I'm probably being generous with a 2-star rating. I didn't think much of this book. A few good scenes, but overall it wasn't very thrilling or suspenseful and the climax was a let down. This is my second Cornwell read, and I didn't particularly like the Scarpetta character in the last one ("The Body Farm") and I really don't like the character now. And I don't like Cornwell's writing--which goes hand in hand with not liking the Scarpetta character since she writes in the first person. There's self-righteous and arrogant qualities to the character and writing style that I can't get past. Not recommended.

n  n    Book Reviewn  n
3 of 5 stars to From Potter's Field, the sixth in the Kay Scarpetta thriller series, published in 1994 by Patricia Cornwell. After five books, you begin expecting more and more from a series, wanting it to up its game, thrown more mystery and character depth... and you get that in this book; however, you also get a bit of a different perspective this time. A few things about this one:

1. It picks up from a previous book with the same killer who still hadn't been caught. It'd be helpful to read the previous one so you are fully up to speed.

2. Potter's Field is a real place. It's where all the bodies of unknown identity have been buried in NYC.

3. Involves a murder in Central Park. Hits a little too close to home, given what happened in CP years ago.

4. The ending is just... bang... killing spree over and let's fly back home.

5. The killer is directly after Scarpetta... finding victims beforehand to get Scarpetta to find him.

6. You learn a lot about the underground. And a killer's lair.

7. Scarpetta never learns. She won't partner with someone the way she should.

8. This was probably the take off point in the series where the author became quite famous. She had recognition before this book, but the series was widely known when this one was released.

That said... it's a solid read but a bit more focused than previous books. When you have some history from earlier reads, you feel more connected. But in the end, it was more or less just a good thriller book for me. Still enjoy the series... and this was the most relate-able to me given the location.

n  n    About Men  n
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.

[polldaddy poll=9729544]t

[polldaddy poll=9719251]

Picked this book up for $5 and thought I’d give this series another go after giving the previous book in the series two stars. This was a step up by maybe .5 stars but boy do you so need to read it while remembering it’s a product of the times it was written in - the 90s.

Add to that, I had to keep reminding myself to breathe and let it go as my annoyance quickly grew with all of the ‘we did not’, ‘I did not’, ‘I had not’, in successive sentences making the read really quite clunky and ‘formal’ in places. Abbreviate, FFS! Why she can’t write ‘I’d’ or ‘we’d’ or anything else to help the sentence flow, and then completely miss words in other sentences. And then there’s the characters… none of them are appealing at all.

In saying that, I kept reading and finished this novel in a day without throwing it across the room, and still give it three stars for the plot, suspense and the like. Or do I? Let me mull over my rating…nah, it’s a two to 2.5 more like it.

Book 6 in the Kay Scarpetta series published 1995.

I’ve been a bit uncomplimentary with some of my review on the Kay Scarpette franchise but not so with Potter’s Field. I really enjoyed it. That’s not to say that there are still aspects of Dr. Scarpette’s unrealistic attitude to law enforcement and her personal safety that still gets up my nose.
But for the most part it was a book that once started was hard to put down.
Continuing on from the previous book Kay’s arch nemesis Temple Gault is still having fun with his bizarre murder sites.
When his latest victim is found naked and dead from a gun shot to the head in Central Park NY all the appropriate law enforcement agencies get involved.
Gault is well known to the NYPD and the FBI and the fear is that Gault’s psychosis is escalating and he needs to be caught before anyone else dies.
Everyone knows that Gault is fixated with Dr. Kay and as a result a great deal of care is given to her safety. But Kay, being Kay, ignores all the efforts to keep her safe and goes after Gault on her own, as you do.
Apart from the incredulity of this highly intelligent woman taking such needles risks this proved to be an absorbing read.
One last comment.
Kay you need to sort out your relationships. For a smart woman you do some really silly things.

Summary from Goodreads:

"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 familiar: 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."

My Thoughts:

I am so hooked on this series! I literally am trying to take my time with this series and not just blow through all of the books but it is so hard when the books are this good. The reading experience is different for me compared to other readers because I've read two of the more recent books previously. Now that I'm actually reading the earlier books (and in order) I can see how some of these books are building up to those later books. It is pretty awesome if I do say so myself! The thing that I liked best about this book is that feeling where absolutely anything could happen next. This feeling is actually present in most of the books that I have read by her but it was especially strong in this book. There was this creepy scene in the morgue where I was on the edge of my seat while reading. It was SO intense!! I never know what the characters are going to do or how they are going to react despite being in each book from the very beginning. I don't know how else to describe it. Benton, Lucy, Marino.....heck, they are all mysteries from time to time which really adds just another layer of suspense to these novels. The best part of this book though was that Temple Brooks Gault was back and seemingly on a killing spree. We first read about him a few books back and he was even more terrifying in this book. I may say this with every book but I felt like this was one of the most suspenseful books in the series so far. It was crazy at times and I just couldn't get enough of it!

