The Body Farm (Kay Scarpetta Series #5)

This summer I was assigned to read and do a report on my reading. I assumed that I would pick a girly book that I can relate to. Those books I usually read and go through them like there is no tomorrow. However, this year I went outside the box and chose something I usually do not read...a horror. I always loved horror films and figured I would love a horror book. The Body Farm by Particia Cornwell is a fantastic read. Now the book I have was published in 1994 and I was worried it would be outdated; the minute I sat down to read, it jumps right into the plot. The plot is of an eleven year old girl named Emily Steiner who went missing in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Dr. Kay Scarpetta is assigned to this case through the FBI, where she finds herself doing more than examining for the cause of death. Everyone in the case thinks the famous serial killer Gault is the one responsible for the disappearance and murder of the little girl. As Dr. Scarpetta gets more into the case she realizes this is not the one who abolished the perfectly innocent eleven years old. This is when the novel takes a turn and gets very interesting. This book is not your ordinary novel for it has more than one plot in it including the one of Dr. Scarpetta's rebellious niece and she pulls you into the book even more. You cannot put this down until you figure out the evil behind everything. I highly would recommend this book even if it isn't your usual read. Enjoy!

I recommend reading the whole series starting with book #1 [postmortem] I loved all the characters the twist and turn of the plots and am know patiently waiting for the next book. enjoy!!! Here's the titles in order #2 Body of Evidence #3 All that remains #4 Cruel and unusual #5 The body farm #6 From potter's field #7 Cause of death #8 Unnatural exposure #9 Point of origin #10 Black notice #11 The last precinct #12 Blow fly #13 Trace #14 Predator #15 Scarpetta.

** spoiler alert ** This was my second time reading The Body Farm. I read it several years ago on a whim without reading any of the prior books. This time I am reading the Scarpetta series in order. Although The Body Farm was excellent the first time around, it was even better after reading Cruel and Unusual. I highly recommend reading Cruel and Unusual first. I feel like you get more out of The Body Farm by doing so. A lot of unexpected things happened in this book that I would have not suspected. Kay Scarpetta has an affair with Benton Wesley. Pete Marino has an affair with the mother with the mother of the little girl who was murdered. I did not expect those things out of those characters. Gault is suspected in the crimes that occur in the little town of Black Mountain, North Carolina. All the pieces seem to fit the puzzle. Lucy is almost killed in Virginia. Without the excellent detective skills of Dr. Scarpetta, the real killer would have never been caught. Her excellent intuition is what solves the case, saves Marino's life, and possibly her own life. I read other reviews and someone mentioned that they were disappointed at the title of the book, The Body Farm, because the book was not about that. Actually, the experiment on The Body Farm is what gave the clue that sealed the deal in the end. In fact, without that piece of evidence, I don't know that Scarpetta could have proven who the killer was. The Body Farm is my favorite so far in The Scarpetta Series. I am excited to start reading From Potters Field.

What a fantastic book...couldn't put it down! Kudos for a great book.

I would like to give a zero stars, but it would not let me do that! The plot is awful, and looked to me, like she just wanted to add more pages to the book! Very poor narration, and style. She has 3 different stories running together, with no relationship what so ever. Will never buy her book again.

I have enjoyed all of Scapetta's books. This is one of my favorite so far. It's when Kay and Benton got to gather, I could not belive that in Point of Origin He dies I cried, and then in Black Notice, The letter that Benton wrote the a year after his death was so sad. I Can't wait to read The Last Precinct: I hope, Kay and Agent Talley get together.

¿There is no other in the world, mine was the only one¿ - Emily Dickinson Nothing ever happens in the small rural town of Black Mountain, nothing until the shocking murder of eleven-year-old Emily Steiner. Patricia Cornwell, a New York Times Best Seller, reintroduces Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a forensic scientist who plays the lead role in most of Cornwell¿s works, in the exhilarating novel, The Body Farm. The suspense o this novel will keep you on the edge of your seat and the mystery concealed within its pages will ensure that you stay hooked from the very beginning. Emily Steiner¿s case becomes increasingly difficult with the introduction of several peculiar pieces of evidence, such as: the mysterious mark found on Emily¿s body, the custom made fluorescent orange duct tape, the skin samples found in a dead sheriff¿s freezer and the unusual residue discovered lingering on the girls body. This evidence leads to several new suspects in the crime and makes the truth of the case more difficult to decipher. The hysterical, attention-seeking, mother of the victim is a major setback to the case, and ends up attracting the attention of the lead investigator in her daughter¿s murder. In attempting to find justice for Emily Steiner, Dr. Scarpetta finds her personal life growing in difficulty. While working on the case, she is introduced to many people who lead to several new interesting relationships, and a scandal at the high security facility where she works involving her niece, who later on nearly gets killed in a car crash, has her more than occupied. Yet Kay finds herself deeply embedded in this convoluted path of leads, dead ends, incriminating evidence, suspects, and criminals. Only one combination can be right, but the question is, can Kay figure it all out before time is up? There is only one way to tell. This story line¿s many twists and turns are sure to have your mind racing with questions and possible theories. It is guaranteed, however, that most of your theories will be wrong. This story will keep your nose in the book its several twists are intriguing, but the ending is the most shocking of all.

