Product Description
Patricia Cornwell reads from three of her finest titles featuring Dr. Kay Scarpetta as a feisty and engaging murder mystery heroine. Included in this collection are Cruel and Unusual, All That Remains and Body of Evidence. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

audio books are great
My husband drives a lot so audio books are great for him to listen to ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This is not the next Scarpetta novel!
This is not the long-awaited next novel in the Kay Scarpetta series!Instead, it is merely a French translation of "The Last Precinct". ... I rated this as two stars because most readers of this English-language review are likely to be disappointed by the book, since it is not a new book as they were hoping for. If I had written this review in French I would have given the book 4 stars. ... Read more

Product Description
Tres mujeres han aparecido salvajemente asesinadas en sus propios dormitorios. El responsable de estos crimenes actua siempre los sabados, de madrugada, y deja muy pocas pistas. De manera que cuando la doctora Kay Scarpetta, jefa del departamento de Medicina Legal de la ciudad, recibe una llamada a las 2:33 AM, supone que algo grave ha sucedido: hay una cuarta victima. Kay Scarpetta recurrira a los ultimos avances en medicina legal y tendra que verselas con aquellos que quieren sabotear su trabajo, y es que no a todo el mundo le gusta ver a una mujer en el puesto que ella ocupa. / 1st installment of the Scarpetta Series. On Saturdays, and under the cover of night, in Richmond, a human monster strikes leaving a gruesome trail of stranglings that has paralyzed the city. Medical examiner Kay Scarpetta suspects the worst: a deliberate campaign by a brilliant serial killer whose signature offers precious few clues. With an unerring eye, she calls on the latest forensic advances to unmask the madman; but this investigation will test Kay like no other, because it is being sabotaged by someone who wants her dead. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

disappointed in the shipping method
the books i purchased a few weeks ago did not yet arrive at their destination in san jose, costa rica. what takes so very long????????? i didn't mind paying the shipping price but i am wondering when the books will get there.

A good beginning to a series...
Reading "post Mortem" is like getting to know the Chief ME of the Commonwealth of Va., up close and personal. To know what ticks her off, what are her strengths, and her weaknesses, how she is at a glass ceiling where she must fight with male colleagues, out to prove her inadequate in more than one ways - all of that and much more.

This being the first in the Scarpetta series, the book shows a lot of promise, by showing a gritty ME, who will not buckle under any pressure, may it be from the unidentifiable serial-killer lurking in the dark streets of Richmond, or the Police Squad officers, and more importantly, the bureaucracy that is out to prove her incapable of her job. Kay shows she's made of steel, and so is her determination to nab this killer, who proves as elusive as the proverbial needle-in-the-haystack.

Pete Marino, the Police Office who later goes on to become a regular feature in her investigations as a partner, makes a good appearance (if slightly cliched, at times!). A lot of the characters are introduced, including FBI profiler Benton Wesley, Scarpetta's sister Dorothy, her niece Lucy, and the headstrong Abby Turnbull. The introductions are enough for you to want to watch out for them in subsequent books in the series.

This being a story written many years ago, one has to give a wide margin for technology and CSI techniques that have over years become matured and some have even become outdated. But once you give that latitude, the story is in fact, written convincingly, and must've been a clincher of its times.

The only drawback I found in the book was that Cornwell's writing style was not yet perhaps mature enough to write less dramatic content. At times, the drama gets to you, but the suspense is retained well, and the mystery is revealed in an entirely convincing series of steps.

A good read for all Cornwell / Scarpetta fans.

Interesting but too many unneccessary details in some places
While I admit this was a good book and an interesting start for a series, the story was weighed down by unneccessary details. I also would have liked some of the characters to play a bigger role in the story. Like what was the point, rather, of involving Wingo in scenes which did nothing for the story? They were nothing interesting, rather mundane; they should have been edited out.

That's OK
An OK book, but not as good as "All that Remains". I really like this kind of plot, but it could be better.

