Rating: Summary: Good Book Review: The first book I read by Pat was unatural exposure and I have since read the books that have followed unatural. I have decided to read some of Pat's earlier works starting with the Body Farm. The Body Farm was very interesting and fun read. I realize that Kay has a disfuncitional family. Kay's mother is selfish and not very nuturing, and those characteristics have transfered to Dorothy. Dorothy wants the same affection that Kay gets from Lucy; but, she does absolutely nothing to deserve it. I understand that Lucy being a lesbian is an issue between her and her family. However, I feel as though is referred to a bit much.
Rating: Summary: Happy but Sad!! Review: This is the 5th Parricia Cornwell book I have read. As usual it held my attention and was hard to put down. The setting is North Carolina. Dr. Kay Scarpetta is her usual self and Pete Marino, who has recently been promoted to Captain, is in rare form. A young girl is murdered and there is the possibility it was done by Temple Brooks Gault, a character in a previous book that has killed many before and not been caught. I gave this a 4 star rateing as I was disapointed that Dr. Scarpetta character started commiting adulty with Benton Wesley of the FBI. Wesley is married and the father of children. I think it is degrading to the character of Dr. Scarpetta and takes away from the honesty she has always shown before. I hope this does not continue in other books as Cornwell has the ability to write an excellent book with out this affair going on. It may help to sell books to some, but it is a turn off for me. Please put Dr. Kay back as she was and let Wesley go home to his wife and kids. Shame, shame, Particia Cornwell.
Rating: Summary: A very good read! Review: The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell Beverly Books, New York 1995 Kay Scarpetta, lawyer/forensic pathologist, investigates the brutal killing and sexual molestation of a young girl. Several characteristics of the death remind Kay and the ever-present Pete Marino of a recent case where the clever and vicious pathological killer Temple Gault murdered a young boy. Gault was never caught and remains an illusive and tantalizing suspect in the case. Kay's niece, the brilliant and rebellious Lucy, gets herself into a bunch of trouble at the FBI Quantico computer research facility that threatens to ruin her future and nearly cost her her life. Benton Wesley, an FBI profiler, works closely with Kay and Marino to find the killer of the young girl. As the relationship between Kay and Wesley heats up, Marino becomes obnoxious and difficult to get along with. His own frustration, jealousy and loneliness draw him into a very unsatisfactory relationship that come close to ending his career. This is one of Cornwell's better books. The plotting is tight and characters well developed. The continued growth in the relationship between Kay and Wesley is interesting and has an aura of reality. One unsatisfactory note is the failure to tie up a couple of loose ends at the end of the story, but that's a minor detail. A very good read!
Rating: Summary: A Very Good Place to Start Review: The Body Farm is my first Patricia Cornwell read. It was recomended to me by a person who works in a bookstore. He said it was not absolutely necessary to read them "In order". (Note Postmortem is the first in the "series") Our antagonist is Dr. Kay Scarpetta, who is the chief Medical examiner for Virginia. She is also a lawyer and a consultant for the FBI. This story, that centers around the murder of a young girl leads us in many directions, and gives us the chance to follow many leads. The book is littered with all sorts of fascinating behind the scenes forensic activity. So if your into that sort of thing, such as analyzing photos, evidence samples, and the study of the time of death you'll enjoy a lot of the detail that goes into the development of the investigation. This book also enables to experience many of Dr. Scarpetta's relationships. We are able to see her interact with her niece Lucy, an FBI "intern", Benton Wesley a FBI collegue and romantic interest, and Pete Marino a detective from Virginia. These are all charcters that appear to be present in many of her stories. With out giving too much a way, the story uunfolds rather similarly to an onion, the way you would peel back layer upon layer to discover well in this case "who done it". The story does not drag at all, even with all the technical mumbo jumbo which was even easy for a lay-man to understand, and is filled with lot's of "page turning" suspense. Let me say, I enjoyed it so much so that I immediately picked up "Unnatural Exposure" and plowed through that one too.
Rating: Summary: Interesting and satisfying reading Review: Even being a little boring sometimes, this is one of Patricia Cornwell's best book. It is written in a very interesting, cold-blooded way fans of the genre love to read. Besides, it's also one that Kay Scapetta, the former detective on Cornwell's books, has her better way of searching for clues and findind the truth. What's interesting in Patricia Cornwell's writing and being specific, in this book, is how deep things are described. Although Her style is the kind that describes every spot of blood, it's not terrible because you are always portraited to the scene of the crime, you feel as if you were there, with all the policemen and detectives... And, even without describe the characters much, Patricia Cornwell has an adorabl way of giving insights into the lives of her characters, and they are just like everyone, with the happiness and the problems. Read a book by Patricia Cornwell is always a pleasure - full of aches and pains, but it's good to take the risk - , and, even not being a reading as great as a story full of what you could expect, Patricia knows exactly how to give the reader all we could expect from this kind of book. She's a master with what she does. Marco Aurelio.
Rating: Summary: *Excellent* Review: Although "Postmortem" and "Body of Evidence" are among the best Cornwell books I have read, I must say that "The Body Farm" may rival them for my favorite in the Kay Scarpetta series. This book contained all of the thrilling ingredients I have come to expect as a Cornwell fan. Unlike one of my contemporary reviewers who guessed the murderer early on, I was in shock when the actual perpetrator was revealed. I love how Cornwell lead the reader in a direction that was completely opposite of what happened. Inadvertently, I enjoyed getting a glimpse into the personal lives of Marino, Benton Wesley, and Dr. Kay herself. These characters already seem so realistic, and reading about them only reinforced the images of them that I had from other books. It seemed like Cornwell was trying to make Dr. Kay more three-dimensional through this book, showing that beyond her work ethic and tough, quick thinking exterior, she is a genuine human being who thinks, loves, and makes decisions for herself, and encounters the same problems faced by people outside of the fictional world. Conclusively, this was a great book. Bravo, Cornwell!
Rating: Summary: Body Farm Review: A little gory, but good. Scarpetta is a wonderful and intelligent heroine. Any of Cromwell's books are worth a read if you like criminal thrillers.
Rating: Summary: One of the Best Review: This is one of Cornwell's best written books. Scarpetta is chasing a serial killer who has alluded her before. The details are all there in true Cornwell style, the action is fast paced and it is very hard to put the book down.
Rating: Summary: What a Yawner! Review: I definatly don't recommend this book to anybody! I could barley keep my eyes open through it because it was so boring and didn't hold my attention. I didn't care about anybody in the books. They all seemed like sleezeballs to me....lesbians and people having affairs! This book was pure trash.
Rating: Summary: Too Predictable Review: Although I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Ms. Cornwell's books to date, I was unimpressed with "The Body Farm". I found it was too predictable, particularly for those who enjoy this genre (movie, print or television).
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