Body of Evidence (Kay Scarpetta)

Another terrific Cornwell novel. Holds your attention throughout the book. Even my "non-reader" husband loved it!

In Body of Evidence - the second of the series, a young female writer named Berryl Madison is stabbed to death in her own home, & nearly decapitated. It appears that she was being stalked before she died. She was recieving strange, threatening phone calls a few times a month prior to her death. Then when her stalker scratched a heart into the side of her car - that was the last straw. Terrified, Berryl fleed to Key West, where she stayed for a while before she decided that she had to go home. But on the night of her return; she inexplicably lets her killer into her home, switching off the burglar alarm, & leaving her gun. did Berryl know her killer? Was this the same person who was stalking her? Dr Kay Scarpetta, the Medical Examiner of Virginia, begins to piece this together. The plot of this book is exellent. Everything seems to fit together as you read through it. At first everything is so unclear - why would she let him in?! But as Kay gathers more seemingly unrelated information, you get a better idea of what's going on. Once you're almost finished the book, you understand most of it. But there is still one mystery left. Who is the killer, & how did he get Berryl to let him in without causing suspision? Kay has also been recieving threating, obscene phone calls of late. She does the same as Berryl, packing her bags & heading off to Key West. When she returns, it is with the manuscript for Berryls autobiography, which she was working on when she died. But investigators had been unable to find it until now. When Kay arrives home, & soon after, goes to answer her door, she suddenly relises exactly what happened to Berryl Madison. But she has to live to tell the tale. The answer to that 'Why did she let him in' question is very interesting, creative. It'll leave you thinking 'oooooh!'. I like the earlier novels in the series because the characters are less complex, & the story is much more about the murders than it is about Kay & the other main characters. In my opinion, this is just as good as the first novel, Postmortem. But if you havent read that yet - I suggest you read it before you go on to this one. Not everyone will enjoy this book or the series as much as me, but I would recommend this book to anyone. I hope this review was helpful.

I loved the ending! When it was finally revealed how the killer gained entrance, I was surprised. A real page turner, I really enjoyed the read and highly recommend this one as well as any Cornwell book. She really knows how to bring the characters to life. Can't wait to read the next one.

I dare to say that this is one the best of Cornwell's works. Her style of writing is extremely intense and graphic and her dialogues are fast and witty. The story line itself is complicated and full of detail and grabs the reader until the very last page. Highly recommended to every one who enjoys a little terror and mystery. I also recommend this book to someone who hasn't given Cornwell a try yet. Once you read this one, you'll want to read them all!