Status
Available
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Pocket Books (2011), Edition: Reprint, 448 pages
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:#1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell's classic forensic thriller, featuring gutsy medical examiner Kay Scarpetta. A reclusive author, Beryl Madison finds no safe haven from months of menacing phone callsâ??or the tormented feeling that her every move is being watched. When the writer is found slain in her own home, Kay Scarpetta pieces together the intricate forensic evidenceâ??while unwittingly edging closer to a killer waiting in the sh
User reviews
LibraryThing member MsBeautiful
Good mystery, especially for someone who likes science/anatomy
LibraryThing member hscherry
Patricia Cornwell has to be one of my favourite authors and yet again she has delivered a fabulous book. A gripping tale, strange twists.. Loved it!
LibraryThing member ct.bergeron
Reclusive author Beryl Madison finds no safe haven from months of menacing phone calls -- or the tormented feeling that her every move is being watched. When the writer is found slain in her own home, Kay Scarpetta pieces together the intricate forensic evidence -- while unwittingly edging closer
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to a killer waiting in the shadows.... Show Less
LibraryThing member BrianDewey
Cornwell, Patricia. Body of Evidence. Pocket Books, New York, 1991. Best Cornwell book so far. This one has a great mystery at its center, and a wonderful ``aha!'' moment when you find out how the killer got to his first victim. Heads-and-shoulders above the other Cornwell books because it sustains
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its pace throughout and its ending fits so well. Show Less
LibraryThing member Darrol
Good self contained volume in this series.
LibraryThing member jepeters333
Author Beryl Madison is brutally murdered and her missing manuscript holds secrets.
LibraryThing member darlingtrk
Body of Evidence is a reasonable detective story. It has a good premise and likeable characters. The reader is very talented. I enjoyed the interplay between Scarpetta and the detective. They had a great like / dislike going on. The plot is a little dated with the smoking and the prominent gay
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theme, but the story is believable and changed location enough to be interesting: VA to NY to Key West. After reading a lot of detective fiction this story does not stand out as one of the best, but it is not predictable, and it is not overblown. Above average. Show Less
LibraryThing member FMRox
Medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, MD and Detective/Lieutenant Marino team together to solve the brutal stabbing death of a local author. Other murders ensue and the plot thickens.
I have gone back to read this book after reading over 10 other Scarpetta novels. The plot is much tighter than her later
I have gone back to read this book after reading over 10 other Scarpetta novels. The plot is much tighter than her later
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novels. The characters are not as drab and as depressing in much later novels. Scarpetta smokes and it's really annoying as Cornwell tends to fill a lot of her pages with this activity. Marino isn't as nasty and is less subterfuge with his emotions. No Lucy either. Things are better before things got too complex. Show Less
LibraryThing member kristinabrooke
This was my intro into the world of Kay Scarpetta and while it was interesting it was rather predictable. The "Killer" was of no interest to me and the story becomes almost too staged for there to be any real suspense. However, Kay and Marino are very interesting characters whose opposing
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personalties blend well. I am a Patricia Cornwell fan now and would love to see how her writing has progressed. Show Less
LibraryThing member JoAnnSmithAinsworth
Enjoyed this book, even though the forensic description was a bit burdensome.
LibraryThing member IllanoyGal
Once again, another page-turner from Patricia Cornwell about Dr Kay Scarpetta.
LibraryThing member kaylol
I expected a more dynamic ending to this incredible book.
LibraryThing member miketroll
One for lovers of gruesome autopsy reports. After all Cornwell' s serial killers in Richmond VA, I don't understand why anyone still lives there.
LibraryThing member Gatorhater
Beryl Madison is writing a book in seclusion in Key West Florida, when she decides to return to her home at Windsor Farms in Richmond, Virginia. Shortly after her arrival, she's violently murdered at her very secured residence that has a high class burglar alarm system. Arriving at the murder scene
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is chief medical examiner for Virginia, Dr. Kay Scarpetta, during her investigation she's questioning how the murderer gain access to Beryl's residence, was the alarm set, did she let the killer in or was there a delay in the alarm too set. About the only physical evidence that was optained during the search were different types and colors fibers on Beryl and within her residence. The investigation heats up rapidly when Cary Harper an associate of Beryl is murdered in his driveway. Beryl was in a bitter dispute over a contract he had with Cary that was signed years previous while livig in Culter Grove, she thought that she was being taken totally advanaged off. Now the plot thickens !!!! Show Less
LibraryThing member es135
This is a stellar novel by Patricia Cornwell. I especially enjoyed the kind of gothic tone carried in the scenes with the reclusive old lady and her spooky home. The technology, or lack thereof, of the early 90's made me chuckle a few times. For me, the book was kind of slow for the first 2/3 of
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the novel. Fortunately the last third brought a faster pace and the ending actually gave me chills. Overall, crime readers will probably enjoy this one, and it is alway nice to read about a strong female investigator. Show Less
LibraryThing member EmScape
An author receiving threatening phone calls decides to hide for a while down in Key West and work on her memoir. She’s murdered the very night she sets foot back in Richmond. Kay Scarpetta, Richmond Chief Medical Examiner, investigates the case along with the intensely dislikable Lieutenant
Cornwell’s writing is fast paced, technical enough to be realistic to those familiar with law enforcement and psychiatry, but also understandable to the lay person (although I’m not sure why the ME is getting so involved, it’s been my experience that they mostly limit their investigations to autopsies and evidence found on the body).
