Patrišu mi je otkrila krajem 90-ih moja tetka koja živi u Americi i koja je njen vatreni obožavalac... :) Dosta čitalaca je voli ali se to nikad ne bi reklo po prodaji njenih romana... Šteta, moglo bi to i bolje...

To start with, I was annoyed I had to read about another serial killer. However, the book is much more than that. I think this is why it is somewhat better than average. The political intrigue and incertainties as well as the characterisation make up for the cliched 'killer chase'. I can see why it became such a huge series.

দুর্দান্ত একটা থ্রিলার পড়ার প্রতিক্রিয়া বরাবরই মধুর। এইবারও বইশেষে একটা তৃপ্তির ঢেঁকুর তুলতে পারতাম, কিন্তু পারিনি।

৯০ দশকের রিচমন্ড শহর। জুনের ছয় তারিখ রাত আড়াইটার দিকে খবর এলো একজন নারীর লাশ পাওয়া গেছে। গত দুই মাসজুড়ে রিচমন্ডে নারীদের ধর্ষণ ও শ্বাসরোধ করে হত্যাকারীর চতুর্থ শিকার সে। ঘটনাস্থলে পৌঁছালো উপন্যাসের প্রধান চরিত্র, চীফ মেডিক্যাল এক্সামিনার ডঃ কে স্কারপেট্টা। এমনিতেই এই সিরিয়াল কিলারের কেস নিয়ে সে যথেষ্ট চাপে আছে, সঙ্গে যোগ হলো তার অফিস থেকে তথ্য ফাঁসের অভিযোগ, গভর্নরের হুমকিধামকি আর পুলিশের ধারাবাহিক নাক গলানো তো আছেই। সবমিলিয়ে ডঃ স্কারপেট্টা যখন নাকানিচুবানি খাচ্ছেন তখন আবার আঘাত হানলো খুনি। কে হতে পারে সে?

উপন্যাসটার কাহিনী চমৎকার, সিরিয়াল কিলিং উপন্যাস যেমন হওয়া উচিৎ ঠিক তেমনই। কে স্কারপেট্টা আমার ভালোলাগার একজন চরিত্র, বডি অফ এভিডেন্সেই তার সাথে পরিচয় আমার। এছাড়া ভালো লেগেছে একেকটা ক্লুয়ের সূক্ষ্ম ব্যবচ্ছেদ, লেখিকা মেডিক্যাল এক্সামিনারের অফিসের কর্মপদ্ধতি তুলে ধরেছেন নিপুণভাবে।

এবার আসি আমার অভিযোগ অনুবাদে। শুনতে অবাক লাগলেও সান্তা রিকির অনুবাদ আমার একেক বইয়ে একেক রকম লাগে। দ্য সার্জন, দ্য সিনার দুইটা বইয়ে তার অনুবাদ অনেক ভালো লেগেছিলো। হোয়াই ডিডন'ট দে আস্ক টু ইভান বইয়ের কয়েক পাতা পড়ে রেখে দিয়েছিলাম এত খারাপ ছিল অনুবাদ। এই বইয়ে তার অনুবাদ কিছু জায়গায় খুব ভালো আবার কিছু জায়গায় অদ্ভুত। যেমন প্রতি আট দশটা প্রাঞ্জল বাক্যের মাঝখানে দুম করে কঠিন ভাষায় একটা বাক্য যা পড়ার ফ্লো তে বাধা দেয়। কিছু সিলি ভুল, যেমন 'করিনি' এর পরিবর্তে লেখা হয়েছে 'করেছিলাম না' কিংবা 'পারেনি' এর পরিবর্তে 'পেরেছিল না' লেখা হয়েছে পুরো বইজুড়ে। আরেকটা শব্দ পেলাম 'আদৌতে', আমার জানামতে এমন কোন শন্দ বাংলাতে নেই। এছাড়া জটিল, লম্বা বাক্যগুলো চাইলে দুটো সরল বাক্যে রূপান্তর করা যেতো। তা না করে মূল বাক্যকেই অবিকল রেখে শুধু ভাষান্তর করেছেন। ফলে ঐ বাক্যের সহজবোধ্যতা নষ্ট হয়েছে।

