the secretary of transportation is raymond lahood.

currently reading kathy reichs's devil bones which can be compared to patricia cornwell's scarpetta which i read earlier this year - b/c both are about female forensic experts. reichs is a real-life doctor of forensic anthropology. cornwell is a crime writer. therein lies the difference between these two books -- reichs actually knows what she is talking about, and cornwell's just imagining. cornwell may have even done some ride-alongs or watched an autopsy or two, but reichs has done these things on a daily basis. the difference between observer and performer is acutely played out in the writing; therefore, reichs wins by a landslide. her writing is detailed, precise, accurate - yet never boring. she can explain the most intricate technique of forensic medicine in a way that you can totally follow along and yet not feel like an idiot. she's a marvelous teacher. and, the buildup of suspense in her novels has a solid, realistic pace. the only criticism i have of her work is predictable endings where the lead character is often caught up in a damsel-in-distress situation. but, overall, her writing is very good. the conversations ring true; the characters are 3-dimensional; and the plots are well-paced and not cluttered with gratuitous imagery.

that last point is a big complaint i have with cornwell - gratuitous imagery. it's like, since she doesn't have the inside scoop on the techniques & procedures, since she cannot bring any new knowledge to the table, she's left with simply pushing situations in your face. the characters are surprisingly flat for a writer with so much experience, but then... experience doesn't always mean improvement. if her books have sold well, she'd have more & more influence over her editors until they probably don't really change much at all anymore. perhaps i should read some of her early work to see if there's a difference with character depth - and plot pacing, which is another problem of hers. the story moved in fits & jerks. it didn't build smoothly with one situation leading to another. facts were added later to explain away an inconsistency or an awkwardness in the story line - whereas in a well-written story, the necessary facts would have been rewritten into the earlier part of the story so that the background was solid.

in conclusion - reichs is the better writer. her characters are more well-rounded than cornwell's - having a personal & a professional life, having good & bad traits, having emotions. reichs doesn't rely on gratuitous imagery or contrived plot elements - she is simply a good storyteller. she sets the scene in such a way that you can picture city's you've never visited and imagine procedures you've never witnessed. she does all this & never talks down to the reader.

patricia cornwell should wish she could be as good a writer as kathy reichs is.