Unlike a lot of female protagonists in crime novels, I can’t fault Kay very much with putting herself in dangerous situations, but again, she does get much more involved with the case than one would expect from someone in her job description and much, much closer to the killer than necessary.
I mentioned this in my review of the first Kay Scarpetta book, Postmortem but it bears repeating: if your lengthy and intensive investigation leads you almost to the point where you know who/where your killer is and said killer shows up at the protagonist’s home/work/favorite restaurant, etc. and tries to kill him or her, your entire investigation is pointless. You pretty much could have waited until he showed up and saved yourself a lot of trouble. I get that it’s nice to have a suspenseful, dangerous climax, but that does not have to happen on the investigator’s own turf.
I like a good crime novel, and this had enough twists, turns, and possible suspects to keep me entertained, but the ending seemed a little pat and coincidental. I would rate it as average. 3 stars.
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Marino. It looks like a psycho stalker did the deed, but the missing manuscript has an unscrupulous and greedy agent complicating the investigation in order to get his hands on the valuable pages. Cornwell’s writing is fast paced, technical enough to be realistic to those familiar with law enforcement and psychiatry, but also understandable to the lay person (although I’m not sure why the ME is getting so involved, it’s been my experience that they mostly limit their investigations to autopsies and evidence found on the body).
Unlike a lot of female protagonists in crime novels, I can’t fault Kay very much with putting herself in dangerous situations, but again, she does get much more involved with the case than one would expect from someone in her job description and much, much closer to the killer than necessary.
I mentioned this in my review of the first Kay Scarpetta book, Postmortem but it bears repeating: if your lengthy and intensive investigation leads you almost to the point where you know who/where your killer is and said killer shows up at the protagonist’s home/work/favorite restaurant, etc. and tries to kill him or her, your entire investigation is pointless. You pretty much could have waited until he showed up and saved yourself a lot of trouble. I get that it’s nice to have a suspenseful, dangerous climax, but that does not have to happen on the investigator’s own turf.
I like a good crime novel, and this had enough twists, turns, and possible suspects to keep me entertained, but the ending seemed a little pat and coincidental. I would rate it as average. 3 stars.
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LibraryThing member buffalogr
Another great Scarpetta book. Fun read/listen with twists of plot that engage the reader.
LibraryThing member ecw0647
The heroine is Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the Chief Medical Examiner in Virginia. Oh, no, you say, another Ouincv. Wrong, corpse-breath. Scarpetta is intelligent, short, (we don't know whether she is attractive or not, a relief) and she doesn't swoon over each drooling Sylvester Stallone imitation that
Anyway, Scarpetta is investigating the murder of a well-known novelist who has returned from the Florida Keys where she has been hiding from someone who keeps threatening to kill her. The night of her return she inexplicably opens the door to the murderer who does just that. The plot thickens as her former boyfriend, a lawyer, appears on the scene worried about her safety and to prevent her (he says) from crossing swords with a crooked entertainment lawyer (redundancy?) who desperately wants the victim's last manuscript. The book is filled with fascinating detail such as the difference between dextromethorphan and levomethorpan which has to do with right and left and why one is legal and the other not. Enough about the plot.
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happens by. (That's something I've always wondered about: How does Travis McGee, the blue-Rolls-Royce-truck-driving hero of John MacDonald's colored-titled novels avoid AIDS, since he seems to have the self-restraint of a male nymphomaniac?Anyway, Scarpetta is investigating the murder of a well-known novelist who has returned from the Florida Keys where she has been hiding from someone who keeps threatening to kill her. The night of her return she inexplicably opens the door to the murderer who does just that. The plot thickens as her former boyfriend, a lawyer, appears on the scene worried about her safety and to prevent her (he says) from crossing swords with a crooked entertainment lawyer (redundancy?) who desperately wants the victim's last manuscript. The book is filled with fascinating detail such as the difference between dextromethorphan and levomethorpan which has to do with right and left and why one is legal and the other not. Enough about the plot.
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LibraryThing member AliceAnna
One of her older ones before people say she started phoning it in. I liked this one. The plot was probably a bit of a stretch, but the story moved along without being predictable. Good character development and writing style.