A Story About a Psychopathic Killer
Post Mortem by Patricia Cornwell

This won an award from the Mystery Writers of America for the best first novel. It was based on a true crime in the Richmond Virginia area. A psychopath kills young women who live alone, striking in the early hours of Saturday. There seems to be no other pattern to the murders. The victims are tortured before they are strangled. There are few clues and no fingerprints. One victim is married, but lived alone as her husband lived away Monday to Friday; the husband becomes the chief suspect, as usual.

This story is told from the viewpoint of Kay Scarpetta ME, a single woman who has a high position in a man's world. Kay is resented by some. There is a sub-plot about a state Attorney-General who is a secret rapist. [What did she know and when did she know it?] There are many pages of details about the Medical Examiner's office. The author previously worked for that office, and as a police reporter. [My opinion is that the many details and characterizations slow the pace of action.] Kay's niece Lucy is shown as being a neglected and emotionally abused child; how will she turn out? Cornwell shows her knowledge of personal computers and software.

Agatha Christie's "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" was a best seller, although it violated the conventions of mystery fiction. This book also does that, but it seems more based on reality that way. Will Cornwell's future novels do as well? Does her political outlook find favor with her audience?

... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A superb book about a little known region
Lapland is not familiar to a good many people.Even though it encompasses a substantial part of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, say the word and most people think vaguely of reindeer, and that's about it.This beautifully written, excellently photographed book will change your mind quickly.

You will learn that Lapland is one of the last areas of Earth from which the ice sheets retreated.It is also the land of the Midnight Sun, as the striking cover photograph demonstrates. The photos and text will show you dramatic proof, particularly with respect to the lakes of Finland, and Sweden's Sarek National Park, the largest in Europe.To those who have explored Rocky Mountain National Park or the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, these pictures will evoke many pleasant memories.

Also discussed in detail is Lapland's varied wildlife, including bear, reindeer, birds, northen pike, and, of course, the fabled lemming.Writer Marsden's narrative of these animals is particularly engrossing.He also investigates the many seabirds, especially in his facinating chapter on the Norwegian Lofoten Islands and the famous Maelstrom whirlpool.

"Lapland" also discusses the Lapps, those people who still live by following and guiding the reindeer on their annual migration.The Lapps' ingenuity and perserverance in a severe climate is amazing.

I recommend this book very highly, as it is endlessly interesting.Enjoy ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Carry Me Back to Old Patricia!
Patricia Cornwell has recently become one of my favorite authors, with her cover to cover suspense and intrigue, and her in-depth knowledge of the world of forensic medicine.That seemed to be secondary to the endlesscolloquial dialogue of Bubba, Smoke, Weed and the charming Divinity. Southern Cross went nowhere, and stayed there.The ending did create someexcitement; not how it ended, but that it finally did end.However, likesome of the addicts about whom she writes, I am looking forward to my nextCornwell fix.Just because you have one bad glass of wine doesn't meanthat you're going to give up drinking!

Enjoyable humor
Ms. Cornwell's attempt at a humorous book captivated my attention and I stuck with it all the way through.I became interested in the characters and cared about what became of them.Unfortunately, the author doesn'tseem to have cared as much as I did.The ending was a jumbled web oftangled loose-ends, without a really satisfying tie-up of plot-lines. Nonetheless, it was worth the read, and I wish she would do it again withmore patience and care to the plot, as well.

Don't waste your time!
I have read many of Patricia Cornwell's books, and have thoroughly enjoyed them all -- until now. Honestly, my impression of this book is that Ms. Cornwell had a publisher deadline to meet and had absolutely nothing tosubmit, so she threw this together. The first 3 or 4 chapters should havebeen a good indication to me that I didn't want to finish this book, butbeing familiar with her other work, I kept forging ahead, waiting for it toget better. It never did. In a review of a John Grisham book, I mentionedhis character development was lacking compared to some of his other works.In this Cornwell book, there were no characters, only caricatures. Thestory line was unimaginative, and the most intelligent actor in the bookwas Deputy Chief West's CAT!

A Reader from Indiana
I was very disappointed in this book.I thought the characters were stereotypes and the women were not believable.The romance between West and Brazil is just plain boring.Why don't they communicate? They areboth supposed to be intelligent individuals. I think Ms. Cornwell shouldgo back to her excellent books with the forensic pathologist.

