From Potter's Field

Rating:
Summary: Simply Awesome!
Review: This was only my first Cornwell novel and I'm hooked! In the past few months I have managed to collect all of her books and I can't wait to dive into them! This summer will be a suspensful one for Scarpetta and I.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: This was the sixth of Ms. Cornwell's Dr. Scarpetta series I've read. I'm glad I started with "All That Remains", and not this book. Come on I know how she feels being involved with a married man, but I don't wish to be reminded of all the negative possessive, crazy, feelings that take over your mind. I like her acknowledgement in "The Body Farm" that this was not morally right, but that it felt too good to stop. I enjoyed her interactions with people much better in her earlier Dr. Scarpetta works than in this one. While the mystery is still fast paced and has you holding your breath, the interpersonal relations suck. I read to find a relief from having to deal daily with this type of people. Ms. Cornwell has the right idea to get you to identify with Kay, but I had a hard time feeling comfortable identifying with Kay in this book. I've been stressed out, "b***hy", and "crazied", over life and men, but I don't read to be reminded of those unpleasant aspects of life and people. My advise to Ms. Cornwell is to have Dr. Scarpetta to "get a grip". Deal with life and have fun, don't get lost in the small things. I also have enjoyed the interplay of Kay's relationship with Benton Wesley much more than with Mark James. I like the idea that Benton is a completion of Kay, a ying to her yang. I wish I knew more men like him who can stand up to a strong-willed, intelligent professional woman and make her a more whole person. I hope Ms. Cornwell will "fix" Kay in her next book, and flesh out a happy relationship between her and Benton (less negative thoughts, more enjoyment and smooth working between the two), and "fix" Lucy too-its ok if she has an alternative lifestyle if you want, but if you don't want her to be happy in this fashion, find her a boyfriend, not another girlfriend(!!!). I agree with the comments from her next book on Lucy, stop beating a dead horse with Lucy, make her a semi-functional character, or get rid of ! her. In closing, this series on Dr. Scarpetta is a refreshing type of mystery that keeps you on your toes and looking over your shoulder for the killer. I throughly enjoy her style of writing and would recommend her previous books to anyone. However, this book was a grave disappointment, I had come to expect a cool strong-willed, compentent, Dr. Scarpetta, and all I found was a decompensating shell of her former self. If you've read her earlier books you may want to steer away from this one. I found myself greiving for Kay and Ms. Cornwell after finishing this book. Come on lets find the old Kay who has character and stamina to have a great mystery adventure.

Rating:
Summary: An Engrossing and Chilling Read
Review: My first foray into the novels of Patricia Cornwell has left me impressed. The characters were intense and realistic. My only concern is that the "evil" Temple Gault at the end of the novel is as vague as he was in the beginning. Why did he decide to trail and give "gifts" to Dr. Scarpetta? Needless to say, I will be reading more of Cornwell's books, especially if they are at all like this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Intelligently written; a fast and suspenseful read.
Review: I am on my 8th Scarpetta story. I most enjoy the relationships Cornwell develops.....Marino's gruff demeanor and language are so colorful...Dr. Kay is a strong female figure who uses her brain to handle the men who would take her down...The development of Lucy's character is interesting, but it is time she, too, develop into a stronger person emotionally. Cornwell's work is, for me, as good as Grisham's.

Rating:
Summary: I have read better
Review: The book was pretty good. 350 pages of suspense. Too quick an ending for my taste. Also I was a lttle bit confused with the video tape of Brown's bedroom. I had to read it over several times until I figured it out. All in all it would have been a 5 star book if it had had a better ending.

Rating:
Summary: One of her best
Review: Spine tingling thriller that keeps you at the edge of your seat untill the very last page. Temple Gault is by far one of the scariest villians I have read about. One of the best books I have read in years.

Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful but uneventful ending
Review: I enjoyed it very much particularly the written skills in describing the characters and the crime scenes. However, I was not convinced about the ending since it did not explain about why Temple Gault was challenging Dr.Scarpetta. Perhaps a book on his adolescent and how he develops an emotional attachment to Kay would be interesting.

Rating:
Summary: awful
Review: Mystery novels are the only books that I read and this one was the worst book I've read this year. I was expecting more from Ms. Cornwell.

Rating:
Summary: Just awful
Review: This was possibly the worst book I have ever read. I am amazed by the number of fans for this kind of rubbish.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best of its kind!
Review: This is only my second Cornwell novel, and I have already been won over. From Potter's Field was even better than Body Farm, and it was nice to get to know the characters even better this time around. My only criticism is that I'd like to see more likeable characters. So many of them are hard-edged or not very warm, which is also true of Dr. Kay, though I do like that she is a strong, capable woman. Unlike others, I don't see Kay's affair with Wesley as some moral affront. While I don't say it's right, it is part of real life, and it helps to show Kay's softer, more vulnerable side. The buildup to the climax was nail-biting. More, more, more! :)