Blow Fly vs Cause of Death: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Women pathologists, Scarpetta, Kay Scarpetta, Medical examiners, Forensic pathologists, Women physicians
Blow Fly
“DR. KAY SCARPETTA moves the tiny glass vial close to candlelight, illuminating a maggot drifting in a poisonous bath of ethanol.”
Dr. Scarpetta is no longer Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner so she packs up and heads for Florida. She must unravel a twisted conspiracy with an international reach that will force her to question the loyalty and trust…
vs
Cause of Death
“ON THE LAST MORNING OF VIRGINIA'S BLOODIEST YEAR since the Civil War, I built a fire and sat facing a window of darkness where at sunrise I knew I would find the sea.”
El cadáver de Theodore Andrew Edding ha aparecido bajo el agua, tras una supuesta sesión de inmersión. La forense Kay Scarpetta se encarga del caso y empieza a recibir llamadas telefónicas con identidades falsas, al…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Cause of Death is the quickest read — about 6 hours vs 8 for Blow Fly.
- Cause of Death has the widest readership — 57997 ratings behind its score.
- Blow Fly runs the darker storyline; Cause of Death stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Blow Fly | Cause of Death | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.8 (47706) | 4.0 (57997) |
| Hardcover | 3.5 (46) | 3.6 (56) |
| Google Books | — | 3.5 (6) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (489) | 4.5 (571) |
Reception
| Blow Fly | Cause of Death | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 47706 | 57997 |
| Editions | 51 | 60 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 12816 | 12750 |
| Reading it now | 2196 | 2056 |
| Written reviews | 1386 | 1339 |
| Wikipedia attention | 662 | 367 |
| Pages | 464 | 351 |