Patricia Cornwell in general

Patricia Cornwell, for those who are unfamiliar with her work, is one of the world's foremost figures in the world of crime fiction writing. To date she has written 11 books, all of which have hit and stayed in the best sellers lists worldwide selling over 70 million copies at th elast count and earning her a £20 million advance on her next three books. No mean feat that is for sure when you consider her less than auspicious start to life. Cornwell, now 44, was born to a manic depressive mother who abondoned her to the doorstep of tele-evangelist Billy Graham when she was just 9 years old when she was at her lowest ebb. She believed the Graham's(who she ...  Read the complete review

I was first introduced to Patricia Cornwell two years ago when I met my boyfriend. He had been reading the books for a few years, and as I was stuck for a new read he suggested I divuldge into the world of Dr Kay Scarpetta. Cornwell has a magnificant way of writing that really gets the reader involved in the story. She is very graphic and technical, whilst still explaining everything, so you always know what is going on. Although the Scarpetta series is written in the first person, it was not difficult to read, and gave a better emphasis on the feelings that Cornwell wanted to show. Dr Scarpetta is the chief medical examiner in Richmond, and with the help of ...  Read the complete review

I eagerly await each one of Patricia Cornwells novels and she doesn’t write quick enough for me! Reader: So what does she write about? She mainly concentrates on a series about a Chief Medical Examiner called Dr Kay Scarpetta, which are my personal favourites. Her stories are of the thriller genre but Patricia has written books other than the Scarpetta series, including two about the police called “Hornet’s Nest” and “Southern Cross” which I personally could never get into. And although they’re popular, Patricia seems to want to stick with the Scarpetta series. Reader: So what else has she written? ...  Read the complete review

Patricia Cornwell is a genius! Her books about Kay Scarpetta have entertained me for several years now and I'm always waiting in line to buy the new ones from Amazon. I'm not so keen on her new characters in Hornet's Nest and Southern Cross. But let's stick to Kay Scarpetta - the character that has made Patricia Cornwell's reputation as one of the best crime/thriller writers around. Contrary to many other books in this genre we actually get to know the characters in this book. Having read every single one so far I feel as though I know Scarpetta and every word I read is so vivid inside me that when I put the book down after finishing the last word, I ...  Read the complete review

In popular writing, as elsewhere in the arts, there's a simple but highly useful formula: quality(x) = 1/hype(x). That is, the quality of a writer is inversely proportional to the hype he or she receives. Where x=Patricia Cornwell, the formula predicts that her writing, which is hyped to high heaven, should stink to high heaven too. And it does, by Æsclepius it does. She writes the way a fish farts: to no visible effect. Except boredom and incredulity, that is. In fact, I nearly wound up on a pathologist's slab myself after sampling her first novel, because my jaw dropped so low and so fast it nearly crushed my trachea. But to call her prose leaden would ...  Read the complete review