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Title: Body of Evidence (Kay Scarpetta Mysteries (Paperback)) by Patricia D. Cornwell ISBN: 0-380-71701-8 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 01 April, 1992 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99

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Average Customer Rating: 4.08 (53 reviews)

Rating: 4
Summary: Cornwell is very good at plotting
Comment: This mystery involves a series of deaths that somehow all tie together -- yet it is far from clear how, as there are no clear suspects. After the first 50 pages or so, this turned into a real page-turner for me.

The plot involves a young female writer who is being stalked and, at the very beginning of the story, stabbed to death in her own home. Who has been stalking her, why, and is that the killer? The writer may have been writing her autobiography, which would include things someone didn't want written. This could be a motive -- but it could be something else entirely. Eventually Scarpetta (the medical examiner/detective in Cornwell's mysteries) is herself being stalked, apparently by the same killer -- whoever that is. A missing manuscript may hold the key clue to the identity of the killer, but where is the manuscript? And why has a an old lover suddenly reappeared in Scarpetta's life and then just as suddenly disappeared? There's a lot of questions to be asked and the pace of the book is pretty quick.

Now the down side: I find the editorial voice in Cornwell's mysteries annoying, and it's a shame, because the books are so well researched and plotted. But Scarpetta isn't very likable, and Cornwell clearly places great priority on physical beauty. Good people are generally attractive and thin, unattractive people are either comic, annoying, or evil. The narcissism of the author also seems to come through in her character Scarpetta, who is supposed to be wonderful and admirable, but just isn't. Scarpetta comes across as self-absorbed, arrogant, and shallow.

Otherwise, this is a very well-written book.

Rating: 3
Summary: I hope her later books are better than this one
Comment: If Patricia Daniels Cornwell were one of only a few mystery writers around, I would tell prospective readers sure, go ahead and read *Body of Evidence*, as it's basically a decent read. However, it's sufficiently flawed and uneven that it leads me toward recommending that people bypass this book in favor of others that are more worthy of attention.

The protagonist Dr. Kay Scarpetta is interesting enough and the insights into the work of a forensic pathologist are morbidly intriguing (yes, I used to watch "Quincy" on TV, too). But what makes or breaks a mystery novel is the way that the plot is structured and the characters relate to one another. In a first-rate mystery, there are slight *possible* clues offered early on that later turn out to be pivotal to how the case is resolved. Here, however, Cornwell commits one of the cardinal sins of mystery writing: she creates a virtually unrelated character as the primary villain, one who isn't even introduced until halfway through the book. This results in an almost deus-ex-machina feel to the resolution of the crime(s). She also presents an unbelievably hokey identity twist that serves to bring some rather banally presented romantic interest into the story.

I can say no more here, lest I act as a "spoiler," boo, hiss. Let me add, however, that her descriptions of places are not a strong point. Having spent time in Key West, I didn't particularly feel that the island "came alive" through her depiction of it.

Overall, this book seems to reveal a still inexperienced writer who simply is still feeling her way along within the difficult but also overcrowded mystery genre. I am hopeful that some of Cornwall's later books are more sophisticated and well thought-out in terms of their structure; this one is simply not a first-rate work.

For people looking for really well-done mysteries, I would recommend the work of the following authors: Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Harlan Coben (usually good, but not always), and Sue Grafton. I'm sure there are many, MANY more, but I hardly would claim to have digested them all.

Rating: 5
Summary: Scarpetta rules~
Comment: This book, really went into nice character development. By the middle of it, I felt like Beryl Madison, the first victim, was a real person, and I too wanted to know how she died, why and who did it.

I had a very hard time putting it down, when it was 4am, its a page turner. The evidence and clues are amazing, and they really make u think.

Overall, an excellnt medical thriller mystery....And despite what anyone says, I like Scarpetta, shes not harsh or feministic. She's just perfect.