আমি বলবো সান্তা রিকি আপু যেন ভবিষ্যতে অনুবাদের পর কোন স্বীকৃত অনুবাদককে দিয়ে বইটা পড়িয়ে যথেষ্ট পরিমার্জন করে তবেই ছাপতে দেন। কারন একজন অনুবাদকের যাবতীয় পরিশ্রমই ব্যর্থ যদি বই পড়ে পাঠক মূল বইয়ের অনুরূপ স্বাদ না পায়। অনুবাদে আমি দিবো ৩.৫/৫

থ্রিলারপ্রেমীদের কাছে পোস্টমর্টেম ভালো লাগবে বলেই আমার বিশ্বাস।

English (Postmortem) / Italiano

«It was raining in Richmond on Friday, June 6»

The first case of Kay Scarpetta, the coroner who made the fortune of the American writer Patricia Cornwell, starts in the rain. The population of Richmond is upset about the presence of a serial killer who first rapes his victims, and then he strangles them in their bedrooms. The coroner Scarpetta, who examined the bodies of the killed women, awaits powerless the next victim.

A few weeks ago I picked from my bookshelf an old copy of this novel, that I read in 2000 (I had the reading date on the inside cover). The cover is bright yellow, I remember liking it. Yes, let's read it again. Straightforward narrative, 320 pages of honest and concrete thriller, with a nice suspense. There are no striking twists and turns, but in my opinion the strength of this novel from 1990 is keeping a grip on reality, without flights of fancy that are scarcely digestible if carried out too far to improbable situations. Sometimes the imaginative final revelations typical of modern thrillers badly astonish me. After all... degustibus non est disputandum.

In any case, Patricia Cornwell has the virtue of starting the forensic medicine genre. Great opening narrative.

Vote: 8

«Venerdì 6 giugno a Richmond pioveva»

Inizia sotto la pioggia il primo caso di Kay Scarpetta, il medico legale che ha fatto la fortuna dell'americana Patricia Cornwell. La popolazione di Richmond è sconvolta per la presenza di un killer seriale che dapprima violenta e poi strangola le proprie vittime, all'interno della loro camera da letto. Il medico legale Kay Scarpetta, che ha analizzato i corpi delle donne uccise, attende impotente la prossima vittima.

Qualche settimana fa ho pescato dalla mia libreria una vecchia copia di questo romanzo, che lessi nel 2000 (avevo segnato a matita in seconda di copertina la data in cui lo lessi). La copertina è di un giallo sgargiante, ricordo che mi era piaciuto. Ma si, rileggiamolo. Trama lineare, 320 pagine di thriller onesto, concreto e con buona suspense. Non ci sono colpi di scena eclatanti, ma il punto di forza di questo romanzo datato 1990 secondo me è proprio il suo restare ancorato alla realtà, senza quei voli pindarici che risultano poco digeribili se esasperati a soluzioni improbabili. A volte lo "spiegone" finale che eccede in fantasia tipico dei moderni thriller mi lascia basito. De gustibus.

In ogni caso, la Cornwell ha il pregio di lanciare il filone del giallo medico-forense. Ottimo esordio.

Voto: 8

“Dr. Scarpetta?”
“Yes?” I reached for the lamp and switched it on. It was 2:33am. My heart was drilling through my ribs.
“Pete Marino here. We got us one at 5602 Berkley Avenue. Think you’d better come.”

And so we meet the divorced, forensically brilliant and professionally troubled forty-something Virginia Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta in the wee hours of the morning, as she is called to the fourth grisly crime scene of an unidentified serial killer we soon realise has taken a dangerous interest in her.
This debut Kay Scarpetta novel was published twenty years ago, won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel and kicked off what has become one of the most successful contemporary crime series ever published. Postmortem first introduces us to the now famous Scarpetta and series regulars Detective Sergeant Pete Marino, who is ‘pushing fifty, with a face life had chewed on’, FBI profiler Benton Wesley, ‘a sharp featured man with prematurely silver hair suggesting a mellow disposition that wasn't there’ and Scarpetta’s ten year old niece, Lucy Farinella, who goes on to feature heavily in the later novels in the series.
With the impending release of Port Mortuary, the eighteenth Scarpetta novel, and recent confirmation that Oscar winner Angelina Jolie – who has already played a forensic heroine in the adaptation of Jeffrey Deaver’s chilling novel The Bone Collector – is signed on to play Dr. Kay Scarpetta in the long awaited movie adaptations of the series, it’s time to revisit the series I credit with kick-starting widespread interest in forensics long before CSI hit our screens.
Decades after reading it for the first time, this novel had me hooked once again. If you haven’t read Patricia Cornwell before, or you haven’t had a dose of classic Scarpetta for a while, there is no better time to pick up Postmortem.

