Point of Origin: Scarpetta (Book 9) - Softcover

Cornwell, Patricia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0425222381 ISBN 13: 9780425222386

Publisher: Berkley Books, 2008

Synopsis

The clues to a series of remorseless killings go up in smoke--and only Kay Scarpetta can find them in this #1 New York Times bestseller from Patricia Cornwell.

"Sears its way into the psyche...Ablaze with Cornwell's finest, scariest writing."--Atlanta Journal Constitution

The devastating fire tore through the horse farm, destroying everything it touched. Picking through the wreckage, Dr. Kay Scarpetta uncovers human remains--the work of an audacious and wily killer who uses fire to mask his brutal murders. And when Scarpetta learns that her old nemesis, Carrie Grethen, has escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is somehow involved, the investigation becomes personal. Tragedy strikes close to home. And Scarpetta must match Grethen's every move with one of her own to douse the inferno of evil that threatens everyone around her...

Includes an Introduction by the Author

About this title

Review

Patricia Cornwell's novels about Kay Scarpetta, forensic pathologist and nemesis of arrogant criminals, have long since become one of those series which admirers buy automatically, knowing and liking what they are going to get. For once, Scarpetta is learning, as well as lecturing, as she finds herself involved with a series of deaths by fire, and a killer who has learned to make her job difficult. The series' running villainess, the charming malign Carrie Grethen, once the lover of Scarpetta's niece, has escaped from custody with vengeance on her mind. Cornwell's own troubles of recent years find an echo in Carrie's media offensive--Holmes never had to cope with Moriarty writing to The Times to say that it was all a frame-up...

As always, the strong point of Patricia Cornwell's books is less the plotting than the exposition of technical details. She has the gift of fascinating with apparent trivia--just what are the metal shavings and clumps of ash caught in the victims' hair?--that turn out to lead in to the stuff of nightmares. Cornwell's reinvention of the forensic thriller combines expertise with anger at the inventiveness of human evil. --Roz Kaveney

Review

"Fans will rejoice: It's classic Patricia Cornwell."--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Gripping...Her hottest adventure in years."--People

"Patricia Cornwell retains that finer Dickensian indignation with the ways of the world that has been neglected by the small landscapes of much so-called serious writing."--The Washington Post

"Her most engrossing effort in years...By the time you get to the gruesome denouement, you're emotionally spent, but satisfied."--Los Angeles Times

"Fans...will welcome this tale of twisted minds and the gory havoc they cause...chilling."--Publishers Weekly

"Creepy doings ...The technical material...continues to fascinate."--The Wall Street Journal

"Cornwell's best in a long time...a fiery climax."--St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Edition details

• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0425222381
• ISBN 13: 9780425222386
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 432