Customer Reviews

From Potter's Field (Scarpetta)

5 star:		(66)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

Another great book from Madame Medical Investigator Author Patricia Cornwell. Always well-researched, this time the book causes Dr. Kay Scarpetta, Marino and of course, FBI Agent Benton Wesley to investigate the death of a frozen naked woman propped openly in Central Park. Their path leads them to the parents of a psychotic serial killer, one of whom can see nothing wrong about her son and the other parent who would only see his if pointing a shotgun at the son's face. The woman's identity is a shock, as is Scarpetta's handiness with a side-arm. A must-read!

...and with this book, she has done it yet again.

The book does not start off too well, with the sherrif Santa bit being a bit confusing for the first couple of pages. I didn't like it. And i thought i might be in for a disappointing Cornwellian offering.

My, was i WRONG.

This book is yet another stunner. She has definitely veered away from the cunningness and cleverness which inhabited her first three books. But she more than makes up for it with a chilling plot and one of the most cold and clinical serial killers i have eve read of. Essentially, this is a serial killer novel, and as that it not especially original. But it is nonetheless a good one.

Marino, Benton, Lucy and of course Kay are back again for another great read. Cornwell's writing is sharp and to the point, and keeps the you turning those pages. I can't really put my finger on a reason why, but from the first time i read a Cornwell book i feel in love with the way she writes. It's simply...wonderful. I can't get enough of it. It's no more literate than the next person's, but for some reason i just relish every sentence she writes.

The plot here is sometimes scatty and random (as was Cruel and Unusual) but here, she pulls it off a lot better. I tend not to like books full of random killings, without rhyme or reason (yoo hoo, James Patterson, author of Violets are Blue, i'm talking in particular about you.), but here i really did. The randomness is chilling, and Tenple Gault is a super villain, who curdles the blood. He is just so...hateable. You loathe him absolutely. Especially when you find out how he treats his sister. You just hate him even more. With every part of i wanted him to die, die, die. It is hard to conceieve of anyone so cruel and horrifically terrifying than him. When Scarpetta talks to his parents, it's painful to read, even though it's fiction. It's an extremely moving scene, full of emotion. (As is the entire book.)

This book moves along relentlessly to it's absolutely brilliant conclusion. It is the best conclusion she has penned yet, down in the bowels of the New York subway. Dark and frightening, she really brings over the atmosphere.

I loved this book, as i have loved almost every single Scarpetta novel so far.

The identity of the first victim should come as a real shock.

I am currently taking a murder mystery class at my college. I have not read many murder mysteries before this class. We have read a variety of novels for this class, with the most number of novels by one author being three. The one Patricia Cornwell novel our class read is "From Potter's Field." I very much enjoyed this novel, though I think it should be considered a thriller instead of a murder mystery. The novel also had some hard to believe aspects about it, which were difficult for the members of my class to look beyond.

Why should this novel be labeled a thriller and not a murder mystery? Well, the reader clearly knows who the murder is. Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the Chief Medical Examiner, has the feeling the murderer is her "nemesis," Temple Gault with plenty of reason. The only mysteries are for her to prove Gault is the murder, identify the first body of the girl, "Jane" and of course to find Gault, before he finds her. A thriller is also more appropriate because it had several moments that were extremely suspenseful, the kind that makes the hairs on your neck stand up. There is a section of the novel where there is a murder in Kay's office building and she believes the killer is still in the building. As she walks around the building, you expect Gault to jump out at any moment. There is also another section in which a trap is set for Gault in NYC's subway system. Not knowing whether or not he'll show up had me on the edge of my proverbial seat.

As much as I liked this novel, there were several things that irked me about it. A Chief Medical Examiner seems more like an office, administrative position than a really, REALLY hands on job. Kay almost takes on the role of a detective. I could almost believe her occasional tasks of doing autopsies, but to travel to see a suspect's family seems over the top. Cornwell tried to combine too many types of people into just one character. Kay is the Chief Medical Examiner, technician, administrator, loving aunt and family member (sister and daughter), mistress, detective, seemingly EVERYONE'S friend, CIA/FBI associate, and still has time to be the nemesis of a serial killer. How the woman has time to eat is beyond me. Cornwell also did not take the time to really develop Kay as a character. It is far more difficult for a writer to show you what someone is like opposed to telling you information. Cornwell clearly is a teller, hence the really wordy and winded sections of the novel. This writing style is not as affective in writing a believable novel.