What do you think of the casting of Angelina Jolie as Dr. Kay Scarpetta?

I'd heard great things about the Kay Scarpetta series and I wanted to get started reading it before I fell too far behind. The series already has 18 books released, with another on the way before the end of 2011. People were right. This series is very good. I wish I had started reading it sooner and not just because I was missing out.

Postmortem, the first book in the Kay Scarpetta series, was published in 1990. Well before the world was inundated with forensic TV shows and books. The book, a product of its time, goes into very heavy detail about certain scientific procedures that anyone who's seen a few episodes of CSI has a pretty good understanding of. The book was written before things like DNA evidence were commonplace, so obviously DNA databases are unheard of, placing the book in the awkward place where it has to be mentioned, but doesn't really speed the investigation along.

The murder mystery in Postmortem is interesting, but since the killer isn't a character we see and get to know, it feels like a letdown. The real entertaining part of this book was the mystery of who's trying to make Kay and her office look bad.

Postmortem drags in a lot of places because of densely packed information. Portions read like a forensic textbook rather than being written in layman's terms. Postmortem has all the signs of the beginning of a spectacular series, but the novel itself may fail to stand up to the test of time for the modern reader. A little jargon heavy, with some outdated information and methods, Postmortem manages to still deliver a couple of very good mysteries.

I had been putting off starting this series but had been encouraged years ago by my mother to try it out. With my background in IT, she assumed I would enjoy the technical aspects of the book. With this mindset going in and the fact that this book was originally written in 1991, it took me a while to adapt to the technology described in this book. Not for the fact that it was inaccurate in any way, but for the reason that it was hard to place myself in the technology world 25 yeas ago. Even though, the descriptions were accurate at that time, I found them to be a little too basic for myself but imagined that someone like my mother would really enjoy the simplicity of the computer work within.

However, I did not let that deter me from continuing on. I found that Corwell developed a really solid central character. One that is flawed, riddled with insecurities, and a host of family issues weighing in on her. It was nice to see this character develop before my eyes. I was a little disappointed with the conclusion to this book as it wrapped up a little too quickly and a little too conveniently in certain areas.

With all that said, I would still recommend this book. I look forward to continuing on with this series as I remember my mother emphasizing the later books are much better. I imagine that she will be looking down from heaven relishing in the fact that I finally followed her suggestion. Thanks, Mom!!!!

My first book from this author, and I'm now convinced that Ms Cornwell reigns supreme as a crime fiction writer. I'm hooked! I'll be reading as much as I can of her works.

Her series protagonist, Kay Scarpetta, a forensic pathologist, seems as genuine as they come. The novel's prose is written with a level of sophistication above the norm for the genre, and the technical details are as well researched as the descriptions found in the books by Thomas Harris

Logically enough, I started with the first of the series. The plot is one we've seen over and over, a brutal serial killer, but the way he is caught is a mind-bender that you won't see in any other similar story.

While the involvement of a Chief Medical Examiner in a crime investigation is slightly stretched, it is not totally out of bounds. The author focuses on real world dialogue rather than witty, smart-alec remarks, and this adds an earthy, graphic depth to the story.

If you love mysteries and crime fiction, this author's books are HIGHLY recommended.

Rating: Good

Genre:
Mystery + Thriller

This is a very popular series, the first book in the Kay Scarpetta series and the debut novel for Patricia Cornwell. As the series title has been named the novels are revolving around the Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta who teams up with Sergeant Pete Marino in the Richmond Police Department to solve a murder case. I assume these two will be teaming up in all the other books too.

The plot is entertaining at times and at other times it can become a bit tedious if the reader is not interested in technicalities. One disadvantage of this story is that some parts of it did not hold up well. Getting into details and for several pages to explain what DNA is and how it works might have been a big thing and a new thing when the book was released but it is not anymore. The same things can be said about computers, passwords, and technology. All that is unnecessary today and seem to feel dated.