I read this book over vacation and I loved it. I couldn't put it down once I started! I usually don't read unless I have too! However, I picked this up and I just couldn't stop. I have never read anything from the author before but I would love to recommend her to others becuase it is so good and it stays interesting through the whole thing. I didn't expect it to end the way it did but with my understanding of Biology it helped me to grasp the book very well! I hope all future readers will enjoy I know that I sure did.

Good Read

In a small Virginia town a young girl is found murdered and the circumstances cast suspicions on a hunted serial killer. Dr. Kay Scarpetta, forensic pathologist, is on the scene to track down the killer while also guiding her headstrong neice into a career with the FBI. As the death toll and mystery escalate, simple answers are hard to come by and Scarpetta searches to decipher a small clue with the help of scientists at the anthropology research facility in Tennesee, better known as the Body Farm.This was the first Patricia Cornwell novel I have read and it was an odd place to start, but I did enjoy it. The Body Farm is a fast paced read with relatively accurate depictions of forensic science. Cornwell doesn't beat the reader over the head with back story so it was nice to pick up on character relationships from context rather than drudging through history that would've interrupted the pacing of the book. Although I was expecting more of the story to take place at the fictionalized version of Knoxville's Research Facility, I was still drawn in by the suspense of the story and appreciated that it was a well written book.

Good mystery, especially for someone who likes science/anatomy

The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell A medical based novel A Forensic pathologist, Kay Scarpetta, is sent to a small town in North Carolina called Black Mountain, to help with a case of a 11 year old girl that was brutally murdered. The FBI suspect a serial killer named Gault that they have been trying to find for a long time may be the killer of the girl. After no being sure about the first autopsy of Emily,the little girl, she calls for a semiconductor autopsy. As she finishes she hears that the North Carolina investor was supposably in the hospital due to a heart attack which is later found to not be true. Everyone states to believe Gault is the prime suspect but Kay isn’t fully sure of that. Throughout the book she jumps between looking for and questioning possible suspects in the case and caring for her niece, Lucy. Lucy worked at the FBI academy until she was charged with trying to steal FBI evidence using her jurisdiction and soon after getter into a car accident that sends her to the hospital. All of this leads up to the climax of the story which is a very surprising one. I would recommend this book for anyone that is interested in the medical field or is just into reading about it. I has a lot of details and real life scenarios that could be interesting to many people. I really enjoyed the book as it had me wanting to read and know more. I also think it would be interesting if they made a movie off of this book. The book really makes you visualize what is happening and makes you suspect any characters and find a conclusion to the story. This book is not a easy or hard read but I believe it is the perfect book to read when you want a little thrill.

Spots a squirrel in the distance. He gets into a crouching position and focuses on his prey. A few foxtail lengths away, he pounces on the furry animal. He gives a strong blow with a bite as the squirrel falls motionless. He proudly carries it in his teeth to Res 2.

Great job!

I really enjoy the Kay Scarpetta series and as soon as I read one in the series, I immediately go to the next one. Keep them coming.

An 11-year old girls body was discovered and found evidence regarding tracks of a known serial killer. Since Scarpetta is a forensic pathologist she examines the body and noticed some conditions on the body, that will lead her to the Body Farm. The Body Farm is a laboratory where some forensic scientists studies the body, as well as the stage of decomposition they are in, which help her to get more evidence. Scarpetta gets a little distracted from the case due to her niece getting dismissed from her FBI internship, because she intended to kill her aunt. Scarpetta gets so overwhelmed with stuff and knows she needs to get back to the case of the girl, yet with her niece getting dismissed from the FBI, it let other clues to the serial killer that also had worked for the FBI. She begins to understand the murders incentive and motivations. Being involved in this case, she gets down to business by interviewing and questioning witnesses and suspects, visiting sites, and she goes out of her way to understand and crack down on this case and this killer. With many others trying to help her, she wants to do this case all on her own. She begins to figure out the case and who the serial killer could be. Patricia Cornwell has a different, although amazing writing which can really pull the reader in. Since I first starting reading this I could tell I would not be able to put this book down. It came so much into my attention that everything I read was like a movie in my mind because her writing painted a picture in my head understanding all that is going on. The only thing was that the story was complicated if your attention was not fully focused on the text. Otherwise, this book was an amazing book. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone, though it’s a suspense/ crime book, I think it will grab anyone’s attention, no matter what type of reading your into. Though I have no read any other works by Patricia Cornwell, I have heard the whole series is amazing, yet I started reading the series by reading the middle book, starting from the top might be better so you can get the full affect. Overall, this book was one the best I have ever read.