I did find a unique aspect of the novel for me, personally. I'm from NYC and grew up there. I really could visualize the sections of the novel that described Central Park, the Museum of Natural History and the subway area at the end. It just added a realistic element to the novel that initially bought my interest in it.

Overall, the novel's plot flowed for me, even with the occasional extremely unrealistic sections and poor writing. The ending was a big let down for me, but decide for yourself. If you're looking for a thriller with entertaining potential, give this Cornwell novel a try.

From Potters Field is one Patricia Cornwell's worst book she has written. It's not the characters, nope. It's not the writing that is wrong. It's the story that makes the book disappointing.

Temple Gault has struck again. This time we know this for sure. Both the readers and Kay Scarpetta do. Someone from Lucy's past is also back. The problem with this book is that Gault is not a strong enough villain to carry this book. He is not scary or very threatening. It's not exiting. Partly because we never get into his head we are always inside Scarpetta's. Even if Cornwell did venture inside his head I'm not sure if it would be that exiting. For a killer on the loose plot its very weak, of coarse the forensics are very good and original. But for the most part a very disappointing Scarpetta novel.

This was the first Scarpetta Novel I read. I was half way through the first chapter when I went back to the store and bought all the books in the series that came before. This is the best there has been. This book delves into the mind of a sadistic killer, Temple Gault. It can not get more terrifying than starring into his dead ice blue eyes. If you are into thrillers this is one that will keep you up all night and not just reading. Guaranteed to make you jump at any sound.

"Cruel and Unusual" was my first Scarpetta book, and when I looked on the jacket of "From Potter's Field" and saw that it would deal with Temple Gault again, I decided to read it next, hoping to see this killer get what he deserves.

Most of this book was pretty engrossing, even though I did have some gripes. Kay's affair with Benton is disappointing to me since she seems to pride herself on "doing the right thing." Lucy was insufferable in this one. She was younger in "Cruel and Unusual" and I could overlook her idiosyncracies, but she's older now and needs to get a grip - she almost seems to resent or dislike Kay at times but then turns around and loves her again. Also, Lucy's genius IQ and role as an FBI computer program writer who busts crime with her keyboard are beyond corny.

The best part IMO was the scene in the morgue, as others have said. I don't think I would have been able to put the book down if a tornado had ripped through my house while I was reading that part!

It is difficult to believe that a crazy guy high on cocaine most of the time could always be one step ahead of the police and FBI, brutally murdering people right under their noses and getting away with it.

But then the worst came. The ending. Wham, bam, it's over, with Temple Gault's fate implied but none of the juicy details I was hungering for. There wasn't even a page break - one second we're in the subway tunnels of New York, the next we're flying over Potter's Field. Huh?

Book six of the Scarpetta tales
with no sign of a halt
Another of the sub-series
that features Temple Gault

A woman's naked in the snow
that fell on Central Park
The killer taunts the CME
by leaving his trademark

The killer kills and kills again
always one step ahead
He'll likely stop at nothing
until Kay Scarpetta's dead

A network has been compromised
Her office violated
Scarpetta has to sift the facts
to see how they're related

A hidden camera sheds some light
Upon this creepy case
The ending wraps up quickly
with a subterranean chase

This one's no triumph for the Doc
She comes across as weak
Her private life's just one big mess
and things are looking bleak

Characters drift in and out
but leave no great impression
although the author ties loose ends
she's guilty of digression

I liked the last part of the book
especially the twist
The middle's slightly boring
but it's worth it to persist


Rated: 3.5 stars



Amanda Richards, May 13, 2007

Kay Scarpetta seems to be a very unhappy person at times, but she does get involved in some dandy murder mysteries--and this book is one the best in the series!

Temple Gault is still on the loose, focusing this time on Kay and her niece, Lucy. Temple likes to kill just for the thrill of it and never leaves any clues.

He centers in now on Kay Scarpetta, and it is up to her to stop him in matter what.

This book defines "thriller" and I could not put it down - especially the scene late one night in the morgue. What happens? Read and find out. You won't be sorry.

This was my first Cornwall book and I found it compelling in its descriptions and plot. She creates suspense that makes you want to finish the book in one sitting. I can't wait to read her previously published books.

This book, along with all others of Patricia Cornwell's, was wonderful. She is my absolute favorite author. Her plots are always very tense and cause me to want to stay up all night to finish the book. Ms. Cornwell will be anyone's favorite who loves the subject of forensic pathology and mystery all-in-one. I definitely recommend Ms. Cornwell's books...they are ALL a MUST read.