4.75/5 stars (i finished this last month but once again i only marked it on storygraph)

baby all ima say is that this series has me in a complete chokehold. its literally criminal minds bruh n that’s my favorite show i absolutely LOVE kay scarpetta

Cornwell returns with a captivating novel that seeks to tie together the loose threads from the previous two. With a serial killer still on the loose, Scarpetta becomes his main focus, after being offered up an odd Christmas present. When an unidentified woman is found murdered in Central Park, Scarpetta goes to investigate as part of the FBI consulting team. Trying to piece things together, Scarpetta soon realises that the killer, Temple Gault, is more interested in ensuring that all the killings grab her attention and become her sole focus. With control over CAIN, the FBI’s Criminal Artificial Intelligence Network, Gault infiltrates the system by planting messages seeking highly inappropriate information. As Scarpetta’s niece, Lucy, tries to wrestle of the system away from Gault, the killer keeps taunting Scarpetta until they meet face to face. Will Scarpetta put him away or will the killer elude her again and continue his spree, with her in his crosshairs?

The third in the mini-Gault sub-series, Cornwell is able to move the story forward with such ease that the reader remains amazed at the attention to detail. Drawing on the facts from the previous two novels, Cornwell weaves the continuation of the story, using the nuances introduced previously. An attentive reader will see these clues surface as Scarpetta tries to rid the world of this heinous character. Those who have followed the series closely will see a minor shift in the narrative, with British colloquialisms. This was further exacerbated with a British narrator, making the character individualisation slightly more complicated. Cornwell continues to spin webs of character development that help personify those who play key roles in the series.

Kudos Madam Cornwell as the series kicks up to a new level, with all the action one could ask for in a thriller novel.

4/5 estrellas
Una vez más me gustó mucho la manera que tiene Patricia Cornwell de escribir, ágil, atrapante (sobre todo cuando explica aspectos psicológicos) lo que hace que te coloques en la piel de la doctora Scarpetta. Tenemos una héroe y un villano que obviamente cuanto mejor es uno, más diabólicamente contrastará al otro; Aquí la autora enfrenta a la médico forense / patóloga forense Kate Scarpetta contra el siempre ilusorio y cada vez más impredecible y violento psicópata Temple Brooke Gault. Kate se traslada al norte de Virginia a la Gran Manzana, donde su archienemigo ha comenzado de nuevo a jugar al gato y al ratón: Una mujer desconocida y desnuda es asesinada en las nieves de Central Park. Scarpetta va a investigar como parte del equipo de consultoría del FBI pero al intentar reconstruir las cosas, Scarpetta se da cuenta de que el asesino, Gault, está más interesado en asegurarse de que todos los asesinatos capten su atención y se conviertan en su único foco. Con el control sobre CAIN, la Red de Inteligencia Artificial Criminal del FBI, Gault se infiltra en el sistema plantando mensajes que buscan información altamente inapropiada. Mientras la sobrina de Scarpetta, Lucy, trata de luchar contra el sistema lejos de Gault, el asesino sigue burlándose de Scarpetta hasta que se encuentran cara a cara. ¿Logrará Scarpetta encerrarlo?

Es el caso número 6 de la saga Scarpetta. La trama es excelente porque el lector puede sentir la tensión y con el final he quedado muy conforme. Recomendable para los que aman a ésta autora y bueno, los que amamos el thriller.

I just finished reading this book, i loved Patricia Cornwell. I normally love reading her books, but i found this book to be long eith not enough action. It finally picked up towards the end, but in the beginning and part of middle i had to push myself to read through it. But in the end i am still a fan of her books

This is the 5th and last Kay Scarpetta novel I will read. The characters are totally not worth caring for. She does more police work than forensic work which makes no sense at all. Her niece has to be totally involved in Everything??? Makes no sense at all. The serial killer was the only character I found interesting and she wrote him off in 2 paragraphs?? Lol. This book is a pool read as you can skim it and enjoy it and finish it in 2 hours.. I have given her previous books 3 stars. The 2 stars are given because the end was so rushed it was sad. Gault is so elusive but by the end they know his every move? He's killed so many but the FBI is not monitoring his parents??? Ok, lmao. She should stick to forensic science, her detective writing is absolutely unbelievable.......
Also, I've read everything goes downhill from this novel. I'm jumping off this train now...

Returning to early Cornwell stories. I can understand why the reviews on this story are critical. The lead up for the hunt of the serial killer Gault is good but the ending is so abrupt and muddled. It’s as if Cornwell decided to finish the story quickly.

