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Scarpetta (Kay Scarpetta #16)

by Patricia Cornwell (Goodreads Author)

3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 · rating details · 13,801 ratings · 1,154 reviews

View our feature on Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta.

From America's #1 bestselling crime writers comes the extraordinary new Kay Scarpetta novel.

Leaving behind her private forensic pathology practice in Charleston, South Carolina, Kay Scarpetta accepts an assignment in New York City, where the NYPD has asked her to examine an injured man on Bellevue Hospital's psychiatric pri...more

ebook, 592 pages

Published December 2nd 2008 by Berkley (first published 2008)

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Dec 10, 2008 Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not sure what motivates me to read the Scarpetta books. I know that I always want to like them much more than I actually do. I think I find the author an interesting character and her recent coming out has added to that. But I honestly have to say that her books will never rank among my favorite mysteries. It's not the writing, for there were many lovely sentences in Scarpetta. In fact, I noticed more than in previous books that she writes really well in places. It's the plotting I believe s...more I'm not sure what motivates me to read the Scarpetta books. I know that I always want to like them much more than I actually do. I think I find the author an interesting character and her recent coming out has added to that. But I honestly have to say that her books will never rank among my favorite mysteries. It's not the writing, for there were many lovely sentences in Scarpetta. In fact, I noticed more than in previous books that she writes really well in places. It's the plotting I believe she falls down on.

This latest in the Scarpetta series is better than the last several have been - easier to follow, keeping the characters, plotlines and locations more in sync with each other. However, I'd still found it hard to stay with and ended up skimming the last 50 pages. The crime that is the center of this novel seems somehow "unworthy" of gathering all these players together to throw every resource available at solving it. The resolutions of some dangling plot lines from earlier books are unsatisfying. I wish her characters would have a direct conversation that lasted more than a line or two and could actually get somewhere. We're always told how blunt Scarpetta can be, but I don't often see it, myself.

And there's the equally frustrating introduction of some seemingly inconsistent character behaviors - an example would be Benton suddenly having a wandering eye - and then no more about it. The author alludes to Benton and Scarpetta not having sex. Good lord, tell me more about that. Does Kay object? Not say anything at all? Have they talked about her near-rape experience? Aargh. I know it's a mystery, but I've heard Cornwell say she wanted to concentrate more on the characters in this book. I think she just dipped her toe in the water.

At least Lucy gets some action with the beautiful Jamie Berger, but there wasn't enough clarity there either. I don't know how these people get along with each other when they expect everyone to be a mindreader - including the reader. I'm not asking to be told what the characters are up to, but I do want to be shown.

Having said all of that, I still find Kay Scarpetta strangely compelling, as is Patricia Cornwell, and so I'll continue with the series if she will.

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Aug 05, 2012 Megan Baxter rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is my first Patricia Cornwell, starting 16 books into the series, which is probably not optimal. Earlier books may be better. I may try them some day. I may not.

I did, however, come in with a bad attitude towards the author and her knowledge of how detective work might work, given her ludicrous TV special on Jack the Ripper, in which she based her conclusions on two pieces of "evidence" (both DNA evidence and handwriting analysis failed to turn up anything):

1) That the artist she thought wa...more This is my first Patricia Cornwell, starting 16 books into the series, which is probably not optimal. Earlier books may be better. I may try them some day. I may not.

I did, however, come in with a bad attitude towards the author and her knowledge of how detective work might work, given her ludicrous TV special on Jack the Ripper, in which she based her conclusions on two pieces of "evidence" (both DNA evidence and handwriting analysis failed to turn up anything):

1) That the artist she thought was the serial killer had used the same kind of commercially available stationery as the person who sent the Jack the Ripper letters to the newspapers (which the police never thought were written by Jack the Ripper anyway)

and

2) She didn't like his paintings.

