I expected Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell to be the kind of mystery I would enjoy. Years ago, I read several of Cornwell’s books and remember liking them. Crime shows about investigations and medical examiners were also some of my favorites at the time. Unfortunately, this book reminded me that my reading tastes may have changed over the years.

Although the premise sounded interesting, the story moved too slowly for me. I also expected more of the medical examiner side of Dr. Kay Scarpetta’s work. Instead, much of the book felt like Scarpetta was acting as a detective. By the time the mystery was solved, I wasn’t very invested in the answer.

A Brief Summary of Cause of Death

Dr. Kay Scarpetta normally lives and works in Richmond, Virginia. However, she temporarily takes over for Dr. Philip Mant, the deputy chief medical examiner for the Tidewater District. Mant has gone to London for a month following his mother’s death.

Scarpetta stays at Mant’s house in Sandbridge, Virginia, near the ocean. At first, she thinks the assignment might almost feel like a vacation. However, that changes very quickly.

Early one morning, Scarpetta receives a strange phone call from someone identifying himself as Officer Young of the Chesapeake Police. He tells her there has been a death at the Inactive Naval Shipyard. An anonymous caller supposedly reported the incident, although the body hasn’t even been found yet.

The situation immediately seems unusual. The caller knows about Mant’s mother’s death and seems to have information he shouldn’t necessarily have. Scarpetta soon discovers something even stranger: no one knows who Officer Young is. Apparently, no such officer exists.

A Suspicious Death at the Naval Shipyard

Scarpetta heads to the shipyard to investigate. Once she arrives, she gets the impression that the Navy doesn’t particularly want her there.

The victim is Ted Eddings, a local reporter Scarpetta knew. Eddings had visited her office before to get information for his stories.

He was found dead on New Year’s Eve after diving around decommissioned Navy ships. At first, it appears his death could have resulted from a diving accident. Some even speculate that he may have been searching for Civil War relics.

However, Scarpetta notices something important while examining his body. She smells cyanide. That discovery makes her suspect that Eddings’ death wasn’t an accident at all.

As the investigation continues, Scarpetta begins looking into what Eddings was doing before he died and why someone may have wanted him dead. Captain Pete Marino of the Richmond Police Department also becomes involved and helps her investigate.

Meanwhile, the danger starts getting much closer to Scarpetta herself.

What I Liked About Cause of Death

The beginning of Cause of Death had some elements that caught my attention. In particular, the mysterious phone call from the nonexistent Officer Young was intriguing.

I wanted to know who made the call and why. The circumstances surrounding Eddings’ death also seemed like they could lead to an interesting mystery. After all, a reporter secretly diving around decommissioned Navy ships and then turning up dead gives the story plenty of possibilities.

There were also signs that Scarpetta was getting too close to something dangerous. For example, the tires on her car and her niece’s car were slashed while they were staying at Mant’s house. Scarpetta suspected that it was connected to her investigation into Eddings’ death.

Unfortunately, those pieces weren’t enough to keep me interested throughout the book.

I Expected More Medical Examiner Work

One of my biggest disappointments was Scarpetta’s role in the story.

Because she is a medical examiner, I expected more details about what she discovered from the body and how the forensic evidence helped solve the case. The cyanide clue was the type of thing I expected to see more often.

Instead, Scarpetta seemed to spend much of Cause of Death acting more like a detective. She was out investigating leads and trying to uncover what Eddings had been involved with before his death.

There is nothing necessarily wrong with that approach. However, it wasn’t what I was expecting, and it didn’t hold my attention.

Cause of Death Felt Too Slow-Moving

The biggest problem for me was simply that the story felt slow.

I kept waiting for something to happen that would really pull me into the mystery. There were suspicious people, strange circumstances, and threats. Still, I never felt much excitement or urgency while reading.

That surprised me because I used to love this type of story.

Years ago, I watched a lot of television shows involving investigations, crime scenes, and medical examiners. I also read other Patricia Cornwell books and remember enjoying them. So when I recognized her name, I expected this book to fit me well.

Apparently, my tastes have changed.

The Ending Didn’t Change My Opinion

A mystery usually depends heavily on its ending. Even when the middle of a book is slower, a strong conclusion can sometimes make the journey worthwhile.

That didn’t happen for me with Cause of Death.

When I finally learned who was responsible, my reaction was basically, “Okay, I don’t care.”

By then, I wasn’t invested enough in the mystery or the characters to be surprised or excited by the solution. Instead of making me rethink earlier parts of the story, the ending simply confirmed that this particular mystery hadn’t worked for me.

Final Thoughts on Cause of Death

Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell wasn’t a bad book as much as it was a book that didn’t hold my interest.

Readers who already enjoy the Kay Scarpetta series may have a very different experience. Likewise, people who like slower investigative mysteries involving government agencies, reporters, police work, and forensic elements may enjoy it more than I did.

For me, though, the story moved too slowly and didn’t contain enough of the medical examiner work I had expected. Even the eventual solution to the mystery didn’t make much of an impression on me.

Interestingly, reading this book also showed me how much my reading preferences have changed. I used to enjoy Patricia Cornwell and this type of investigative story. Now, I apparently need something different to keep me turning the pages.

I still have a few other Patricia Cornwell books around, so I’m not giving up on her yet. I’ll read those and see whether Cause of Death was simply one that didn’t work for me, or whether I’ve moved on from the type of mysteries I used to enjoy.

Looking for Another Mystery?

If you enjoy mysteries involving murder investigations but prefer something faster-paced, you might also like my review of Nobody Knows by Mary Jane Clark. It has short chapters, multiple perspectives, and a suspenseful investigation that keeps the story moving much faster than Cause of Death.