A good page turner
I liked this book - I finished it in two days.I found the characters both simple and deep, and I could even identify with a few of them.I enjoyed the way that every action my a seemingly minor character wasjustified by a short profile or history of that character.In addition,the dialogue was lively, and often funny.I liked reading this book.Iwould read it again.Did I learn anything?Not really - but I got achance to escape for a few hours, which was my intention in reading it. ... Read more

Product Description
Author: Patricia Cornwell ... Read more

Product Description

Two great Patricia Cornwell audio titles for the price of one. All that Remains and Cruel and Unusual.

All that Remains:

A serial killer is loose in Richmond, specializing in attractive young couples whose bodies are invariably found in the woods months later –– minus their shoes and socks. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kay Scarpetta finds herself tracking a killer who scrupulously eliminates every clue, rendering all her

forensic skills useless. This time it's her courage and intuition on the line in a race against time.

Cruel and Unusual:

When convicted killer Ronnie Joe Waddell is executed in Virginia's electric chair, he becomes what should be a routine case for Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta. But after Waddell's execution, everyone connected to him begins to die – including a member of Scarpetta's staff. When crucial records disappear from her files, Scarpetta comes under fire for incomeptence. Caught in a web of political intrigue, she must fight to free herself from murderous insinuations and threats to her own life. She soon finds herself retracing Waddell's bloody footprints, following a trail that might lead to long–hidden secrets deep within the state government. Either the truth will set her free – or unleash upon her a punishment both cruel and unusual.

Customer Reviews (5)

Christmas Buyer
Fantastic!Item was here well before Christmas! I would buy again from this seller in a heart beat.

Patricia Cornwell on CD
I listened to these CDs on a recent trip and was very pleased.They are well done, hold your interest and are well-spoken.I thoroughly enjoyed them.

Murder Thriller
I found these stories lacking. My sister has the unabridged version and she says they are much better.My advise is to be careful and buy only unabridged versions.

Remaining Unusual
An absolutly enjoyable read/listen. Great entertainment! Hard to put down because you want to keep going!

review
I didn't listen to the book because it was abridged.I detest abridged books so I gave it away.Next time I will be more careful about what I buy, and examine the fine print before purchasing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Predictable
I had the opportunity to listen to this book when I was making a 9 hour drive. Not bad but predictable. Didn't put me to sleep obviously, but could have been a little less predictable. Would I read or listen to other booksby Ms. Cornwell: Yes. ... Read more

Product Description
La brillante y mordaz doctora Kay Scarpetta se ha instalado en Charleston, donde ha establecido un moderno laboratorio forense en el que trabaja con su equipo: su sobrina Lucy Faranelli, Rose y Pete Marino. En esta ocasion, Scarpetta viaja a Italia para investigar la cruel muerte de Drew Martin, una joven y famosa tenista cuyo cuerpo mutilado ha aparecido en el venerable centro historico de Roma. El asesino es apodado el Hombre de Arena por el macabro residuo que deja, una de las escasas pistas halladas en la escena del crimen. Las contradictorias pruebas dejan estupefactos a Scarpetta, a Benton Wesley (psicologo forense amante de la doctora) y a los carabinieri italianos. Pronto, Scarpetta y Wesley descubren una inquietante conexion entre la muerte de la tenista y el cuerpo no identificado de un joven en Carolina del Sur. Todo indica que se enfrentan a un asesino mas mortifero de lo habitual. ... Read more

Product Description
Before taking her vows, Sister Rose was Maggie Weaver, a Newcastle policewoman who suffered severe trauma while uncovering a serial killer. Nursed back to health by nuns, she joins their Order. In her new calling she finds herself sent to London to run a hostel for the homeless. Here, while doing good works, she combats prejudice and crime. As Sister Rose attempts to save a homeless woman from a local gang boss, events crystallize, taking her back to Newcastle, the scene of her nightmares, to play out the final confrontation against drug traffickers, murderers and old enemies in the police. She finds her spiritual self and a new identity. She is healed through faith and forgiveness. Survival, trauma and grief, can the human spirit triumph, can good prevail over evil despite everything. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A first rate thriller
This is the first in the Sister Rose series of crime thrillers. It features a highly unusual, but completely believable main character, an ex-policewoman turned nun. How this transformation came about is skilfully told to us by Sister Rose herself, in tantalising snippets that just make you want to plough quickly through the novel.