I'm not kidding. So my views of what she thought was good evidence were extremely dim. However, the biggest issue with this book is that it's far too obvious. Pretty much the first time she introduced one character, I knew they were the killer. To be more obvious, Cornwell would pretty much have to have had "perpetrator" tattooed on their forehead. I also guessed by the halfway point who was behind the gossip column.

I never guess whodunit, so trust me, this was very painfully obvious.

Being able to guess who the killer is is not necessarily the death knell for a book, as long as there is still enough there to keep the reader engaged. In this case? There were a few interesting things, but no, not really. So a mystery, it was a bust.

This next section is about sexual assault, which I'm putting behind a tag so people who don't want to read about it don't have to. (view spoiler)

Also frustrating was the book's confusing conflation of consequences and vengeance. If you weren't the serial killer and thus irredeemably evil, having any consequences happen was seen as being vindictive. I'm sorry, Scarpetta. Reporting the psychiatrist who leaked confidential information about your attempted rape to the medical college is not vindictive, it's actually an obligation. It is a requirement, if regulations in the U.S. are anything like they are here, for a doctor to to report such huge lapses in professionalism in a fellow doctor.

If someone tells me the earlier ones are better, I may try them. If not, this is where I get off the Patricia Cornwell train, for good, after only one book.(less)

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Dec 28, 2008 Vicki Kee rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you want to know what little people, GPS chips, snuff films, online gossip rags, veterinarians, dermatologists, CNN, a man who wears ladies Brooks Ariel running shoes, unscrupulous pet shop owners, Marilyn Monroe, and a woman whose last name is Bacardi have in common, this is the book for you. It's also a must read if you like 500-page murder mysteries (with a budding love affair thrown in) that take place and are neatly wrapped up primarily over the course of 1 to 2 days - and during a major...more

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Jan 01, 2009 Seritasunflower rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Murder mystery that was a true page turner. Kay Scarpetta, a well known forensic patholgist is called on a murder case by Oscar Bane (who is a dwarf). Oscar seeks the help of Scarpetta and the story of the murder of his girlfriend is a bizzare one. In search of the truth, the lives of many of the characters are revealed as the mystery unfolds. Scarpetta herself seems to have something to hide. There are many twists and turns, and I enjoyed this book for its suspense. The only dissappointing part...more

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Jan 04, 2009 Judy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Patricia Cornwell promised us she'd do better with this book. She did, but not by much. Her habit of resuscitating characters who have been left for stone-cold dead is particularly annoying. They are all weary and worn. May they rest in peace.

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Mar 16, 2009 Aelel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had pretty much given up on the whole Scarpetta series in general, when my mother insisted I read this book and give it one more shot. The past couple of Scarpetta novels have really, really sucked. It was like watching a well-loved friend slide into some narcissistic downward spiral of insanity and drug use to the point where you don't even know them anymore. They do and say things you never thought they'd do.

Well, this book appears to be an attempt to fix the image of Scarpetta that was alm...more

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Dec 14, 2008 Bett rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I gave up on this series. Then I saw that this latest book, Scarpetta, was getting great reviews on amazon.com. I wondered, could Cornwell have redeeemed herself? I thought the last couple of books were awful, and keep in mind, I loved this series set arounf Dr. Kau Scarpettea and friends, loved each one of the main characters.

So I bought Book of the Dead and Scarpetta. I read Scarpetta first, just to see if is was as good as some people thought. Usually, I won't read books out of order in a se...more

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Jan 12, 2009 Samantha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Throughout the course of the Scarpetta series, Cornwell has done an exemplary job fleshing out the characters, having them grow, exposing their faults, frailties, strengths and complexities. I almost feel like I've come to know these people personally.

In that regard, 'Scarpetta' is probably Cornwell's finest book to date. The relationships she creates between the characters.. the sheer intimacy of the scenes she scripts (and I'm not talking about sex here).. are vivid, engrossing and very human....more

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Jan 01, 2009 Jennie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2008, i-own, fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Disclaimer…I love this series, I really do…I feel like part of the family so this review might be a bit over-the-top!

