Oct/Nov 2011 Group Read: Postmortem

[[deleted user]]

The nominator of the 1st place book was not willing to moderate, so I have chosen the 2nd place book for this month's Group Read.

Lucy will be the moderator for Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell.

[[deleted user]]

Question 1 on Postmortem-What type of perpetrater have we in this book? 2. Who was the fourth victim ? 3.Where was she found? 4.What does Benton Wesley say about the perp in his meeting with Marino and Scarpetta? Lucy

[Susan Jo]

Wow, how lucky can I be. I just picked this book up at a garage sale on Sat the 8th for $.10. Will start reading immediately.

[Jannene]

Woot! Way to go Susan Jo!!

[Teresa]

For ages now I have been meaning to go back and reread the early Scarpetta novels, this book being chosen for the monthly read has prompted me to go dust off my copy and see if it is as good as I remember. I'm looking forward to seeing other people's opinions and joining in the discussion.

[Bea]

I just downloaded the audiobook. Will be joining you in a few days.

[Linda]

Will sign up for my audio copy from the libary this week - will be my first Patricia Cornwell book

[Bea]

This was my first time reading anything by Patricia Cornwell. It was an enjoyable enough listen but did not make me want to pick up the next in series.

This is probably a matter of personal preference. I generally like my mysteries less graphic and, if possible, with a little bit of humor. Postmortem is a deadly serious tale of a serial rapist and killer. I also thought the red herrings were a tad obvious. I'm glad I read it, though, as I've heard so much about the series.

[L.J.]

I read this book long ago and remember loving it. I think my husband loved it too and he doesn't usually read crime fiction (except mine). I'll have to see if I still have it on the shelf somewhere or if I can find an inexpensive digital file.

L.J.
Secrets to Die For
Thrilled to Death
Passions of the Dead
Dying for Justice:

[[deleted user]]

FOR HAYES Where are you as far as help with Postmortem??? LUCY

[Ethan]

I started this series with the second novel and loved it, but I lost interest with the series after reading The Body Farm. Is this novel worth going back chronologically?

[[deleted user]]

Lucy wrote: "FOR HAYES Where are you as far as help with Postmortem??? LUCY"

I'm here... What do you need help with?
(for specific Q's please send a PM ... I don't check the threads every day)

[Teresa]

I didn't enjoy rereading this novel as much as I expected. What I did notice was a lot of little things that are minor in this story are picked up on in subsequent books. This does help the whole series hang together well but as most of the things I noticed are what led to me end up disliking Kay Scarpetta I probably won't bother to reread any more of the series.

[[deleted user]]

hayes,What sort of questions should I be asking re:Postmortem ??? LUCY

[[deleted user]]

Hayes Were my first questions ok ??? Lucy

[[deleted user]]

Quite frankly I didn't like Scarpetta much in the first books of the series because you really didn't feel as though you knew her well at all.She seemed rather cold and aloof to me then. However in her last 2 books Cornwell appears to be having her melt somewhat and it's making her seem more human. @10:45P.M. ON10-23-11

[Suzanne]

That is good to know Lucy - (about Scarpetta becoming a bit more human as time passes). I loved this book when I read it a long time ago. I'm not enjoying it quite as much this time - I think its a combination of my tastes changing and the main character grating on me a bit. I suspect it will grab me more as I get farther into the book.

[[deleted user]]

Lucy wrote: "Hayes Were my first questions ok ??? Lucy"

Lucy wrote: "hayes,What sort of questions should I be asking re:Postmortem ??? LUCY"

Anything is fine Lucy. If you give your opinions, as you did in message 16, then people can answer that too.

I'm not reading the book this time round, although I read it many years ago. I remember loving it, however, and eagerly carried on with the series, which unfortunately (as others have mentioned) fizzled out. I read to book 4 I think and then stopped for other reasons.

And I kind of liked the aloofness. I suppose at the time the book was written it was "new". There weren't many female characters of that kind and it was a novelty.

[[deleted user]]

From, LUCY What do you think of Pete Marino as in his portrayal of the perp to Scarpetta in Postmortem?? In fact,what is your opinion of Marino in general.@7:45p.m. on10-24-11

[Suzanne]

That is a hard one to answer Lucy, because I remember Marino from other books. Even though Scarpetta seems pretty disgusted with Marino, I kind of like him =).

[Teresa]

I think Marino is a better cop than Scarpetta credits him with being. Benton recognises that he has a valid contribution to make to the investigation but Scarpetta is so caught up in her belief that anybody who disagrees with her has to be an idiot she cannot see that his experience may offer insight that is valuable.

[[deleted user]]

I don't remember that aspect of Scarpetta, Teresa. I recently mooched a copy of this; I may have to bump it up TBR a bit.

[Teresa]

I think it relates that aspect of her character that was earlier described as aloofness. It is interesting to see how different readers interpret different characteristics as I didn't get aloofness. In my first reading of this book when it was new I didn't get many of the aspects of her character that by the later books I found really disagreeable. When reading the latest one I found her to be patronising and condescending and rereading this first one I see the start of that attitude peeking through. It is difficult not to have my opinion coloured by events in subsequent stories.

[Jannene]

Lucy wrote: "From, LUCY What do you think of Pete Marino as in his portrayal of the perp to Scarpetta in Postmortem?? In fact,what is your opinion of Marino in general.@7:45p.m. on10-24-11"

I don't like Marino at this point. He's so dead set on the husband being the perp that he's not willing to look at other theories.

