obviously not reading it, it spoils the whole experience.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

gripping

I couldn't stop listening to the story. exciting from start to the finish. great read.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Don't waste your time

This is the first and last Patricia Cornwell book I will listen to. Pretty much nothing happened and it was just the main character having inner dialogues and moaning about the same things over and over to the point where I wanted someone to come and off her to end the book. It all just seemed like one big set up for the next book.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Poor narration, couldn't wait to finish it.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A different narrator

Would you ever listen to anything by Patricia Cornwell again?

After listening to this, I told myself "never again" Will definitely check reviews if a story line sounds interesting before I purchase in future.

What didn’t you like about Susan Ericksen’s performance?

Dreadful, especially trying to be a tough male..

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

New narrator but excellent story

It’s super disappointing that there’s a new narrator but after a little while you get use to her voice!
I love this story! This book is by far one of my favourites! Very thrilling.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story but not great reading

Love Patricia Cornwell but it’s read in a very typically American style...loud! There’s no real tonal flow - I just felt like I was being shouted at for 10+ hours! Bring back Loreli King

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