I cannot stand the third person writing in the last third/half of the series…it is disgusting. It took so much away for me to not be inside Scarpetta’s mind. I have complained about this before in other reviews and comments on the series…it just makes me crazy. Even when I am deep inside the story, lost in the faraway world of forensics, murder and relationship drama, the third p...more Disclaimer…I love this series, I really do…I feel like part of the family so this review might be a bit over-the-top!

I cannot stand the third person writing in the last third/half of the series…it is disgusting. It took so much away for me to not be inside Scarpetta’s mind. I have complained about this before in other reviews and comments on the series…it just makes me crazy. Even when I am deep inside the story, lost in the faraway world of forensics, murder and relationship drama, the third person puts up a road block to really “feeling” the story! I miss Scarpetta’s mind and the storytelling that happened in the first person.

The characters have been around throughout most of the books so I expect to connect with them all in each book. This may be selfish but it is true! For me, it took awhile to reconnect with Marino. I had a hard time coming to grips with the acceptance of previous Marino incidents. It was not until the end of the book could I feel comfortable with him within the storyline again.

The last major bummer for me is ingrained in the way Patricia Cornwell writes these novels. The first two thirds of the book sets up the ending, in a more storytelling and slow manor. I think of a casual but purposeful walk. Whereas, the last third of the book is written almost as if there won’t be enough pages left so the conclusion must be fast and all inclusive. I think of this as a brisk walk turned into mad dash towards the finish line. I love the suspense that it brings but the ending always happens in such a whirlwind, I feel like I miss things.

This particular book was a good continuum from the previous books in the series. I love the familiarity that I have with the characters now. It makes it clear to see how they change and flow during situations. I can almost predict some comments and responses to situations because I have “been around” so long. The plot was interesting but just slightly predictable. I was leaning towards the guilty party, but not until mid-way through the book, which is always a nicely written story. The relationships between the characters are growing with their age and changing life pressures. Benton and Scarpetta were wonderful, always struggling to find a good balance between independence and dependence. Very true to their long relationship.

One of the best things about Patricia Cornwell’s novels is that she continues to have new storylines and situations. I realize with real life crime, there must not be a shortage of inspiration for deviant and disturbing behavior but as the plot thickens in each of the novels, I rarely feel a repeat. Except, maybe in that all the good people survives, well in the last few books at least!

One thing that kept running through my mind while reading had to do with the characters age. I wonder how long the Scarpetta series will last…she and Benton are getting older and soon reality will catch up with them. I hope it isn’t too soon though!
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May 28, 2009 Kate rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-didn-t-care-for, didn-t-finish, cops, crime, nyc

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

5 likes · like · see review

Feb 24, 2009 Alm Melson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: those longterm fans who have been driven away

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Readable. Cornwell used to be one of my favorite authors and the Scarpetta series one of my favorite series, but I didn't even make it through the book before this one (or maybe it was two books back AND the one before this one). I actually bought this one because I got the wrong impression from the synopsis on the front flap and thought it was a prequel. It's not that I'm usually a fan of prequels--I'm definitely not--but I thought it might somehow take me back to what was once a good experienc...more

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Feb 20, 2009 crayolaab rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, crime, fiction

Somewhere along the way, I think I missed a Kay Scarpetta book. Either that, or it's just been so darn long since I read the latest one - I spent a good portion of this book trying to puzzle out whether I had missed a book in which some fairly significant things happened, or whether these things took place between books and i really wasn't supposed to know more details.

I really like the characters in these books, and I find forensic pathology fascinating, so I keep coming back for more, but I h...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Kristie Scarle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm only going to write this 1 review for the 15 Scarpetta books I've just read.

