The Body Farm (Scarpetta Book 5)
by Patricia Cornwell
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| The Body Farm | 1 | 5 | 03/30/2008 07:19PM |
| The Body Farm | 1 | 4 | 03/30/2008 07:18PM |
| Kay Scarpetta does it again | 1 | 2 | 03/30/2008 07:13PM |
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Read in July, 2008
Ten pages to go but I gotta expurge some of the annoyed boredom now. The only reason I read two Cornwells in two days was that I was waiting for mail, but it enhances the flaws of her writing (or logic? I can't even say). Where no. 4 had been just boring and unpleasant and boringly unpleasant, in no. 5 now all the same people involved have completely forgotten that in the case they are actually following up here, fingerprints had already been unreliable. Yet now nobody even seems to doubt them. ...more
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Read in May, 1994
THE BODY FARM - Good
Cornwell, Patricia - 5th in series
Little Emily Steiner left a church meeting late one afternoon and strolled toward home along a lakeside path; a week later, her nude body was discovered, bound in blaze-orange duct tape. Called by the North Carolina authorities, forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta recognizes similarities to the gruesome work of a serial killer who has long eluded the FBI But as she tries to make sense of the evidence, she is left with questions that lead...more
Cornwell, Patricia - 5th in series
Little Emily Steiner left a church meeting late one afternoon and strolled toward home along a lakeside path; a week later, her nude body was discovered, bound in blaze-orange duct tape. Called by the North Carolina authorities, forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta recognizes similarities to the gruesome work of a serial killer who has long eluded the FBI But as she tries to make sense of the evidence, she is left with questions that lead...more
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Read in March, 2008
After reading Death's Acre, I thought I would keep my eyes open for some of Cornwall's work, especially when visiting a used book store. This book is from the mid-90s, and it is easy to tell. The sheer number of forensics shows and books that I have consumed in the last decade has really made me jaded I guess. The biggest problem I had with this book was that the investigators all behaved like they were adolescents, running from crime scene to crime scene, but not thoroughly processing the si...more
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Read in July, 2008
Being the fifth in the series the Scarpetta series Cornwell is getting into her stride and so fare this is the book I’ve liked most though it’s still a long way from my favourite sort of genre.
Although an easy read and enjoyably diverting I do have a couple of issue with Cornwells books and the first is pacing. Here books don’t half drag along at a snails pace. I realise that some of it is down to the time lag in processing evidence but what ever the reason it affects the pace plot. ...more
Although an easy read and enjoyably diverting I do have a couple of issue with Cornwells books and the first is pacing. Here books don’t half drag along at a snails pace. I realise that some of it is down to the time lag in processing evidence but what ever the reason it affects the pace plot. ...more
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Read in February, 2007
recommends it for:
mystery readers
About mysteries and thrillers in general: I really like them and I probably read more of this genre than others. But I don't really care about "who did it" very much, usually I don't even remember who did it for very long. I like mysteries because in the good ones the stories move well. Also they frequently have great peirpherals such as extra facts about interesting miscellaneous subjects, good atmosphere, setting and local location information, and continuing characers with back sto...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommended to Natasha by:
Aunt Inkyrecommends it for: anyone who likes crime fiction
My aunt sent me all of Patricia Cornwell's novels because she thought I'd enjoy them given my profession. I am not typically a reader of popular fiction, but it is nice to change genres every now-and-again. All of this being said, The Body Farm would not be one I'd particularly recommend unless you are a fan of crime fiction.
One thing that frustrated me about this book is maybe five pages were spent talking about the actual Body Farm in Tennessee which causes the title to be very misleading...more
One thing that frustrated me about this book is maybe five pages were spent talking about the actual Body Farm in Tennessee which causes the title to be very misleading...more
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Read in November, 2007
In the last couple of years, I've become a big mystery reader. They are easy and move quickly and are entertaining. This was the first Patricia Cornwell book I had read, and I will definitely read more. I particularly enjoyed it because the setting is where I grew up and went to college. I remember hearing about "the body farm" when I was an undergraduate; a research facility where donated corpses are put in different scenarios to study the decomposition process. The female charact...more
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Read in March, 2004
This was my first Patricia Cornwell novel. I picked it up in an airport and loved it and her. I've read them all now. I really identify with Kay Scarpetta on so many levels. She is very smart and works very hard at what she does. She tends to wear herself out and put emotions on the back burner to be processed another day. The development of her characters over time, as they face various challenges in life, grow up, grow older, encounter heart break and disappointment is so real that I fee...more
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Read in August, 1995
recommends it for:
anyone interested in forensic science who’s enjoys mystery books
One of the most fascinating mysteries I’ve ever read. The best part was the description of what goes on at the “body farm,” which is a (real) place where dead bodies are placed in different conditions to see what happens to them, in order to help solve homicides.
This is probably my favorite Patricia Cornwell Kay Scarpetta mystery book. It’s the fifth of the series though, and they should be read in order, as the characters grow & develop.
Patricia Cornwell books are not for ...more
This is probably my favorite Patricia Cornwell Kay Scarpetta mystery book. It’s the fifth of the series though, and they should be read in order, as the characters grow & develop.
