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The Scarpetta Factor |  | Author: Patricia Cornwell
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
Buy New: $10.90
as of 11/21/2009 05:06 CST details
You Save: $17.05 (61%)
New (52) Used (26) Collectible (6) from $10.90
Seller: bloozbooks
Rating:  92 reviews
Sales Rank: 88
Media: Hardcover
Edition: First Edition
Pages: 512
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.2 x 2.2
ISBN: 0399156399
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780399156397
ASIN: 0399156399
Publication Date: October 20, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Patricia Cornwell and James Patterson: Author One-on-One
In this Amazon exclusive, we brought together blockbuster authors Patricia Cornwell and James Patterson and asked them to interview each other. Find out what two of the top authors of their genres have to say about their characters, writing process, and more. James Patterson is one of the bestselling writers of all time, with more than 170 million copies of his books sold worldwide. He is the author of two of the most popular detective series of the past decade, featuring Alex Cross and the Women's Murder Club, and he also writes nonfiction and The Maximum Ride series for young readers. Read on to see James Patterson's questions for Patricia Cornwell, or turn the tables to see what Cornwell asked Patterson.  Patterson: Here's a chance to say all the great things the critics would about The Scarpetta Factor, if there were any newspapers left that still reviewed books. Or, as they say in the TV interviews: Tell us about this one, Patricia.
Cornwell: As was true in the last book (Scarpetta), the new one is set in New York City, and it begins with Kay Scarpetta working on the autopsy of a young woman who presumably was murdered the night before in Central Park. While the apparent circumstances of the violent crime say one thing, the body is telling Scarpetta a very different and incredibly disturbing story that causes the prosecutor, the police, other officials, and even Scarpetta's friends and colleagues, to wonder if she's making mistakes or has begun to believe her own legend. While others are questioning and criticizing her, she begins to doubt herself and her decision to be the senior forensic analyst for CNN—an exposure that possibly leads to her BlackBerry disappearing and a suspicious package being left for her at her apartment building. As the intrigue unfolds, the past is no longer past, and she is soon faced with an old nemesis who threatens to be her final undoing. Patterson: This book is set in New York again—what do you like about the Big City? What don't you like?
Cornwell: Certainly New York City is the ultimate Big City. By placing Scarpetta in the midst of NYC within its medical examiner's office, I've positioned her on an international stage where anything can and does happen. The machinery is huge (NYPD and the FBI field office, for example), yet the private lives of the characters remain intimate and small. Not only is this a big story about a big-city case that captivates the world, it's also a very close look at the characters and who and what they are to one another in contemporary times. In terms of what I like and don't like about NYC? The only thing I don't like about it is driving there.
Patterson: I often get asked what I have in common with Alex Cross. What would you say you have in common with Kay Scarpetta?
Cornwell: Scarpetta and I share the same values and sensibilities. We approach cases the same way (which should be rather obvious, since I work the cases by taking on her persona). Beyond that, there are many differences. I'm not Catholic or Italian or married to Benton Wesley. I'm not a forensic pathologist with a law degree. I don't have her emotional discipline or inhibitions, nor do I have her professional dazzle. (I always remind people I was an English major who started working at age eleven, first as a babysitter, then in food service!) I don't have Scarpetta's pedigree. But then, she isn't a writer, unless she's writing professional journal articles or autopsy reports.
Patterson: What's your routine like when it comes to writing? Do you do write every day? On the road? Do you need vacations from your writing?
Cornwell: I wish I had more of a routine. I begin each book with research that continues up to the very end of the process. But gradually, as I approach the deadline, I sink deeper into seclusion until eventually I don’t even answer e-mails or the phone anymore (unless it's my partner, Staci). I just write morning, noon, and night. The pulling together and completion of a novel is so intense, I'm almost living out of body by the time I'm done. It's the most wonderful and miserable experience imaginable. I would love a vacation but never seem to have time, and I doubt I'd know what to do if you made me "do nothing." In fact, Staci and I have a strange habit of going to foreign lands and visiting their police departments and morgues instead of just hanging out at the beach. I don't write every day because I do so much research, and currently, I have many other responsibilities that keep me busier than ever (filming, involvement with forensic institutes—just the business of life, for example).
Patterson: What's the best feedback you've had from a reader? Or—what was the best piece of writing advice you've had?
Cornwell: Frankly, the best feedback was when a reader complained some years ago that he wasn’t sure I liked my characters anymore. And I thought about this and realized I wasn’t sure I did, either. A horrible thing to realize. It was because the series had gone on for so long that it was time to reinvent the characters and their relationships with one another and the world they inhabit. I think this remake is most apparent in the last book, Scarpetta, and I am on a wonderful and invigorating new course that is even more evident in the new one, The Scarpetta Factor.
Patterson: Bonus question: How do you feel about the Hollywood adaptations of your work? Don't be afraid—let it all hang out.