- okay Patricia, we know you're gay - you don't have to continue with the gay superhuman propaganda

- macroadenomas are not as grave as you make them out to be. this really riled me. My husband and I both have them

- Scarpetta is wrong to forgive and forget with Marino in such a short space of time

- having Lucy so rich is ridiculous. It just enables you to write stupid things because Lucy can afford anything

- there are...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Inga rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

Patricia Cornwells 16. Scarpetta-Roman trägt den Namen der Protagonistin.
Und so kann es nicht anders sein, dass der Fall - wieder einmal, muss man leider sagen - davon geprägt ist, dass Scarpettas Erfolg (sie ist in diesem Band für den Fernsehsender CNN tätig und kommentiert spektakuäre Fälle) die Neider auf den Plan ruft. So wird sie Opfer eines rufschädigenden Blog-Artikels, der die Geschehnisse aus Totenbuch aufdeckt (Marinos betrunkener, unschöner Übergriff auf Kay), wird vom paranoiden Tatv...more

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Jun 16, 2012 AJ rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, fiction

Seventh book I read on my Kenya trip.

I borrowed this book from the school library at the second school I worked at. Not sure why they had it, but likely a volunteer left it after reading it. It's about 500 pages and I finished it in 2 days - so it's a very easy read.

I found it all a bit ridiculous. I've never read a Cornwell book before, and I've heard she is a really great writer, but I didn not find that to be the case.

I did not particularly like the characters, and found their interactions to...more

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Apr 26, 2012 Kathryn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, 2012

I am not a fan of abridged books, in any format (I don’t trust them); but I agreed to listen to this book on a sufficiently long car trip, and pretty much enjoyed the book; I do think there were several plot holes, improbable situations, and insufficiently tied up strings, but I do not know if that is a fault of the book itself or of the abridgement process.

It is New Year’s Day of 2007, and Dr. Kay Scarpetta is called from her job as a Medical Examiner in Massachusetts by her husband, forensic p...more

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May 29, 2011 Bev rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-mystery

The trip to China was obviously my period of reading books out of sequence. If you have not read "Book of the Dead," the book which precedes "Scarpetta," by all means read that book first, as something that happens in that book permeates "Scarpetta." Unfortunately, I could not get a copy of the previous book in China, so I had to read the sequel and hope to read "Book of the Dead" soon. I had been disappointed in Cornwell's last few books that I read, but "Scarpetta" shows the thing that made me...more

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May 02, 2010 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-crime

About a year has passed since her nightmarish encounter with buddy Pete Marino, and Kay Scarpetta has relocated to Boston and NYC with her new husband, Benton Wesley. Just as some salacious gossip about Kay and Marino appears in the schlocky online column "Gotham Gotcha", Benton phones Kay with a request to see a murder suspect who will talk to no one but her. The suspect is a little person, the victim, his girlfriend, also a little person, and he vehemently denies having killed her. But the cop...more

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Feb 04, 2010 Christy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This 16th installment of Cornwell’s series featuring forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta finds Scarpetta living in Massachusetts with an apartment in New York, both shared with her husband, former FBI forensic profiler Benton Wesley. Scarpetta’s called to Bellevue, where Oscar Bane, a man suspected of killing his girlfriend, is being held. Bane insists he will talk to no one but Scarpetta and is adamant that he did not murder his girlfriend, although all evidence points to him. Bane also claims h...more

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Dec 30, 2009 Bob rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Scarpetta is called in to NYC when a possible murder suspect says he will only talk with her. This draws her in to a case where she , as a Dr. can’t discus what her patient learns about the suspect as the plot thickens. Someone has been putting information about Scarpetta on a gossip web site and its more fiction than fact an none of it good. Marino is now working for the DA Berger and when Berger hires Lucy’s computer firm to work on computers involved in the case, it’s inevitable that Marino,...more

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Dec 11, 2009 Wendell rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: trash-horror-guilty-pleasures

This is a poor (not to say pathetic) entry in the Scarpetta series, and has all the earmarks of being written by somebody from a fanfic group. It’s probably not, though, unless they’ve faithfully recreated all of Cornwell’s most irritating writerly affectations (the insistence on starting sentences with nouns that have no articles is the one I’d personally choose to throttle her for). Stylistics aside, this novel is virtually incomprehensible at the level of plot. When I finally got to the part...more