Patricia Cornwell books are not for ...more
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recommends it for:
people who like the screechy sound made by fingernails on blackboard, or shovels on concrete.
The worst reading of an audio book that I've ever heard. The actress was nasal, flat and monotone. Her burly male Southern sheriffs sound identical to her hip young female doctors.
As for the story, I don't remember liking any of the forgettable characters, including Kay (excuse me, I'm a lawyer AND a doctor) Scarpetta. She did snap at some supposed intellectual inferior with a similar retort at one point in the story. She was unlikable, unsympathetic and obnoxious. Not all know-it-alls ...more
As for the story, I don't remember liking any of the forgettable characters, including Kay (excuse me, I'm a lawyer AND a doctor) Scarpetta. She did snap at some supposed intellectual inferior with a similar retort at one point in the story. She was unlikable, unsympathetic and obnoxious. Not all know-it-alls ...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
Kay Scarpetta die-hard fans
I've read all of her books except the last 2 (in my ready to read pile) and I liked it the least. Most of her books are like CSI: they find the body at the beginning and the rest of the book is mostly about how Scarpetta finds out who, what, where, and why. Her books are thrilling and usually I can't put them down. This one I had trouble finishing. There are several murders that occur along the way and some of the descriptions made me a little uneasy. I don't mind all the investigative stuff but...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
This book is part of a series about a female chief medical examiner. The series tracks both her personal and profesional life. Cornwell has amazing diction and is very detailed. It is not a before-bedtime series. The Body Farm is my absolute favorite. It seemlessly moves back and forth from Kay's (the main character) personal to professional life. It also talks a lot about emerging reasearch in forensics and psychology. And for those who like romance...this edition takes place in the heat of her...more
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Read in July, 2008
Ugh. Maybe I am a snob. Maybe I view this type of "literature" as junk food....but I tend to enjoy cheetos. This...painful. I picked it up to read some "pop culture". The book was too forced. The writing reminded me of a distracted teenager---some parts extremely detailed...some scenes completely random (her daydreaming about her current boyfriend in the end), AND obvious foreshadowing...yuck. I love a good mystery. I love junk food. I do not enjoy wasting my time. I shall av...more
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Read in January, 2003
Okay, this is another series about a coroner/lawyer woman who is strong and solves crime/mysteries. The earliest of the books are the most interesting. I found her later books started to get a bit tired, but that might just be me getting tired of her character. IF you like crime/drama, who done it stuff, this is a good set of books for you. The author is a real coroner and I believe a DA or lawyer, can't remember which, so she has a lot of in depth knowledge. Good human content here
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Read in January, 1995
recommends it for:
everyone
I found this to be the most interesting of Cornwell's books, mostly because of the forensics described here. This was the first place I ever heard of the Body Farm, although months after reading this book, I worked on a court case were the medical examiner brought a "scrapbook" of photos from there. It was every bit as grisly as Cornwell's descriptions. I quite enjoyed the role that Lucy played in this book as well: she got pretty far out there, without going over the edge.
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This novel is part of Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series. Scarpetta is the protagonist/heroine forensic pathologist. They kind of remind me of James Patterson's series with the recurring Alex Cross as the forensic psychologist. Cornwell's books are entertaining, and include a lot of accurate information as far as forensics and science. The books always come together neatly in the end, but it's cool to follow Scarpetta's personal issues in a kind of soap opera way.
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The book that brought Cornwell fame and started the mass interest in forensic science mysteries. Here Cornwell is at her best. Her characters are interesting, intelligent and there is just the right mix of science and plot. Kay Scarpetta is a strong believable female lead and it sparked my interest in the following Cornwell's books devotedly. Unfortunately she lost me as a reader in the last few editions that seem to betray what she created so masterfully here.
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Read in April, 2003
recommends it for:
anyone stuck in an airport
This wasn't as horrible to read as I'd imagined. Patricia Cornwell t5ends to be hit-or-miss for me and despite the fact that I guessed the ending well before the finish, it was an entertaining read. As usual, the details of forensic science were more interesting than the plot and I have no interest in either Kay Scarpetta's sex life or her niece's but you have to fill pages somehow, and to have a more human protagonist, someone has to have sex, I suppose.
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Kay Scarpetta is a one woman show. Patricia Cornwell takes us to those dark areas that CSI gives us a look see. Cornwell takes us on the long ride to the scene to the morgue into the autopsy.
The body farm is not the first of the Scarpetta novels, just the first one I read, and then I had to go back and read the others in order. (They make so much more sense with character development that way!).
The recipes also sound really good!
The body farm is not the first of the Scarpetta novels, just the first one I read, and then I had to go back and read the others in order. (They make so much more sense with character development that way!).
The recipes also sound really good!
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Read in January, 1995
recommends it for:
forensics/crime solving fiction fans
I used to listen to a lot of books on tape when I had my long commute from Santa Monica. Patricia Cornwell's books were a mong my favorites, especially her earlier ones. The last few that I've tried to read just didn't interest me anymore, however. It's all just sounding too far fetched. Her earlier ones are good reads though. I especially like the forensics and detail on FBI profiling science. Very interesting.
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