Book Nerds Across America: Kay Scarpetta

Showing posts with label Kay Scarpetta. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Book Review: Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwell

Goodreads Overview:

Dr Kay Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner and consulting pathologist for the federal law enforcement agency ATF, is called out to a farmhouse in Virginia which has been destroyed by fire. In the ruins of the house she finds a body which tells a story of a violent and grisly murder.

The fire has come at the same time as another even more incendiary horror: Carrie Grethen, a killer who nearly destroyed the lives of Scarpetta and those closest to her, has escaped from a forensic psychiatric hospital. Her whereabouts is unknown, but her ultimate destination is not, for Carrie has begun to communicate with Scarpetta, conveying her deadly - if cryptic - plans for revenge.

Chillingly mesmeric in tone, labyrinthine in structure, Point of Origin is Patricia Cornwell at her most dazzling.

Jacque's Review:

I am still plugging away with the Kay Scarpetta series. This is the 9th book in the series, but there are currently 25 books, so I have a long way to go. At the rate Cornwell is going, I don't think I will ever catch up. I do enjoy the series and was shocked by what took place at the end of this novel.

This time around Kay is investigating an arson that took place on a horse farm. It appears to be an isolated case, but she soon connects it to some other cases. Besides the fact that a roaring fire consumes the houses with way more fuel than there should have been based upon the contents and structure, there doesn't appear to be a connection. The victims are not linked and they can't determine how the fires are getting so large. Gasoline or other traceable fuel sources aren't detected, but in each case the fire appears to be concealing evidence related to a murder.

Carrie Grethen is a returning character who wreaked havoc previously in this series. She was finally locked up in a psychiatric facility awaiting trial, but manages to escape. Now that she is on the loose, Kay and her niece Lucy are not going to be safe until she is recaptured. Carrie is toying with them throughout the novel and has a huge part in the ending.

Benton and Kay are now essentially living together, but their relationship is a bit strained. She can't seem to get away from the job and is constantly putting her personal life on the back burner. They were supposed to get away for a vacation, but this case hits too close to home and she once again can't pull herself away.

I will not give anything away, but the ending was CRAZY. Kay, Marino, Lucy and the rest of the team get to the bottom of this case, but I don't think they will ever be the same after this. On the plus side, we should be finished with Carrie once and for all. I do not really care for how Cornwell continues to rely on previous cases to propel this series forward. I prefer more of the structure of the Women's Murder Club or Stephanie Plum novels that are independent stories with evolving characters and personal relationships. I do not want to relive the previous cases over and over again. Hopefully after this installment we can finally move on to something fresh.

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Book Review: The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell

Goodreads Overview:

The Body Farm - a research institute that tests the decomposition of corpses. Black Mountain, North Carolina: a sleepy little town where the local police deal with one homicide a year, if they're unlucky, and where people are still getting used to the idea of locking their doors at night. But violent death is no respecter of venue, and the discovery of the corpse of an 11-year-old girl sends shock waves through the community. Dr Kay Scarpetta, Chief medical Examiner on a similar case in Virginia, is called in to apply her forensic skills to this latest atrocity, but the apparent simplicity of the case proves something of a poisoned chalice - until Scarpetta finds enlightenment through the curious pathologists' playground known as the Body Farm.

Jacque's Review:

The Body Farm is the fifth book in the Kay Scarpetta murder mystery series. The murder has a striking resemblance to a case solved in one of the prior books, so Kay and her colleagues from the FBI are called in to investigate. When an additional body is found in a rather peculiar situation, they aren't so sure their original assumptions are correct. The more evidence that turns up the more confusing the case becomes.

In addition, Kay's niece, Lucy, is caught up in an FBI investigation that could ruin her chances of joining the FBI full time upon graduation. She is exceptionally gifted with computers and is working on a top secret software that could greatly improve information sharing among law enforcement around the world, but someone else must want access to the information for sinister reasons.

This is an older series that I started reading at least 20 years ago. I would definitely recommend reading the books in order since the personal relationships between the characters develop throughout the series and some of the knowledge gained from the cases are referenced in later books. There are currently 25 books in the series, but you do not need to read all of them back to back in order to remember what is going on. I read one every now and then when I am looking for a good mystery and haven't had any trouble remembering the basics needed to fully appreciate each story. Each case is independent, so the majority of the information acts as a stand alone novel.

I thought I had this mystery all figured out about 75% of the way through, but as always there was a twist I didn't see coming until closer to 85 %. By that point, I had it figured out and just needed to see how all of the loose ends would get tied up.

The series is a bit graphic, so it isn't for everyone. I am definitely enjoying it and look forward to seeing what is in story for Kay, Lucy, and the rest of the team in the next installment.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Book Review: Cruel & Unusual by Patricia Cornwell

Cruel and Unusual is the fourth book in the Kay Scarpetta series. Kay is the Chief Medical Examiner in Virginia and assists the police and FBI with solving murders that make their way through her office. In this case, the killer sets Kay up to take the fall. She needs to work to clear her professional reputation as well as prove her innocence in all of the crimes.

The story begins with the execution of a death row inmate named Ronnie Waddell. Kay completes the autopsy while her assistant Susan has to excuse herself for some strange reason. Susan's behavior becomes increasingly erratic, which she blames on her pregnancy.

When Waddell's fingerprints turn up at a number of crime scenes after his murder Kay is at a complete loss. She tries to find Waddell's fingerprints within her files, but discovers they are nowhere to be found. Someone hacked into her computer system and even her administrative and HR files have been tampered with.

Kay calls in her niece Lucy, who is a 17-year-old college student with a genius level IQ in computer science. She sets out to find out who logged into Kay's computer and what was altered. I obviously have no idea what will happen later in this series, but I have a feeling Lucy will eventually work for the FBI and help Kay solve future cases.

Overall this was an excellent murder mystery. I started this series at least 15 years ago and really enjoyed the first couple of books. I think I lost some of my motivation because there are so many books in the series. As of this post there are 24 novels, so I still have 20 to read if I'm going to catch up.