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Aug 30, 2009 Mazola1 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Scarpetta, the latest Kay Scarpetta mystery from Patricia Cornwell, is a book that evokes schizophrenic reactions from its readers. It isn't that you love it or you hate it. You love it and you hate it. It does have many faults that seem calculated to rub a reader the wrong way. Among these are characters that are getting old and predicable, too much detail, an almost self-conscious use of medical and computer jargon, too many references to events from prior books in the series, a plot line that...more

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Jun 19, 2009 Rod rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the sixteenth book in the series following Dr Kay Scarpetta, a medical examiner. It is difficult to review a thriller without giving away elements of the plot to someone who has yet to read it, but we can safely start with part of the synopsis from Ms Cornwell’s website.

‘Leaving behind her private forensic pathology practice in Charleston, South Carolina, Kay Scarpetta accepts an assignment in New York City, where the NYPD has asked her to examine an injured man on Bellevue Hospital’s p...more This is the sixteenth book in the series following Dr Kay Scarpetta, a medical examiner. It is difficult to review a thriller without giving away elements of the plot to someone who has yet to read it, but we can safely start with part of the synopsis from Ms Cornwell’s website.

‘Leaving behind her private forensic pathology practice in Charleston, South Carolina, Kay Scarpetta accepts an assignment in New York City, where the NYPD has asked her to examine an injured man on Bellevue Hospital’s psychiatric prison ward. The handcuffed and chained patient, Oscar Bane, has specifically asked for her, and when she literally has her gloved hands on him, he begins to talk—and the story he has to tell turns out to be one of the most bizarre she has ever heard.

The injuries, he says, were sustained in the course of a murder . . . that he did not commit. Is Bane a criminally insane stalker who has fixed on Scarpetta? Or is his paranoid tale true, and it is he who is being spied on, followed and stalked by the actual killer? The one thing Scarpetta knows for certain is that a woman has been tortured and murdered—and more violent deaths will follow. Gradually, an inexplicable and horrifying truth emerges: Whoever is committing the crimes knows where his prey is at all times. Is it a person, a government? And what is the connection between the victims?’

The narrative is complex but, for me, not so successful as the previous title, The Book of The Dead. Wondering why this was I came up with three reasons.

Someone is writing nasty and personal columns on a website called Gotham Gotcha. Some of these deal with Scarpetta, and the nastiness of the content is explained by the fact that the author has been misled about her over a period of time and in great detail. However, we are led to understand that being nasty is the author’s usual style and he/she is described on page 12 (paperback edition) as ‘notoriously vicious.’ Or again, on page 491 as writing ‘cruel and vindictive columns’. In one of these the author describes Scarpetta’s ‘sidekick’ as ‘a poor fat maggot’ (page 24) and he/she has not been misled about him. Towards the end of the book we discover who the author actually is and I found it hard to believe. Even harder to believe are Scarpetta’s reaction and that of her husband, Benton. Benton decides that the author had ‘a conscience, a sizeable one’ (page 492). Writing to Oscar Bane, Scarpetta says’ ‘Suffice it to say, Terri had a very kind heart’ (page 493). Despite the attempted justifications, I find these conclusions at odds with the columnist’s behaviour.

The second problem I have concerns the perpetrator’s failed attempt to kill one of the book’s main characters. He is trained in the use of firearms, shoots this person at close range, yet the bullet bounces off her skull and she lives to fight another day or, in this case, to appear in the next Scarpetta book.

