Point of Origin (Unabridged)

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't even pass flying time
Review: I really, really wanted to enjoy this book -- I bought it to read on a 23-hour flight! The fact that I have picked it up again, two months after getting home, and find a boarding pass marking page 33 (when I gave up on it) tells the story. This book is so over-written and completely lacking in humanity and humor that it could not even while a plane journey away. I thought at the time that I was perhaps not being fair, being jetlagged already, so have picked it up several times since getting back home. But so far I have not got much farther than the boarding pass. This book does not even read as if it was written by Patricia Cornwell. I loved her first few books, and physician friends agree that she never put a foot wrong in her description of autopsies, but boy, this one is really bad. Give it a miss, if you are a new Cornwell reader; read the earlier ones instead.

Rating:
Summary: TIREDNESS IS MANIFEST
Review: In Italian "scarpetta" means to collect the sauce on your plate using a piece of bread. Where is the beef? I think Patricia Cornwell is getting tired, is losing her pace, and faltering along the storyline. In turning the pages, you often wonder about the worthiness of keeping on: details, dialogues, scenarios are trite and burdensome - perhaps Scarpetta should change jobs? And the expedient of note-writing has done its time. Enough.

Rating:
Summary: What?
Review: Normally I really enjoy Patricia Cornwell's books, in fact, I'dconsider her one of my favorite authors, but Point of Origin falls so far short of any of her other works. My first complaint, too many references to earlier books, one of which I haven't read. This makes the book terribly confusing at some points, and if you haven's read Cruel and Unusual, you're really going to be lost. Second, since most of the characters do appear in other books, she neglects to introduce us to them in Point of Origin properly. For instance, it took me pages to figure out that Sparkes is African American. Vital information to racheting up the suspense and interest in "who-dun-it". Third, enough with Carrie Grethen and Temple Gault. They were interesting the first time (first couple times for Gault), but give it a rest. They're just too invincible. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Carrie appeared again. Disappointed, but not surprised. Finally, the story itself could have been so much better. I agree with an earlier reviewer who reacted to the helicopter shoot out...lame. And with the Fire Marshall, because I can't believe it took that long to figure out how they were starting the fires. You would think an ATF investigator and FBI officers would be able to figure out where the magnesium came from, if they've had any training at all. SO, all in all I was very disappointed. I wouldn't recommend this book to old fans, and I DEFINITELY would advise new Cornwell readers to pass on Point of Origin.

Rating:
Summary: What?
Review: Normally I really enjoy Patricia Cornwell's books, in fact, I'd consider her one of my favorite authors, but Point of Origin falls so far short of any of her other works. My first complaint, too many references to earlier books, one of which I haven't read. This makes the book terribly confusing at some points, and if you haven's read Cruel and Unusual, you're really going to be lost. Second, since most of the characters do appear in other books, she neglects to introduce us to them in Point of Origin properly. For instance, it took me pages to figure out that Sparkes is African American. Vital information to racheting up the suspense and interest in "who-dun-it". Third, enough with Carrie Grethen and Temple Gault. They were interesting the first time (first couple times for Gault), but give it a rest. They're just too invincible. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Carrie appeared again. Disappointed, but not surprised. Finally, the story itself could have been so much better. I agree with an earlier reviewer who reacted to the helicopter shoot out...lame. And with the Fire Marshall, because I can't believe it took that long to figure out how they were starting the fires. You would think an ATF investigator and FBI officers would be able to figure out where the magnesium came from, if they've had any training at all. SO, all in all I was very disappointed. I wouldn't recommend this book to old fans, and I DEFINITELY would advise new Cornwell readers to pass on Point of Origin.

Rating:
Summary: A potboiler of no distinction
Review: This was my first Scarpetta novel; it will be my last. Aflimsy plot: as another reviewer has already said, not "intellectually challenging." The characters are not credible: the women are overachieving amazons, the men are all cardboard cut-out cliches; even when the heroine's live-in is murdered, there's little genuine sense of loss.... The arsonist's methods take far too long to figure out -- a pointless "mystery" (I'm a Fire Marshal). The motivation of the serial killer is clinically wrong, an unabashed lift from "The Silence of the Lambs," where the motivation was also wrong.... (See John Douglas, ANATOMY OF MOTIVE.) The final confrontation, fought with handguns between helicopters, is not credible, either -- in fact, downright Hollywood "silly" (I'm a pilot, too). The novel is a waste of time and money.

Rating:
Summary: A potboiler of no distinction
Review: This was my first Scarpetta novel; it will be my last. A flimsy plot: as another reviewer has already said, not "intellectually challenging." The characters are not credible: the women are overachieving amazons, the men are all cardboard cut-out cliches; even when the heroine's live-in is murdered, there's little genuine sense of loss.... The arsonist's methods take far too long to figure out -- a pointless "mystery" (I'm a Fire Marshal). The motivation of the serial killer is clinically wrong, an unabashed lift from "The Silence of the Lambs," where the motivation was also wrong.... (See John Douglas, ANATOMY OF MOTIVE.) The final confrontation, fought with handguns between helicopters, is not credible, either -- in fact, downright Hollywood "silly" (I'm a pilot, too). The novel is a waste of time and money.

Rating:
Summary: Not her best, but enjoyable nonetheless...
Review: I have always loved Patricia Cornwell's writing and herbooks. She is a sharp woman with great writing skills, and her knowledge of forensic science is certainly part of the reason people come back to read her again and again. This book was extremely depressing, more than frightening...because we've been through these same things with Scarpetta and her niece before. How many times can one person deal with such tragedy and loss in their lives. At a certain point, this becomes unbelieveable (except for the Kennedy family), and the reader loses interest. Yes, the author is aging her protagonist and life does change, but must it always be so negative? I get the feeling Cornwell wants to be rid of this character, with this book being not up to her usual standards and with the introduction of other characters in books such as "Southern Cross". If this is true then I should think the author would want this character to go out with a good plot behind her. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh, [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Not her best, but enjoyable nonetheless...
Review: I have always loved Patricia Cornwell's writing and her books. She is a sharp woman with great writing skills, and her knowledge of forensic science is certainly part of the reason people come back to read her again and again. This book was extremely depressing, more than frightening...because we've been through these same things with Scarpetta and her niece before. How many times can one person deal with such tragedy and loss in their lives. At a certain point, this becomes unbelieveable (except for the Kennedy family), and the reader loses interest. Yes, the author is aging her protagonist and life does change, but must it always be so negative? I get the feeling Cornwell wants to be rid of this character, with this book being not up to her usual standards and with the introduction of other characters in books such as "Southern Cross". If this is true then I should think the author would want this character to go out with a good plot behind her. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh, [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Unreadable
Review: I loved Patricia Cornwell's first couple of books, but thisbook is just awful. The writing is dreadful, and the plot? She's sleepwalking through this one. Has Cornwell become so powerful that her publisher dares not edit her manuscripts? If you want good mysteries that are also well written, try Lisa Scottoline or Dennis Lehane. Give this one a pass!

Rating:
Summary: Unreadable
Review: I loved Patricia Cornwell's first couple of books, but this book is just awful. The writing is dreadful, and the plot? She's sleepwalking through this one. Has Cornwell become so powerful that her publisher dares not edit her manuscripts? If you want good mysteries that are also well written, try Lisa Scottoline or Dennis Lehane. Give this one a pass!