Crime Fiction Alphabet - Cornwell

Friday, June 8, 2012


Today is all about the letter B in the Crime Fiction Alphabet and the idea behind this meme is to write something related to crime fiction that’s based on the letter of the week. This can be an author, the name of a book or something to do with writing crime fiction. The post should be up by the end of each week. See the rules for the Alphabet in Crime Fiction here. This Meme is run by Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise

Today’s post is about Patricia Cornwell, one of my favourite writers. (Check out her website, it's pretty cool) I enjoy her Kay Scarpetta novels (19 in the series) and the last one I read was From Potter’s field, which surrounded a smart and creepy killer. See my review here.


Cornwell has won numerous awards for her books, including the Gold Dagger Award and the Sherlock Award for Best Detective for Scarpetta’s character. 

Patricia Cornwell
The Wall Street Journal is credited with writing"In Kay Scarpetta, Patricia Cornwell has a character as strong as any in popular fiction."

Cornwall worked as a reporter covering crime and then worked at the office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Virginia for six years as a technical writer and then a computer analyst. Her first Scarpetta novel was published in 1990. Scarpetta has written over thirty works of fiction and five non-fiction books.

She has stirred some controversy, both in her personal life and her belief as to the identity of Jack the Ripper.  

19 comments:

  1. Haven't read any of the Scarpetta novels, though I did read her Jack the Ripper book. Still gives me the creeps. I kind of thought she was onto something with her theories, but I don't think we can ever know for sure.

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    1. Haven't read it, but I understand that that one caused a brouhaha in that people thought she was determined to pin the crime on someone who it couldn't have been.

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  2. I read quite a few of the Scarpetta books a while back. Great story telling and such strong characters :)

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    1. Yes, Cornwell does writer some great characters.

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  3. Sounds like a great series. I haven't read her books but I should.

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    1. You'd be fascinated with the medical/collection of evidence side of things.

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  4. I've read some of Patricia Cornwell's books. The ones I read, I liked. I especially enjoyed the thoroughness of Kay Scarpetta.

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    1. Oh, yes, that she is. I guess that's part of why she makes such a wonderful character.

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  5. I don't think that I've read any of Cornwall's novels... judging from the comments, seems like Scarpetta is an excellent character, but is part of a series. Is there a stand-alone novel you would recommend?

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  6. Very impressive track record--30+ books, and her books are tantalizing. I'm always a sucker for anything that has to do with Jack the Ripper. Ghastly. Gory. Absolutely fascinating.

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    1. I tend also to read creepy crime fiction. Weird enough, I haven't read anything about Jack the Ripper.

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  7. I haven't read any books from this series, but sounds interesting. Thanks for posting.

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  8. I have read one Scarpetta and it is a good series but a little to forensic detailed for me.

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    1. Hi, Peggy,
      I understand that too many details can be overwhelming.

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  9. Patricia Cornwell is everywhere! What a prolific writer. I've read one Scarpetta novel and really enjoyed it.

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  10. It seems like every year there is someone else that comes out with an idea as to the identity of the notorious Jack the Ripper. I don't know if anyone will ever actually know. But the theories are interesting.

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    1. For sure, speculation does seem to provide lots of entertainment.

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  11. I haven't read any of Patricia Cornwell's books, but my best friend loves them. I trust her judgement, so the books must be good!

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Don't be shy, I'd love to hear what you think.