The setting between New York City and the subways is well written with descriptions of well known areas like Central Park and the Dakota building. Quantico and Richmond are also good with the tension of the hunt for Gault slowly ratcheted up.

SPOILERS AHEAD

We find the mysterious woman murdered by him in Central Park is his twin sister Jayne. Gault apparently is also a well functioning crack addict able to elude the police. The ending made no sense with Commander Penn a trained police officer leaving Kay to confront Gault who has Lucy hostage. Did I miss something she stabs Gault and then a sniper shoots him in a subway tunnel with no lighting? Where did the sniper come from and sure night scope but all a bit haphazard and unlikely.

So much packed in such a small space!!

"From Potter's Field," by Patricia Cornwell, is the 6th book in the Kay Scarpetta series... a series that is increasingly frustrating for me as a reader.

There are some things that Cornwell does really well, and some things she does poorly. The scene were an out-of-control and panicked Scarpetta tries to regain control and calm by making dinner for everyone despite not having groceries? That's a wonderful scene, emotional and true and very in character. The increasingly dark and gross portrayal of Marino as the Designated Male Chauvinist Pig as opposed to rough-around-the-edges working class good guy? Is getting grating, especially as he's a dick to EVERYONE and Scarpetta limply defends him. Dialogue of minor characters is bright and lively and full of personality, while Scarpetta's and Wesley's dialogue is stiff, stilted, overly formal, eschewing contractions. It clunks along like a living example of how not to write engaging, fluid dialogue.

The Scarpetta books, more and more, are fluff. They're popcorn books to consume in one sitting, slightly formulaic, entertaining. They're not books to mull over or treasure. They're entertaining, though. And the most interesting thing about them is how they rely on actual science and technology and not future tech like most television and movie crime procedurals. This book is liberally littered with conversations about computers, programs, modems, UNIX, etc but in a way that feels organic and understandable. It's not computer jargon for the sake of computer jargon, and it isn't presented in info-dump ways.

I'm also enjoying the female relationships Scarpetta has, especially with her lesbian niece. Scarpetta's attitude towards her sexuality seems to be changing from Nice White Lady Liberal Tolerance to actual acceptance, just as her character has quit smoking and cut back on drinking. She's extremely over protective of her, which I know many readers find irritating, but I find very in character. I also feel it's presented as a character flaw.

This book was a pretty meh book. I didn't feel a lot of threat from the Big Bad, Temple Gault, other than Because It's In The Book ie, everyone talks about how bad and evil and devious he is and acts scared of him. But his actual actions, while fucked up and awful, aren't earth-shattering evil. I mean, they are, but... there's so much worse than him wandering around the really real world. However, it was still entertaining, and I'm about to reserve the next book from the library. I do hope the series picks up a bit, and I'm interested to find if the series goes back to different bad dude each book or if there'll be another long arc.

"An unidentified nude female sits propped against a fountain in Central Park. There are no signs of struggle. When Dr. Kay Scarpetta and her colleagues Benton Wesley and Pete Marino arrive on the scene, they instantly recognize the signature of serial killer Temple Brooks Gault. Scarpetta, on assignment with the FBI, visits the New York City morgue on Christmas morning, where she must use her forensic expertise to give a name to the nameless—a difficult task. But as she sorts through conflicting forensic clues, Gault claims his next victim. He has infiltrated the FBI's top secret artificial-intelligence system developed by Scarpetta's niece, and sends taunting messages as his butchery continues, moving terrifyingly closer to Scarpetta herself."

3.5 rounded to 4

I bumped into this murder mystery a while ago. It was a good time pass. Christmas has never been a particularly good time for Dr Kay Scarpetta. Although a holiday for most, the festivities always seem to heighten the alienation felt by society's violent fringe; and that usually means more work for Scarpetta, Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner and consulting forensic pathologist for the FBI.

The body was naked, female, and found propped against a fountain in a bleak area of New York's Central Park. Her apparent manner of death points to a modus operandi that is chillingly familar: the gunshot wound to the head, the sections of skin excised from the body, the displayed corpse - all suggest that Temple Brooks Gault, Scarpetta's nemesis, is back at work.

Calling on all her reserves of courage and skill, and the able assistance of colleagues Marino and Wesley, Scarpetta must track this most dangerous of killers in pursuit of survival as well as justice - heading inexorably to an electrifying climax amid the dark, menacing labyrinths of the New York subway.

Another action packed thriller with the Scarpetta team. I’m still not happy with the affair between Kay and Wesley. I’m glad that Temple Gault will not hurt anyone else. Dr. Kay Scarpetta always gets her man but also needs to relax a bit because she seems very fragile and emotional.