Nik Morton knows how to write a thriller. His style initially made me think of Georges Simenon, in that it is clipped and laconic, but also wonderfully descriptive. And how! It is not surprising that he won a runner up place in the 2006 Harry Bowling Prize for the high body count in the first chapter. It is a case of lights, camera - action! And once you have started, there is no stopping. There is more to come, all meticulously described in a manner that makes you wonder whether he has spent part of his career at crime scenes.

The chapters are short like Dan Brown's. They all have pithy titles that tempt you in, then they end as cliff-hangers that make you just want to read the next.

The characters are all well drawn, especially Sister Rose herself. As details of her traumatic earlier life are revealed you worry for her as she finds herself the focus of much unwanted attention. There is a serial killer who will make your spine tingle in Jack the Ripper fashion, and there are old demons awaiting her as she revisits the scene of her nightmares

I think this is a first rate crime thriller, which also delivers a strong message. I look forward to reading the next.

great imagery and mood
Nik Morton has a great voice for creating mood and atmosphere. As you read the pages you find yourself "on" the streets of London, your senses soaked in the narrative. The protagonist has a strong voice and - despite being a nun - you find yourself relating to her from the start. Great read.

A crime thriller on several levels
Pain Wears No Mask by Nik Morton is no ordinary thriller. It has an extra dimension that constantly encourages the reader to take an interest in more than a tale of events. It is the book's central character that provides this extra dimension, because she seems to have two quite different identities. One provides the content of her tale, while the other informs her approach and motives.

As Maggie Weaver, the book's first person narrator is a policewoman in Newcastle. She is devoted to her husband, also a policeman, and is utterly involved with her work. Like many honest, hard-working law enforcers, Maggie is angered at the suffering of the victims of crime and outraged at the ability of the guilty to avoid punishment. Even greater ire is reserved for the bent cops that facilitate both outcomes. When Maggie Weaver, the policewoman becomes involved in a particularly brutal case, the final outcome affects herself personally, her marriage and her colleagues. The case is resolved, partially, but the mayhem it generates has permanent consequences.

Sister Rose works in a hostel for the homeless in south London. She has adopted her vocation as a mature woman, trained, taken vows and spent a couple of years as a missionary in Peru. It was there, high in the Andes, working with poor people who have to scratch for a living, that she truly understands the nature of her vocation. When, back in London, Sister Rose finds herself by chance involved in a complex, multiple crime, she resolves to accept the challenge to become involved, to pursue her privately-informed investigation of events. Sister Rose, the compassionate nun, and Maggie Weaver, the experienced crime fighter and policewoman are, of course, the same person.

Maggie's and Rose's stories are not presented sequentially, however. Nik Morton begins with the London crime which gradually reveals its relevance to what befell Maggie in Newcastle years before. Thus, both in form and content Pain Wears No Mask transcends its genre. Because of this the reader finds that Sister rose's future is also as interesting as her related past. When, via Peru, the story returns to Newcastle to confront the unfinished business of years before, Maggie and Rose combine talents, approaches and identities when events promise the settling of old scores and the possibility of reaching beyond the mere foot-soldiers of injustice.

Pain Wears No Mask is a well written, intriguing story. It will entertain those used to its genre, but it will also provide interest for the general reader.