My third problem, which doesn’t matter so much, is that I am not convinced by the portrayal of the relationship between Kay and Benton, now married. Other readers may well be happy with this.
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May 19, 2009 Aaron rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had almost given up on this series, which centers on medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta. I had come to really enjoy the earlier novels. She started her career in state service in Virginia, moved to the Carolinas for a short time to work with her niece, Lucy, and now she is working out of Boston. She and the rest of the characters usually get drawn into murder mysteries and must work to solve them. Her companions include her now-husband Benton Wesley, the earthy Detective Pete Marino, her lesbi...more I had almost given up on this series, which centers on medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta. I had come to really enjoy the earlier novels. She started her career in state service in Virginia, moved to the Carolinas for a short time to work with her niece, Lucy, and now she is working out of Boston. She and the rest of the characters usually get drawn into murder mysteries and must work to solve them. Her companions include her now-husband Benton Wesley, the earthy Detective Pete Marino, her lesbian & techie niece Lucy Farinelli, among others.

Kay and the gang are pulled in to investigate when a gentleman named Oscar Bane is being accused of murdering his girlfriend. Both Oscar and his girlfriend, Terri, are little people. Oscar has signed himself into Bellevue Hospital, which specializes in care for the mentally ill in Manhattan.

Oscar, an instructor of the hisotry of psychology, is asking for Kay in the hopes that by talking to her and bringing her in on the case that he will be exonerated. He seems to believe that both he and his girlfriend were being stalked, and that whoever was doing that was responsible for his girlfriend's death. This is surprising since all the initial findings point toward his guilt.

The book also allows Cornwell to help her characters recover from the shocking end of the previous book in the series Book of the Dead. Each of them comes to terms with what happened at the conclusion, and this allows them to recover what had once been a tight-knit family.

I know the reviews were pretty tough on this one, as they have been with most of Cornwell's recent books, but I saw a lot of what I liked about her earlier books in it. It was an interesting case. The characters were well-drawn and developed while also being able to focus on the details of what was going on. My only complaint is that I thought this 500-page tome could have been a bit thinner. There were times when Cornwell became a little repetitious with the content, and her editors should have convinced her of the positive effects of tighter righting. There may have been a few too many subplots and side-characters meant to distract the reader (think red herring). With that said, I was never bored.

On an interesting side note, (according to ABC News) it appears that Fox 2000 has purchased the movie rights to the series and will be having Angelina Jolie starring in the role of Kay Scarpetta.(less)

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Jan 07, 2009 Christia rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a Christmas gift as opposed to a book I would have selected on my own, but for many years I was a Patricia Cornwell fan so I was still pleased to get it. However, it quickly reminded me why I read her books (interesting plots and strong characters) but also why I stopped reading them (extreme sexual violence and the fact that the plots became more and more outrageous). I had not read Book of the Dead but was quickly brought up to speed. I also have to add that I may have set my own “boo...more

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Jul 09, 2009 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, murder-mystery, series, medical

I'm sick of this series, so perhaps my review of the book is tarnished due to that. I do feel the serial killer/murder mystery plot of this book is better than Cornwell's last two. I like the conspiracy theory feel to it (someone is always wstching...). Unlike her last two, I felt that Cornwell was on her game with the medical jargon and the thriller-esque aspect of the story.

But I am sick to death of Benton, Kay, Lucy, and Marino. They are all SO MESSED UP!!! And it's kind of incestuous how th...more

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Jun 28, 2009 Kay rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

It took me an entire week to read this 500 page book. I know I had an unusually busy week, but I believe that if I had a couple of ‘can’t put down books’ I would have gotten several read. The plot was good on this book, but Cornwell seemed to concentrate on characters more than plot.
I’ve been reading the Kay Scarpetta books since she first started writing them. I used to really like the characters but it seems as through the years, they’ve turned dark. I noticed it first with Lucy in the books...more

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Apr 02, 2009 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: forensic-sciences

Patricia Cornwell's latest entry in the Kay Scarpetta series (named after both the protagonist and a book being written as part of a plot element) took a while to get moving. While this series usually grabs me and does not let go, a rather confusing series of events takes place early in the book.

When a woman is murdered, the natural suspect is her boyfriend, who insists on being checked into the hospital and will not allow anyone to examine him except Kay Scarpetta. Oscar insists to Scarpetta th...more

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Nov 24, 2010 Manuela rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: giallo

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Non è stata una totale delusione come tutte le sue ultime fatiche, anche se non si avvicina neanche da lontano ai suoi primi successi, inarrivabili.

