Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 31, 1991 TAG: 9104030023
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: D-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO BOOK PAGE EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Patricia Cornwell has made a fine start on a new mystery series.
Her first novel, "Postmortem," did well, winning the British equivalent of an Edgar. Now Scribners is giving her second book, "Body of Evidence," the red-carpet treatment with coast-to-coast interviews and signings. Not bad for someone who got her inspiration in the Virginia medical examiner's office.
This time out Chief Medical Examiner Kate Scarpetta has to reconcile conflicting evidence. Beryl Madison knew that someone was trying to kill her. She had received threatening phone calls, someone had even vandalized her car.
She'd been so frightened that she had left her home in Richmond and spent several months in Key West. As soon as she got back, she set the security alarm. But that night, she let someone in and he killed her.
Naturally, the situation soon becomes more complicated. Where is the potentially scandalous manuscript Beryl was working on? Could it be damaging to her literary patron? That seems to be what a sleazy New York lawyer thinks, and the lawyer has a curious relationship with an old flame of Kate's who's hiding secrets of his own.
The plot is the weakest part of the book. There's just too much of it, and so the tying up of the loose ends is forced. Cornwell's prose varies, too. Occasional stylistic lapses are balanced by some fine descriptions and memorable passages. One long sequence near the middle - set in a isolated country mansion on a snowy night - is just superb.
But most importantly, the main characters - Scarpetta and Marino, the tough cop who helps her - are interesting and believable. You enjoy spending time with them and you care about what happens to them. As long as Cornwell stays close to the professional side of things, particularly the grisly but fascinating work of the medical examiner's office, the story is just as strong.
About the worst that can be said of "Body of Evidence" is that it's entertaining. I look forward to Scarpetta's next case.
by CNB