AIBU to have written to the publisher of Patricia Cornwell's new novel "Dust" (warning trigger SiDs)

[Cuddlydragon]

One of her characters who is a forensic scientist makes the remark over a suffocation death that she's always thought a soft blanket and a mother with PND could explain some SiDs cases. It was such a shock out of the context of the story and so bloody stupid. I know it won't make any difference but it is so bloody reckless.

Characters are imaginary.

They say things that are not true, are unpleasant, are odd.

As horrible a sentence as it is - this is a novel, a work of fiction with many different characters who are not all meant to be nice or intelligent or truthful or even sane!

I loved the first lot of PC books, they have gone so down-hill and weird of late. They used to be a good 'story', now they are self-indulgent Scarpetta nonsense.

My mother's nanny used to tell a story about this. When she had an unexpected late baby in about 1930 the doctor told her husband not to leave the baby alone with its mother.

I have no idea if it's a real risk but it is one that is around in people's minds so it's reasonable for a character in a novel to say this.

It's a character in a book. The character can say whatever the author wants them to.

Yes, but it rather depends how they're depicting that character. If this is someone who is meant to be a slapdash and unreliable scientist, fine. If Cornwell is depicting her as a good scientist, not fine.

Apart from anything else, I don't see how it could even be true, because a baby suffocated with a soft blanket would have fibres in the lungs, mouth and nasal passages.

I stopped reading anything by PC after I finished her ridiculous book about Jack the Ripper.

And what I remember about the Scarpetta novels was the yawningly detailed descriptions of her guns, the type of olive oil she cooked with, how she selected which kitchen knife to chop her tomatoes with... blah, blah, blah.

Yabu for still reading her books.

Yes, I bet Benton tucked into steak and chips at home before going to Kay's for green salad and tomato sauce. Used to drive me mad that chopping board.

She's gone mighty strange. I'm not sure some of the books are even written by her.

But I digress.

I agree with nenny

Batman

I agree

The idea that Scarpetta would continue to employ Marino is ludicrous

I gave up on Patricia Cornwell ages ok, such a shame the earlier scarpetta novels are fantastic.

There were more scarpetta novels after Lucy went unhinged and dropped out of the fbi and atf?

Oh for god's sake, a fictional comment by a fictional person and you complained to the publisher? I am truly very sorry if you've any personal experience of this but, really....

It's fiction! The writer can more or less say what she likes. YABU.