The Body Farm - Patricia Cornwell

Little Emily Steiner left a church meeting late one afternoon and strolled toward home along a lakeside path; a week later, her nude body was discovered, bound in blaze-orange duct tape. Called by the North Carolina authorities, forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta recognizes similarities to the gruesome work of a serial killer who has long eluded the FBI But as she tries to make sense of the evidence, she is left with questions that lead her to the Body Farm, a little known research facility in Tennessee where, with the help of some grisly experiments, she might discover the answer. It is Scarpetta alone who can interpret the forensic hieroglyphics ...  Read the complete review

I enjoy reading Patricia Cornwell's novels about death and murder. Her style of writing lends depth and drags you into the murder scence. The plot grabs you and won't let you go till the very end. Patricia Cornwell's The Body Farm features Kay Scarpetta, a consulting forensic pathologist for the FBI's Behavioral Science unit. Kay is a stubborn Italian who refuses to be scared off. Kay is shocked when Lucy, her neice, is accused of security violation at Quantico, FBI's main headquarters. Gualt pops up again when little Emily is murdered and is considered a suspect. Lucy's problems are mixed in the plotline while Kay is ...  Read the complete review

I am a great admirer of Patricia Cornwell’s books. I think her writing style is superb, her characters believable and developing rather than static, the quality of technical detail flawless, and the plots thoroughly gripping. So I am slightly confused as to how she managed to miss so badly with this one. The main problem is the plot. You can see the murderer from the beginning. I don’t want to give too much away, but a few things don’t add up in someone’s statement, and it is plain as day that she did it from about page 20. Which leaves you with 350 pages of watching Cornwell engineer ways to prevent the investigative team seeing it. ...  Read the complete review

It is exciting, fast moving, thrilling and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I love the depth in which Patricia Cornwell delves into her characters - we've seen Benton and Marino up close and personal, at their best and at their worst, now it's our turn to see Lucy. As is her usual approach, the characters are colourful and dramatic. With this title, I wasn't sure what I was picking up to read -- it gave me the mental image of a Frankenstein type book. The Body Farm is actually a research facility in Tennessee where Scarpetta discovers gruesome experiments that may lead to answering her questions and to finding Gault. So my original assessment ...  Read the complete review