I'm only to chapter 5 so I obviously don't have a lot of basis for my comments yet.

[[deleted user]]

Let's face Marino's a pig but a very good cop. He needs stroking,however, or he produces zip ;unless he's told to do something by scarpetta or Wesley. Notice at the beginning of the book Wesley praises for things he's gone ahead and done. Scarpetta thinks this is ridiculous.Benton knows better She thinks of Marino as a pig and wouldn't consider complimenting him for anything at this point in the series.Notice though when Marino describes how he sees the perps actions @one of the crime scenes Scarpetta can't really find fault with it even though she would never admit it.LUCY @9p.m. on 9-25-11

[Jenny]

Marino is a good contrast to Scarpetta's cooler, more scientific and professional approach to crime. Marino represents the rough around the edges, direct and sometimes crude, street cop, who takes a more emotional approach. He suspects the husband of Lori Petersen from the start, based on a few observations as well as his experience as a cop with the spouse/lover of the victim often being the perp.
It's strange reading this early book in the series since I read further books prior to it; I'm reading Marino backwards in time.
He's not the most likeable character now, and Cornwell certainly doesn't describe him as physically appealing, but maybe he is what Scarpetta needs and vice a versa.
And we can foresee early on that the contrast will bring some friction and/or development in the relationship. I'm only on chapter 5, so I'll see what happens! Right now it feels like Marino represents the cop with a hunch and Scarpetta the more detached follower of procedure and testing.

[Jannene]

I finished the book. It was a good read. It seemed slow in the beginning. The book had many twists and some unusual medical issues that was crazy. It picked up pace about 1/4 of the way through the book and kept picking up momentum. I am going to read the next book just not yet. ;)

[Linda]

Trying to find the audio for this one - I may need to switch counties.

[Laurin]

I accidentally started a lot later in the series, so it's nice to go back to the beginning. I like it so far. It's odd to think that this book is older than I am, and that technology is going to be soooo far behind.

[T]

Laurin wrote: "...It's odd to think that this book is older than I am, and that technology is going to be..."

"Ow", said the Old Fogey. LOL....

[Jenny]

Laurin wrote: "I accidentally started a lot later in the series, so it's nice to go back to the beginning. I like it so far. It's odd to think that this book is older than I am, and that technology is going to be..."

Laurin, I started later in the series, too. A neighbor lent me a copy of Potters Field and then I read Trace and most recently Blow Fly . I agree that it's really weird reading the series backwards! But, like you said, nice to see how the characters started out. I do have to keep reminding myself that this book was written in 1990 and that the world was so different back then! I had to laugh when Dr Scarpetta talked about how DNA testing and evidence was "new." If she only knew then how many tv shows would be based on that today....

I just finished the book, and not sure if I'm going to read Book 2 now or continue reading the most recent stories in the series. I really enjoyed Post Mortem though. It was great meeting Marino for the "first time." What a character! It was also cool reading Lucy as a youngster--we see the roots of who she becomes.
Hope you enjoy the rest of the book!

[Jenny]

T wrote: "Laurin wrote: "...It's odd to think that this book is older than I am, and that technology is going to be..."

"Ow", said the Old Fogey. LOL...."

T, don't worry, I'm a fellow Old Fogey. However, I'm NOT laughing that I'm older than the book. Have a good night! Hope you liked the book!

[Laurin]

Jenny wrote: "Laurin wrote: "I accidentally started a lot later in the series, so it's nice to go back to the beginning. I like it so far. It's odd to think that this book is older than I am, and that technology..."

It was a culture shock to go back to 1990. I don't think we would have any crime shows like we do today without DNA and all that other stuff.

[Donna]

I started reading this series not to long ago and have read "Postmordem" up to "The Body Farm" I put a copy on hold at my local library for the next one in the series titled "From Potters Field". I like the way the books flow and they are relatively quick reads.

[Chris]

Only the second Kay Scarpetta that I've read & it was good to read the first of the series.
I found it a little slow at first with the plot seemingly not developing too much. I guess that's how murder investigations are though. I also thought that the book was showing it's age a bit. Computers in 1990 were knew and all the explanations in this book were probably innovative at the time. today it just seemed a bit dated.
But the whole thing picked up in the last quarter and came to an exciting climax with all loose ends tied up.
My first time with this book group. I thoroughly enjoyed it & look forward to this months choice.

[Sandra]

I read this book a long time ago and have since read the series. I was too hooked on Karin Slaughter's books to reread this one, but I was very tempted to because I'd like to reread how Kay's relationship with Moreno began. Didn't they meet in this first book? I must admit that the last few in the series weren't as good for me as the earlier ones, but I still plan to read any Cornwell writes about Scarpetta because I really enjoy the characters and like seeing what they are up to currently.

[Suzanne]

Kay and Marino didn't meet in this book, but she certainly didn't know him well. It felt to me that Kay thought of Marino as a close-minded slob, even when his actiions proved otherwise. So I guess he's maybe grown on her as the series progressed =).

[Autumn]

Sandra wrote: "I read this book a long time ago and have since read the series. I was too hooked on Karin Slaughter's books to reread this one, but I was very tempted to because I'd like to reread how Kay's relat..."

I adore Karin Slaughter! After reading her books I thought Postmortem was boring.