At this point I'm a huge fan of this mystery series and am enjoying every minute of reading these books. This book was everything that I enjoy in a thriller and mystery all combined into one. It was hard to put down, and I found myself flying through the pages. I really love the way this author writes in such a way as leaves me questioning everything that is going on. I just can't get enough of these books! I already have the next book waiting patiently on my shelves- I won't be waiting long to read it so that I'm able to see what kind of trouble Scarpetta finds herself in next. Highly, highly recommended!

Bottom Line: Yet another amazing addition to this series which is a favorite of mine!

Disclosure: I picked up my copy of this book from my local used bookstore. Worth every penny!

I have yet to come across a PC novel that I don't like so let's add this one to that group.

The end was kind of abrupt. I was expecting an "epilogue" type of last chapter but didn't get that. I didn't detract from the story it just wasn't the usual.

This one was a continuation of "The Body Farm" with Scarpetta and crew chasing Temple Gault an infamous and illusive Serial Un-aliver. (Dunno if you can use the k word with out getting removed)

There were nail biting moments, there were sad moment, and there were shocking moments. Loved it! Another thrilling crime suspense for me.

Good for learning about 'show don't tell' writing, detailed forensic description, slow police work and a jaded, depressed 'other woman' ME's world view. A dud as a crime thriller. Awful, really. Illogical 'genius' serial killer (and family) was a big part of it but Scarpetta & Co. did not fare well either - especially in the climax - what the hell was that?

Ohhhhh! This one was really really good!

I’m going to take a break from the series for at least the rest of this month. I have a hard time reading so many back to back. I find I enjoy them more when I read a few books in between a series.

Temple Brooks Gault is a nasty serial killer you won’t be forgetting any time soon!

When a woman’s brutally mutilated corpse is discovered in Central Park on Christmas Eve, Virginia medical examiner Kay Scarpetta and her erstwhile working partner Pete Marino know that their brutal nemesis, Temple Gault, is out of retirement and back on the hunt!

If you’re already a Kay Scarpetta fan, you’ll be pleased to see that, beyond the basic murder plot and the phenomenal details concerning forensic pathology, a number of ongoing “Scarpetta universe” themes are visited and continue to be developed – her somewhat less than clandestine affair with FBI profiler Benton Wesley; her testy but powerful relationship with Richmond homicide detective Pete Marino (does anyone else think this has the potential to move beyond simply caring for and protecting each other’s back?); her loving (but perhaps stultifying?) relationship with her computer wiz niece, Lucy; and, of course, her mostly off again and always coldly argumentative relationship with her sister and elderly mother. With Lucy in an out-of-the-closet lesbian relationship, you can always expect some meaningful discussions on gender, sex and homosexuality between Scarpetta and Marino, who continues to be portrayed as a homophobic, misogynistic, rather classless, intolerant Neanderthal.

FROM POTTER'S FIELD is not going to make it to a library’s classic bookshelves any time soon but it has to be said that it’s a gripping medical suspense thriller that will keep you awake, thoroughly involved and flipping the pages at a furious rate from start to finish. I was especially moved by the poignant, heart-breaking conversation that Scarpetta had with Gault’s parents during their search for the killer. How difficult it must be to know that the son you wanted to love so much is a ruthless killer.

Paul Weiss

THESE ARE SO RIDICULOUS BUT I CANNOT STOP READING THEM. Killer karate kicks!

Temple Brooks Gault is the most serial killer name I can imagine. What were his parents expecting?
I can suspend my disbelief that Scarpetta has lots of investigative duties that keep her away from her office and the bodies. I have a harder time believing that most of the killers are obsessed with her and want to kill her or otherwise interact with her.
The continuity between books has been grating on me for the last 2-3. It feels like the author decides she wants tension between X and Y for the book, and engineers circumstances around it, but rarely is it ever consistent with the previous book. I feel like I can't form attachments to the recurring cast because their conflicts with Scarpetta are different in each book and never fully resolved by the end. In the last book, Scarpetta was having an affair with Wesley, on terrible terms with her closeted niece, and on uncomfortable ground with Marino as he was both in love with her and with the killer from the last book. I didn't feel like the last book concluded any of those situations well enough to my liking and they were barely touched upon in this book.
As much as everything else bothers me, I still do enjoy the elaborate forensic parts.

Loved the reading! Watching the tangled web become unwoven!!