Beneath The Mask
A different kind of witness potection for Maggie Weaver, now Sister Rose as she becomes a novice in a religious order to escape the awful memories of a traumatic and violent kidnap in the hands of the evil Dr. Face. But treachery follows her to London where she finds herself battling against the evil 'Mimic' and the thugs who control Sister Rose's old stomping ground in the North East. The novice is certainly no novice when it comes to battling against the forces of evil and the treachery of former colleagues. If you like your action fast and pacy, your body count high and your shocks electric, dip into Nik Morton's page turning thriller and be prepared for a high octane ride. Morton's eloquent prose and command of gut clenching narrative leaves the reader in no doubt from page one that the journey into the realms of crime fiction will not be gentle. Be warned! Be prepared! Beneath the mask, Sister Rose is compelling! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Terrible
I'm an IT person and I laughed throughout this entire book, that's how silly it is. This is completely dumb. The entire plot is dumb.

Disappointed
Having read many of the Ms Cornwell's books, I found this one most disappointing.I rarely put a book down without completing, but I found this book disjointed and not up to Ms Cornwell's normal standard. I forced myself to read about half way thru hoping there would be an improvement but finally gave up.

I love Cornwell, but
I love Patricia Cornwell and particularly the Scarpetta books, but this was unreadable for me.I sat down one night and read 80 pages and just quit.I was bored, unhappy with where I could see the plot was headed - graphic juvenile violence - and creeped out.

I feel bad saying these things because in the past I have eagerly awaited each new Cornwell novel, but I wish I hadn't wasted my time or money on this one.

No Bargain At Any Price
I have enjoyed several of Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta novels, but found this story hard to finish. The story is implausible in just about every respect from beginning to end. The Richmond Police Chief, her deputy and their young assistant are brought in from Charlotte on a short-term (one-year????) federal grant to clean up the Richmond department. No way is that going to happen. They all freak out when a kid hacks in to the Richmond cops computer system - don't they have an IT department? Somehow, this invasion cripples police computers all over the world! The story reels to an absurd conclusion when the police and interested bystanders play 'dog pile on the rabbit' to stop the bad guy, but somehow the chief herself has to come to the rescue.

A bad book ay any price. ... Read more

Product Description
Un asesino deja huellas,,, incluso donde jamas podría pensarse y es la cuarta víctima del sádico asesino.Entonces llega la doctora Kay Scarpetta que se ve progresivamente implicandose en la caza del monstruo.La primera novela de esta autorase ha convertido en un verdadero bestseller. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

a young reader
This book is pretty good. The author must have reasearched this book thuroughly. Her attention to detail is fantastic. Her charecters each are distinct individuals. Kay Scarpetta the main charecter is easily identified with. You identify with her devotion to her work and feel her fear when mean tricks are played on her. Although her career is a quite grusome one, she is devoted to her work. That is one thing that causes her many problems throughout the book. She is also foced to take care of her independable sisters daughter a child Lori who has been deprived love for most of her life.There are a few things that bother me though the outcome wasn't that much of a surprise. The clues basically directly point out the murderer. There are a few twists and turns in thew plot but nothing totally drastic. The clues alluding to Lori, a beautiful doctor's death are quite interesting though some of the clues are quite imaginative. This book at times can be quite grusome and i would not recommend this to anyone who hates grusome detail. After all Kay Scarpetta is a forensic scientist. Overall this is a pretty good book. It is entertaining enough but not any thing that you would remember in 10 years. ... Read more

Product Description
Kay Scarpetta acepta una mision en Nueva York donde la policia la ha requerido en el hospital penal psiquiatrico para que examine a un herido. El paciente Oscar Bane aquejado de enanismo se niega a ser reconocido por ningun otro medico. Cuando Kay comienza a examinarlo Bane le cuenta una historia absolutamente rocambolesca. Acaso Bane es un acosador obsesionado con Scarpetta? O quiza su relato paranoico es verdad y es el quien es espiado perseguido y acosado? Lo unico que Scarpetta sabe con certeza es que una mujer ha sido torturada y asesinada y que a esta muerte violenta la seguiran otras. Poco a poco emerge una inexplicable y horrible verdad: quienquiera que este cometiendo los crimenes sabe en todo momento donde esta su presa. La esperada 16. entrega de la serie de la doctora Kay Scarpetta no decepcionara a los lectores. Una de los mas apasionantes casos de la detective forense numero uno. ... Read more

Product Description
book ... Read more