Chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the super sleuth of Patricia Cornwell's series of forensic-based crime novels, has returned for another difficult murder mystery needing her special skills and insights to flush out the perpetrator and solve the case. Scarpetta is joined by unit chief Benton Wesley, her prodigy niece Lucy, and homicide detective Captain Pete Marino and together they try to find the killer of a little girl. Cornwell introduces the reader to the FBI's creepy "Body Farm" facility in Tennessee. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 90% Special suspect? - relative Misc. Murder Plotlets - Big focus on forensic evidence - Big focus on autopsies Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 30 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Eccentric: Yes How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - Southeast Misc setting - scientific labs Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths A lot of techno jargon? Yes Kind of jargon? - biology/medical Unusual forms of death - asphyxiation - perforation--swords/knives Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |