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| The Front | 
 enlarge | Author: Patricia Cornwell
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy New: $1.57
You Save: $21.38 (93%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  214 reviews
Sales Rank: 1722
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.8 x 1
ISBN: 0399154183
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780399154188
ASIN: 0399154183
Publication Date: May 20, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The audacious new adventure of the At Risk team from Americas #1 bestselling crime writer.
When Patricia Cornwell introduced the quicksilver, cut-to-the-bone style and extraordinary cast of characters of At Risk, the result was electrifying: At Risk is Cornwells finest novel. It works in every way possible fascinating characters, solid plot, great pacing and expertly crafted prose (St. Louis Post-Dispatch); Absolutely the best. Heres hoping well see more of Win, Monique, Nana and Sykes in the coming years. They are the best characters to emerge from Cornwells creative pen since . . . well, Kay Scarpetta (The Denver Post).
At Risk featured Massachusetts state investigator Win Garano, a shrewd man of mixed-race background and a notinconsiderable chip on his shoulder; District Attorney Monique Lamont, a hard-charging woman with powerful ambitions and a troubling willingness to cut corners; and Garanos grandmother, who has certain unpredictable talents that you ignore at your peril.
And in The Front, peril is what comes to them all. D.A. Lamont has a special job for Garano. As part of a new public relations campaign about the dangers of declining neighborhoods, shes sending him to Watertown to come up with a drama, and she thinks she knows just the case that will serve. Garano is very skeptical, because he knows that Watertown is also the home base for a loose association of municipal police departments called the FRONT, set up in order that they dont have to be so dependent on the statemuch to Lamonts anger. He senses a much deeper agenda herebut he has no idea just how deep it goes. In the days that follow, hell find that Lamonts task, and the places it leads him, will resemble a house of mirrorseverywhere he turns, hes not quite sure if what hes seeing is true.
Falsehoods rule, warns his grandmother. And they can also kill.
This is the master writing at the absolute top of her game. You will never guess what lies behind The Front.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 209 more reviews...
 "It's never too late for justice." May 25, 2008
68 out of 98 found this review helpful
Patricia Cornwell's "The Front" is the second in a series featuring thirty-four year old Massachusetts state homicide investigator Win (Gernimo) Garano. Win's nemesis is egocentric and obnoxious Middlesex County District Attorney Monique Lamont. She relishes every opportunity to manipulate and humiliate Win, in spite of the fact that he once saved her life. Lamont comes up with a preposterous project for Win, as part of a public relations ploy "to take back our neighborhoods" and "to create a model that will be studied everywhere." Garano's task is to unearth information on an unsolved sexual homicide that took place in 1962: A blind British citizen named Janie Brolin was raped and strangled in Watertown, Massachusetts. Could she have been the Boston strangler's first victim? Win resents Lamont for expecting him to reopen a forty-five year old case. To make matters worse, Lamont has invited New Scotland Yard's Detective Superintendent to get involved.
Lamont further suggests that Win enlist the aid of a Watertown cop nicknamed Stump (her nickname is unrelated to the fact that she has worn a prosthesis since her leg was amputated below the knee). Stump wants no part of the Brolin case, and she tells Win to do his own dirty work for Lamont. It seems that Lamont and Stump detest one another and Stump has not found it in her heart to forgive Monique for her past transgressions. Stump also fears that Monique wants to destroy a growing coalition called FRONT (Friends, Resources, Officers Networking Together), consisting of sixty police departments cooperating and pooling their resources. Stump urges Win to find a way to get out from under Lamont's thumb.
This book is irritating in so many ways: Cornwell's artificial use of the present tense is grating. The loosely constructed plot is lame and nonsensical. The story wanders down different paths that never fully converge, and none of the characters are satisfactorily developed. As in the first novel of the series, "At Risk," Win is devoted to his eccentric Nana, the charming and superstitious psychic who raised him. Stump is a hard-bitten and tough cop who may have secret feelings for Win. In spite of her efforts to make him angry, Win is turned on by Stump's mind and physical beauty. Unfortunately, Cornwell does not establish a believable relationship between these two. They constantly exchange insults and juvenile banter, like a pair of squabbling siblings. In addition, a story line that has Lamont under suspicion for aiding terrorists is nothing short of outlandish. Adding to the absurdity, Win experiences a brainstorm that enables him to solve the Brolin case as if by magic. It is almost as if he has inherited Nana's second sight. "The Front" is a weak effort by Cornwell; it is insubstantial, lacks cohesion and pace, and never picks up enough steam to hold the reader's interest.
 Cornwell Turns Garbage To Gold Once Again May 30, 2008
38 out of 48 found this review helpful
I thought Cornwell could do no worse than Isle of Dogs - The Front was as bad (if not as vulger). The author sells her books because of her name. It seems you can turn out any ridiculous piece of trash and make money, if at one point in your career you were a legitimate author. I believed that James Patterson was the master in this regard, but even he has not produced anything so ridiculous and nonsensical as this book. The positive reviewers who are quoted here must have entirely different standards than I, or have read a different book. I give it 0 stars and resent the time wasted reading it - fortunately however, it was so "cut to the bone" that even with thick paper and big print, there was nothing much to read. Last Cornwell book for me - Renee Wadler
 Cornwell in the fast lane May 20, 2008
28 out of 35 found this review helpful
The Front, although brief, did not disappoint for lack of twists and turns - all served up at a rapid-fire pace. Unlike Kay Scarpetta, whose character is so deeply nuanced that it is taking years to get to know her, we get the take on the characters in this novel within a few pages. That is, with the exception of Massachusetts state investigator, Win Garano, and his boss, the less than admirable District Attorney, Monique Lamont, who I suspect will together and separately have more of their stories to tell. (I recommend that you read the previous book featuring Garano and Lamont, "At Risk," for more background.) And I do love Nana and Miss Dog. But rather than a novel, I felt that I was reading a series of well-crafted vignettes. That makes it different than what you'd expect from a book by Cornwell. It definitely cuts to the chase, but as with the rest of Ms. Cornwell's novels, when I finished the read, I wanted to know more.
Less than 1 Star if Possible June 2, 2008
25 out of 32 found this review helpful
This is by far one of the worst books I've ever read. Lackluster boring characters, no strong plot/plots. Belive me when I say "this is not a spoiler"...this book does not address the title of the book "The Front". What exactly was this book about, anybody, anybody.....
 Thank you so much for the advance copy. I loved it!! May 20, 2008
24 out of 31 found this review helpful
I received this book as an advance copy. I got the email and sent away my details and I was actually picked. Wow; that doesn't happen to me much. I was really pleased and excited to be one of the first to get my teeth into Patricia's new book. So I made my lunch and settled down. And there I stayed till the afternoon when my daughter came home and reminded me what time it was. I had to take my dog to get his vaccinations. Figuring it was a risk to drive and read at the same time I dragged myself away from the story and went to the vets. I couldn't wait to come home to get back to the plots and sleuthing of Win and Co. Ok so I had to stop for a while to make dinner for my husband and children again dragged myself away. Anyways I have now finished the book and I really must say I loved it! I've read Patricia's books since Postmortem came out so I feel like I've taken a journey along with her. It's always interesting when Patricia has introduced a new series of characters and story lines. It's strange to get used to reading about new people and places written by Patricia's imagination when you've become so used to following the lives of Kay, Marino, Lucy and Benton. Those characters become lodged in our memories like old familiar friends so to speak. We look forward to reading the next chapter and wonder what we've missed since they've been absent. Thus to read about new ones we wonder if we will like them as much. I personally think I like these new ones and am looking forward to reading about their next chapters. I've enjoyed all the books I've read of hers; some more than others. But this one is particularly fresh and funny. I found myself laughing out loud to Farouk and his 'understanding' of the English language. I like it when I read something that makes me laugh out loud or cry for that matter; it makes the experience more complete. This story unravels and reravels before your eyes and then ends with an 'Ah, I see.' It also made a sense that this book was so much lighter then some of Patricia's more recent work. It shows that Patricia Cornwell is still at the top of her league in writing a really good read!! Thank you Patricia for all the really good reads over the years. I for one can't wait for the next book in this series. So get writing ......
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