Patricia Cornwell is a specialist of Mystery novels. Her heroine, as Hercule Poirot for Agatha Christie, is usually Dr. Scarpetta who is in charge of the morgue in Richmond, Va. But this is a different one, where Patricia Cornwell creates new characters and talks about police officers instead.

The story is set in Charlotte where Hammer, the chief of the police department agrees to have a journalist going along with the cops. Considering the last time they did such a cooperation, Virginia West, the chief of the investigation, wasn't happy about it. But she had to accept to have this 22 years old journalist called Brazil with her on patrol, even though she hasn't been on patrol for ten years.

The background story is a serial killer with very specific traits. But this is more a story of people's lives. Hammer who has to deal with her husband and her failures in her personal life. West who doesn't want Brazil with her but is fascinating by him, as he does 8 hours on patrol as a volunteer and 8 hours on the newspaper everyday. Brazil, finally, having to cope with his mum and a sexual phone harrasser, a guy from the newspaper who has a crush on him, and his urges as a young male adult. And of course, Niles, the cat.

It is a very good book, it is a very good mystery novel, even though, I was disappointed that Cornwell gave the serial killer too soon.

This is a peculiar book, because Cornwell sets you off balance as she is jumping from person to person and describes people who have very minor roles in the book. It's like having a microscope at a particular time on particular persons.

But i have to say that i loved it for that.