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Body of Evidence
Patricia Cornwell Book Review

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Plot Summary of Body of Evidence
"A young author is murder in Richmond, VA. It's Dr. Kay Scarpetta's Job to find out who did it and why. As she probes deeper into the crime she finds herself sucked into a nightmare she never expected."
Michelle, Resident Scholar

"When up and coming author Beryl Madison ends up dead, Kay Scarpetta and Pete Marino begin piecing together the last few moments of her life. Why did she let the killer in to brutalize her? Did she know her assailant? The answer may lie in a missing manuscript which contains Beryl's memoirs, but someone would kill to find it, as Kay soon discovers with every step closer to the truth. "
LaPierre, Resident Scholar

"An author, Beryl Madison, ends up in the Chief Medical Examiner's office as a patient. Her death seems to revolve around the manuscript she was writing which is now missing. Kay Scarpetta finds herself experiencing what Beryl lived her last days. She is being stalked and threatened.   Scarpetta strongly believes if she can track down this manuscript she can save her own life. However, the medical examiner meets much resistance as she learns she is not the only one avidly searching. In her search, Kay actually lives the last moments of Beryl's life in as much horror as her patient had known.   "
Tracey Ray, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Body of Evidence
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 30%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 25%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story: - 1980's-1999
Special suspect? - chronically deranged person
Misc. Murder Plotlets - Big focus on forensic evidence - Big focus on autopsies
Kind of investigator - police procedural, American
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - doctor
Age: - 40's-50's
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - killer
Eccentric: Yes - obsessed - wild - mentally ill - emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
Motive of antagonist - insanity
Intelligence - Average intelligence

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast - Southeast - Mid-Atlantic states
City? Yes
Misc setting - scientific labs

Style
Part of a series? Yes
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies
Sex Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references - rape (yeech!)
A lot of techno jargon? Yes
Kind of jargon? - biology/medical
Unusual forms of death - perforation--bullets
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to Body of Evidence
Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
All That Remains by Patricia Cornwell
Cold Justice by Jonnie Jacobs
Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell
Death DuJour by Kathy Reichs


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Patricia Cornwell Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Tracey Ray  

SCHOLARS:
LaPierre  Carol Patton  David Fletcher  Ally  Troy Buerger  Sherry Chen  Shanna Christiansen  danzel  Marianna  


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