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Scarpetta (Hardcover)

by Patricia Cornwell (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
RRP: £18.99
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  • This item: Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell

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    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 512 pages
  • Publisher: Little, Brown; First Edition, First Impression edition (24 Nov 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0316733148
  • ISBN-13: 978-0316733144
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 4.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 12,830 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #17 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Authors, A-Z > C > Cornwell, Patricia > Scarpetta
    #17 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Authors, A-Z > C > Cornwell, Patricia > Complete List

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Product Description

Review
'Cornwell still does it better than anyone else' Daily Mail 'Cornwell's books run on high octane fuel, a cocktail of adrenalin and fear' The Times

Product Description
Leaving behind her forensic pathology practice in South Carolina, Kay Scarpetta takes up an assignment in New York City, where the NYPD has asked her to examine an injured patient in a psychiatric ward. The handcuffed and chained patient, Oscar Bane, has specifically asked for her, and when she literally has her gloved hands on him, he begins to talk ? and the story he has to tell turns out to be one of the most bizarre she has ever heard. He says his injuries were sustained in the course of a murder ...that he did not commit. Is Bane a criminally insane stalker who has fixed on Scarpetta? Or is his paranoid tale true, and it is he who is being spied on, followed and stalked by the actual killer? The only thing Scarpetta knows for certain is that a woman has been tortured and murdered ? and that more violent deaths will follow...

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Customer Reviews

39 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (9)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:
 (7)
1 star:
 (9)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (39 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
48 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Comments by Michael Calum Jacques author of '1st Century Radical'., 27 Nov 2008
For those readers as yet uninitiated with Patricia Cornwell's writings, it is probably worth pointing out that Kay Scarpetta is the author's main protagonist in her series of crime novels, of which this is the latest, the 16th, in fact, as far as this reviewer is aware. Cornwell's 'Scarpetta' series of novels are noteworthy for her employment of 'up to the minute' forensic technology. The novels constitutes also, to some extent, a genuine, progressive series being interlinked with 'peripheral' characters (and not so peripheral ones, such as Pete Marino, Lucy Farinelli, and Benton Wesley et al) occasionally reappearing or being revisited.

Briefly, the fictional Dr. Kay Scarpetta was born in Miami, Florida and is of Italian parentage; she witnessed the death of her father from leukemia, and this has haunted her ever since and, as a pathologist, this spectre is imported into her professional life. This is a key element in Cornwell's Scarpetta novels and a key to understanding what appears to be a predominance of forensic and 'scene of crime' detail.

It is impossible to predict accurately whether or not the new reader, unacquainted with Cornwell's works, will be smitten by her hallmark features and style. Much emphasis rests upon forensic and pathological matters - with which the authoress is thoroughly at home in a professional manner. The books indulge in detail of the particular crime scene, victim etc. and Cornwell's characterization is usually detailed and often quite intricate. The reader is rarely, if indeed ever, allowed to stray far from the proximity and vulnerability of human mortality. Readers and fans, already familiar with Cornwell's works, will certainly be delighted with this one!

In this plot, as the eponymous title suggests, it is Scarpetta herself who becomes the focus of a killer's - and of a stalker's - unwelcome and unworthy attentions. She has left her forensic pathology practice in South Carolina, and accepted an assignment in New York City. Therein she is asked to assess an injured house patient - the forcibly restrained and cuffed Oscar Bane - in a psychiatric clinic. Bane has specifically requested to be treated by Scarpetta. Suffice it to say, without giving anything away, that the good Dr Scarpetta gets slightly more than she'd bargained for!

This was a riveting read with many interesting social and psychological themes thrown in for good measure. This reviewer is happy to commend this book to all who are not overtly phased by the peculiarities of the darker, human psyche.

Michael Calum Jacques (author of '1st Century Radical: the shadowy origins of the man who became known as Jesus Christ')




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23 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars YES! This is more like it!, 1 Dec 2008
By AvidReader (London, England) - See all my reviews
"Scarpetta" is the return to form we have all been waiting for! I started the book yesterday, and I'm now halfway through, but I wanted to share my first impressions. I think this is Ms. Cornwell's best Scarpetta novel since "The Last Precinct". Her writing seems tight and focused again; from the outset, the characters and the reader plunge into the investigation, and there's none of those awful (in my opinion) 'inside the killer's mind in real-time' sequences that ruined books like "Predator" for me. Here, the reader discovers things with the characters. I'll post again when I've finished the book, but the first-half is very promising. Thank you, Ms. Cornwell!!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Slow to start and at times confusing, 1 Jun 2009
By Bluebell (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
I prefer Kathy Reichs' books in this forensic science-genre, but have read quite a few by Patricia Cornwall and, like many of the other reviewers, didn't feel that this was one of her best. The story was slow to get going and I nearly gave up, but once it was rolling and the forensic evidence started to play a part it became more of a page-turner. The stuff about computers and the Internet is topical and interesting, though I don't know how much if it is actual fact. At times I found the narrative confusing but the story is sufficiently good that I wanted to finish it. It must be difficult to keep trying to find a new twist to murder stories and this was is verging on the preposterous.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Better but still meh
Although better than the messes of her last couple of books with the utterly unbelievable Dr Self, I found "Scarpetta" dull and plodding. Read more
Published 13 days ago by Brussels Sprout

1.0 out of 5 stars Scarpetta no longer cuts it!
Sorry Patricia but this latest offering has no guts, the story is laboured and dull I thought I'd give you one more chance (haven't rated your last two books) but I'm disappointed... Read more
Published 16 days ago by S. Hart

3.0 out of 5 stars A slightly better read from Cornwall
Kay Scarpetta is Patricia Cornwall's main character. She's a forensic pathologist (who's bit of a smarty pants) who, in this series of books has been based in Richmond VA,... Read more
Published 18 days ago by J. Bowen

2.0 out of 5 stars Gave up
This is the first Kay Scarpetta book that I have abandoned. I lost interest after the first 50 pages or so. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Ms. B. J. Green

1.0 out of 5 stars Huge disappointment
Used to be a Patricia Cornwell and Kay Scarpetta fan but not any more. It was a huge effort going through the first 50 pages and I just gave up. Read more
Published 24 days ago by LOUIS SCHEMBRI

1.0 out of 5 stars Hugely disappointing- a chore to read
My first Cornwell read . Found it boring. Hated the use in book mixture of surnames for so many people and christian names - had to draw a chart to remember who was who. Read more
Published 1 month ago by M. keenan

5.0 out of 5 stars scarpetta
The is the best book of Patricia Cornwell's in the scarpetta and I have read them all. You really dont know who's done it untill the end.
Published 1 month ago by S. K. Cooke

1.0 out of 5 stars Not One of Her Best
Some books catch your imagination from the very start. Some books are so difficult to put down they keep you reading until the early hours. Read more
Published 1 month ago by keith thompson

5.0 out of 5 stars Cornwell is back to her old tricks - Outstanding!
After a couple of slightly disappointing offerings, the fabulous Cornwell is back! 'Scarpetta' is riveting from the outset and the supporting cast all contribute to its... Read more
Published 1 month ago by J. Davey

1.0 out of 5 stars Very boring
The author, Patricia Cornwell, was one of my favorites. I read her books featuring Scarpetta as soon as they came out. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Seta

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