KCR: Scarpetta (novel, mystery)

I found this book to be virtually unreadable. The book spent way too much time on background and descriptions, with minimal action. When there was any sort of action, or just interaction, it keeps referring back to old events (i.e. other books) and really makes me cranky because each novel should stand alone. Scarpetta is obviously not quite normal, dealing with the dead most of the time, that she clearly can't have a normal relationship with the two men in her life. Apparently the one she liked practically raped her, while the one she does not like was married to her, and the book somehow went through page after page of her mind, his mind, that other his mind, and so on. It's like sheesh, get to the point!

Then there's setup, which is exceedingly clever... a dwarf (i.e. little people) checked himself into Bellvue, claiming he was framed in the death of his girlfriend, and he will only be examined by Dr. Scarpetta, who will exonerate him. It's a good hook, as you don't know whether this guy is crazy or not. However, the execution is botched. You can't identify with the guy who's acting crazy, but not quite THAT crazy. The ton of red herrings did not help either. The ending was not really a surprise either. 

I am usually not a fan of mystery. I got this book as a gift, apparently from the bargain bin. If you like the genre, skip this book and start from the very beginning. This one is formulaic, the setup TOO clever, and ended up a complete mess.