LibraryThing member christinejoseph
good @ Kay West / Richmond Murder — many twists
Reclusive author Beryl Madison finds no safe haven from months of menacing phone calls -- or the tormented feeling that her every move is being watched. When the writer is found slain in her own home, Kay Scarpetta pieces together the intricate
Reclusive author Beryl Madison finds no safe haven from months of menacing phone calls -- or the tormented feeling that her every move is being watched. When the writer is found slain in her own home, Kay Scarpetta pieces together the intricate
Show More
forensic evidence -- while unwittingly edging closer to a killer waiting in the shadows.... Show Less
LibraryThing member kristina_brooke
This was my intro into the world of Kay Scarpetta and while it was interesting it was rather predictable. The "Killer" was of no interest to me and the story becomes almost too staged for there to be any real suspense. However, Kay and Marino are very interesting characters whose opposing
Show More
personalties blend well. I am a Patricia Cornwell fan now and would love to see how her writing has progressed. Show Less
LibraryThing member Neverwithoutabook
I enjoyed this second novel in the Kay Scarpetta series. Much improved over the first. The "who dunit puzzle" held true to the end. I was also pleased the romance storyline went the way it did although I wasn't really on board with it. Wrapped up quite nicely.
LibraryThing member bnielsen
USA, 1990.
Body of Evidence starter den 30 oktober 1990. Datoerne er baseret på bemærkninger på side 283 og 311-312 om at 10 april 1979 var for 11 år siden. Pete Marino er for nylig forfremmet til Lieutenant og har fået en ny Ford i stedet for hans gamle Plymouth. Han er i starten af 50erne.
Kay Scarpetta undersøger det brutale knivdrab på Beryl Stratton Madison, som er en storsælgende forfatter. Hun flygter fra Richmond og tager til Key West, hvor hun få timer efter bliver myrdet med knivstik - 27 styks. Det sker den 29 oktober 1990, Cary Harper bliver dræbt den 10 november 1990, Sterling Harper bliver dræbt den 11 november 1990.
Al Hunt bliver dræbt den 16 november 1990.
Morderen er en Frankie, som også forsøger at dræbe Kay, men hun skyder i stedet ham.
Thriller-agtig krimi
Body of Evidence starter den 30 oktober 1990. Datoerne er baseret på bemærkninger på side 283 og 311-312 om at 10 april 1979 var for 11 år siden. Pete Marino er for nylig forfremmet til Lieutenant og har fået en ny Ford i stedet for hans gamle Plymouth. Han er i starten af 50erne.
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Mark James, som kom sammen med Kay Scarpetta da de læste jura mere end 15 år siden, dukker op igen.Kay Scarpetta undersøger det brutale knivdrab på Beryl Stratton Madison, som er en storsælgende forfatter. Hun flygter fra Richmond og tager til Key West, hvor hun få timer efter bliver myrdet med knivstik - 27 styks. Det sker den 29 oktober 1990, Cary Harper bliver dræbt den 10 november 1990, Sterling Harper bliver dræbt den 11 november 1990.
Al Hunt bliver dræbt den 16 november 1990.
Morderen er en Frankie, som også forsøger at dræbe Kay, men hun skyder i stedet ham.
Thriller-agtig krimi
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LibraryThing member readingover50
I enjoyed reading this book. Dr Scarpetta's personal relationships are not as developed in this book as they are in later books, but that is what happens when you read books out of order. I liked that the story was about an author. The central mystery was a little convoluted. The killer seemed
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pretty random, but maybe that was the point. Sometimes bad things just happen. I am looking forward to reading more in the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
This was the second novel featuring Chief Medical Examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta, and established her working relationship with Lieutenant Pete Marino, Chief of the detective Division of Richmond Police Department, and Benton Wesley, one of the FBI’s Leading profilers. For once, Dr Scarpetta’s
In this case the victim is a successful historical novelist, who is found dead from a brutal assault in her own house. It gradually emerges that she had been stalked for a while before her death, and the terror caused by this was so great that she had decamped from Virginia to the Florida Keys. Running low on funds, she had eventually returned to Richmond, oinly to be murdered on her first night back in the city. What made it seem even more strange was that, despite her fear, she appeared to have let her murderer into the house.
As usual with this series, there are various political shenanigans lurking under the surface, exposing the tensions between the different elements of a criminal justice system in which senior office holders are always conscious of the need for re-election.
Scarpetta is a very empathetic character, and also highly plausible. However, I felt that the plot in this case was weaker than in its processor (Post Mortem), and I feel that if I had picked up this book first, I might not have bothered with any others in the series.
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forensic skills in the examination of murder victims play less part in the resolution of the crime, in which she is thrown more onto her own resources as a detective.In this case the victim is a successful historical novelist, who is found dead from a brutal assault in her own house. It gradually emerges that she had been stalked for a while before her death, and the terror caused by this was so great that she had decamped from Virginia to the Florida Keys. Running low on funds, she had eventually returned to Richmond, oinly to be murdered on her first night back in the city. What made it seem even more strange was that, despite her fear, she appeared to have let her murderer into the house.
As usual with this series, there are various political shenanigans lurking under the surface, exposing the tensions between the different elements of a criminal justice system in which senior office holders are always conscious of the need for re-election.
Scarpetta is a very empathetic character, and also highly plausible. However, I felt that the plot in this case was weaker than in its processor (Post Mortem), and I feel that if I had picked up this book first, I might not have bothered with any others in the series.
Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1991
Physical description
448 p.; 4.13 inches
ISBN
1439135711 / 9781439135716