Cornwell: In the past, very disappointed, because the projects went nowhere. Now, so far so good. The first films (Lifetime movies of At Risk and The Front, which are non-Scarpetta novellas) air this spring. I had a magnificent experience from beginning to end with the producers, actors—everyone. It's way too early to talk about the 20th Century Fox project with Angelina Jolie, although who wouldn't be excited about her?
Product Description
It is the week before Christmas. A tanking economy has prompted Dr. Kay Scarpetta—despite her busy schedule and her continuing work as the senior forensic analyst for CNN—to offer her services pro bono to New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. In no time at all, her increased visibility seems to precipitate a string of unexpected and unsettling events. She is asked live on the air about the sensational case of Hannah Starr, who has vanished and is presumed dead. Moments later during the same telecast she receives a startling call—in from a former psychiatrist patient of Benton Wesley's. When she returns after the show to the apartment where she and Benton live, she finds an ominous package—possibly a bomb—waiting for her at the front desk. Soon the apparent threat on Scarpetta's life finds her embroiled in a surreal plot that includes a famous actor accused of an unthinkable sex crime and the disappearance of a beautiful millionaires with whom Lucy seems to have shared a secret past.
Scarpetta's CNN producer wants her to launch a TV show called The Scarpetta Factor. Given the bizarre events already in play, she fears that her growing fame will generate the illusion that she has a "special factor," a mythical ability to solve all her cases. She wonders if she will end up like other TV personalities: her own stereotype.
The Scarpetta Factor, the seventeenth in the series, finds the familiar cast of characters together again in New York. Marino is working for the NYPD; Benton Wesley uses his forensic psychological expertise at Kirby and Bellevue; and Lucy continues to dazzle with her expertise in forensic computer investigations as she works yet another case with NY prosecutor Jaime Berger.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 92
 Cornwell Is Back! November 20, 2009
Lanny Carlson
I just finished reading Patricia Cornwell's new book, The Scarpetta Factor.
Having read all of the previous Scarpetta books,
I was anxious to read this one,
though I also shared the disappointment others expressed
over the last couple of novels.
Happily, it was a very good read.
There was much more emphasis on forensic details,
and a lot less attention given to Lucy's sexual lifestyle.
It was the kind of Scarpetta novel many of us
had come to love
To be sure, there is much reference to people and events in previous books.
This might be a little confusing to newcomers,
and I had to refresh my memory on a few occasions,
but I don't think this will be an insurmountable obstacle to most,
and I highly recommend it.
Patricia Cornwell is definitely back!
MOST EXCELLENT! November 19, 2009
Jan D. Keppler (GRIFFIN, GEORGIA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
EXCELLENT CORNWELL. I FEEL SHE ENLARGED ON SOME OF HER ONGOING CHARACTERS, YET THEY ARE STILL THE FAMILIAR PEOPLE WE LOVE TO READ ABOUT. LUCY SEEMS TO BE SPIRALING TOWARD SOME SORT OF CATASTROPHE; EITHER IN HER PRIVATE LIFE OR PROFESSIONAL LIFE OR BOTH. MARINO IS ACTUALLY IMPROVING. HE HAS MORE INSIGHT INTO HIMSELF AND HIS ACTIONS AND CONSEQUENCES. KAY AND BENTON SEEM TO BE MORE COMFORTABLE WITH EACH OTHER, AND A LOT OF HEALING SEEMS TO HAVE TAKE PLACE WITH THEIR RELATIONSHIP. THE ACCESSORY CHARACTERS ARE INTERESTING AND KEEP THE ACTION MOVING. I ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE OF THIS BOOK AND WOULD CERTAINLY RECOMMEND IT. EVEN IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST CORNWELL BOOK, THE REFERENCES TO THE PAST MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU KNOW THE CHARACTER'S BACKGROUNDS ALREADY. FOR FORENSIC MYSTERY LOVERS THIS IS ONE GREAT BOOK. I LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT ONE.
Fast and efficient November 17, 2009
Brian Woodworth (Brantford, ON, CA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was very pleased with this item and with the shipping company. The item was received in perfect condition and quickly. I have been extremely pleased with the service from Amazon and its many suppliers.
What? November 17, 2009
kcinAlaska
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I wonder about some of the other reviews! I thought this book was excellent and got back to the caliber of the earlier, wonderful books by Patricia Cornwell. You have to have kept up with the series to be able to understand everything in this book though. I have read all of the Scarpetta books. This book provided some of the history of the characters Patricia Cornwell has been developing over the years. The ending did leave me to wonder about Lucy and Berger however. I imagine there will be another book that will go into that situation. Enjoy the book!
 Not the Best. November 17, 2009
Lindi Clark (Central Coast, CA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Not her best. She needs to leave her political views out of her books. Besides that, it was a little redundent.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 92
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