Isle Of Dogs - Hardcover

The madcap doings get underway when the addled, nearly blind governor of Virginia confusedly launches a speed-trap program on isolated Tangier Island, whose prickly, eccentric residents promptly attempt secession. Cornwell adeptly interweaves other crisscrossing plot lines involving a gang of street-stupid thugs gunning for Hammer and Brazil, an angel-faced serial killer, a kidnapped dog, and more. She does miss a few beats: the pacing sags during certain episodes, and at times the writing strains so hard for laughs that instead it draws winces. Nonetheless, Isle of Dogs is for the most part a funny, diverting read and a refreshing departure for Cornwell. --Nicholas H. Allison

Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working as a computer analyst at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. It is the only novel to win five major crime awards in a single year. She has since gone on to become a #1 New York Times bestselling author, with some of her more recent bestsellers including The Bone Bed, Red Mist, Port Mortuary, and Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper--Case Closed. To date, Cornwell's books have sold more than 100 million copies in thirty-six languages in over 120 countries. Her character Dr. Kay Scarpetta won the 1999 Sherlock Award for the best detective created by an American author. When not writing from her home in Boston, Cornwell tirelessly researches cutting-edge forensic technologies to include in her work.