Questo perchè per me, come forse per molti, la Cornwell, e i personaggi che ha creato, Kay Scarpetta in primis, si sono esauriti con Punto di origine, con la morte (poi rivelatasi una finzione) di Benton. Lì dovevano terminare le vicende, con la morte, dolorosissima ma reale e forse necessaria, di uno dei personaggi principali. Tutto quello che c'è...more

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Jan 03, 2010 Susie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked this one . . . rather much??? That expression popped up several times throughout this book, and it always stuck out--does anyone actually say it? I don't think I've ever heard anyone say it before, and I don't think I've read it before in a book by Cornwell, or anyone else, although of course I could be wrong and have no way to check. But as it occurred again and again throughout this hefty tome, I came to realize that its very vagueness--its double vagueness, if you will--was somehow ap...more

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About Patricia Cornwell

Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working as a computer analyst at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. At her first signing, held during a lunch break from the morgue, Patricia sold no copies of Postmortem and fielded exactly one question – an elderly woman asked her where she could find the cookbooks.

Postmortem would go on to win the Edgar, Cre...more Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working as a computer analyst at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. At her first signing, held during a lunch break from the morgue, Patricia sold no copies of Postmortem and fielded exactly one question – an elderly woman asked her where she could find the cookbooks.

Postmortem would go on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure prize – the first book ever to claim them all these distinctions in a single year. To date, Cornwell’s books have sold some 100 million copies in thirty-six languages in over 120 countries. She’s authored twenty-three New York Times bestsellers.

Patricia’s novels center primarily on medical examiner Kay Scarpetta along with her tech-savvy niece Lucy and fellow investigator Pete Marino. Over twenty years, these characters have grown into an international phenomenon, eventually winning Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development.

Fox 20th Century currently owns the rights to the Scarpetta film, with Angelina Jolie slated to play Kay.

Patricia’s literary career expands outside the realm of the Kay Scarpetta series – she’s authored a definitive account of Jack the Ripper’s identity, two cookbooks (Food to Die For and Scarpetta’s Winter Table), a children’s book (Life’s Little Fable), and a biography of Ruth Graham. She’s also developed two other series based on Win Garano, an upstart Boston detective, and Andy Brazil, an enterprising Charlotte reporter.

Though Cornwell now lives in Boston, she was born in Miami and grew up in Montreat, North Carolina. After earning her degree in English from Davidson College in 1979, she began working at the Charlotte Observer, taking whatever stories came her way and rapidly advancing from listing television programs to covering the police beat. Cornwell received widespread attention and praise for her series of articles on prostitution and crime in downtown Charlotte.

From the Charlotte Observer, Cornwell moved to a job with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia – a post she would later bestow upon the fictional Kay Scarpetta. It was during these years that Patricia penned Postmortem and began submitting it to major publishing houses in New York, without initial success.

When not writing from her Boston home, Patricia tirelessly researches cutting-edge forensic technologies to include in her work. She flies her own helicopter, proudly emblazoned with the Scarpetta Crest, everywhere that might inspire her - from dinosaur bone beds to submarine factories to islands which host rare marine specimens.

Her interests span outside the literary: Patricia co-founded the National Forensic Academy and created a Chair in Organic Science at Harvard. She appears as a forensic consultant on CNN and serves as a member of Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital’s National Council, where she advocates for psychiatric research. She’s helped fund the ICU at Cornell’s Animal Hospital, the scientific study of a Confederate submarine, the archaeological excavation of Jamestown, and a variety of law enforcement charities. To stay in shape, she remains an avid tennis player.

Patricia is also committed to funding scholarships and literacy programs. Her advice to aspiring authors: “Start writing. And don’t take no for an answer."

Her latest book, Red Mist, is available now.(less)

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Scarpetta (Kay Scarpetta #16)

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