I liked how the author created the chemistry between Kay and Marino. Their first encounter and how they got to trust each other and work together as a team. I feel that will be the highlight of the other books in the series and something to look forward to. This series is long and still going on! With the 25th book not released yet so it needs some kind of commitment to catch up. The good thing is that in every book there is new mystery or crime to solve so one does not have to read them back to back in fear of forgetting the events in the previous book. I have not decided yet if I want to continue with the series. I might pick up the next book whenever I'm in the mood for it.

A Post Mortem Report on Postmortem

Management/Performance: Careful project management led to successful achievement of outcome objectives. Tension was raised; stakes were high; stakeholders and key informants displayed a personal engagement with project that enhanced performance.

Communication: Efficient and professional; dry and often uninteresting. Occasional well-turned and resonant phrases made welcome albeit brief appearances.

Group Dynamics: Principal Investigator was expertly characterized. Supporting characters, less so. Child character annoying; cop character confusingly developed. Villainous functionaries not provided with appropriate villainous attributes other than serving as assessors of PI's activities.

 Assessor's note: Such activities are not actually "villainous" - despite the annoyance and melodrama displayed by PI upon assessment - as they are central to an Assessor's scope of work, for real.

Tools: Forensic tools well-used. Forensic details did not overwhelm project.

Training Needs Identified: Project successfully outlined training needs for crime writers and humanity, e.g. train yourself to not drool over the gory details and don't embrace a pornography of violence because that's not a good look for crime writers and humans. Well done, project leader!

Key Problem Areas: Poorly developed motivation for killer. Killer found almost by accident, which caused snickers and dissatisfaction. Project created boredom and sudden sleep periods; serviceable as an airplane read (although cover should be hidden from fellow passengers' view, to avoid raised eyebrows and prevent feelings of shame).

Overall Project Assessment: Project is best-suited for viewers of CSI, NCIS, Criminal Minds, and the like.

So as is my way with many crime series, I don't read in order - just grab a volume and plunge on in. Patricia Cornwell's Dr. Kay Scarpetta books have been no different. So here I am after reading several novels later in the series, delving back into the first book.

Two things immediately came to my attention. First, it is fantastic to see the characters I know at the beginning of their journies, Kay has not been long in Richmond, Virginia, Lucy is still a young girl and
big-time players in the future, are currently only on the cusp like Benton Wesley.
Secondly, it is just like a time warp. Computers are using diskettes, there is a VCR (google it kids), DNA testing is still in its primary stages, and police procedures that are long gone.

The story is good but not as tight as some of the later books. Having said that, and because of where we were at as crime readers, Cornwell imparts her knowledge of procedures, which can at times be a drag, but it is what it is.

The story is based around a local serial killer and Dr Scarpetta finds herself in the middle of events, struggling in what can only be described as a boys club. After reading later novels this really stands out as a basis for a series, characters are introduced, roles, and Dr Kay Scarpetta's attitudes and private life are laid bare.

Would probably be a 5-star if I had read it on release but with the advantage of hindsight, and having read other volumes, it still slips easily into a 4.

Avevo davvero bisogno di un libro che richiedesse tutta la mia attenzione e fortunatamente la Cornwell ha decisamente fatto al caso mio.
La cosa che ho apprezzato di più è stata la capacità dell'autrice di non lasciar trapelare nulla sull'assassino fino alla fine, di lasciare indizi sparsi per tutto il libro, portando il lettore a sospettare di più persone.
Le capacità e le conoscenze di Kay Scarpetta sono notevoli ed è una di quelle donne agguerrite che non si lascia mettere i piedi in testa tanto facilmente, cosa che apprezzo sempre.
Non so se è un'impressione mia perché so che il libro è del 1990 o se è una questione di traduzione, però ho trovato il modo di esprimersi dei personaggi un po' strano. Non che la cosa mi abbia dato fastidio, sia chiaro.
Sono proprio curiosa di leggere n  Oggetti di reato,n che tra l'altro avevo provato a leggere ai tempi delle medie: pessima idea, non riuscivo a seguire le indagini, quindi ho tutta l'intenzione di recuperare.