Kadaverfarmen (1994)

There are many things I like about KS. One is her generosity which isn’t reserved solely for her much loved niece. I also like her balance between strength and vulnerability. I like how she holds her own, and also how she watches out for those she loves.
This story sees her hit some really tough times, and emotionally she is taken to the very edge.
( )

In dem kleinen Ort Black Mountain in North Carolina wird die elfjährige Emily Steiner grausam ermordet. Die Gerichtsmedizinerin Kay Scarpetta entdeckt mysteriöse Spuren an der verstümmelten Leiche, die auf einen Täter aus dem nächsten Umfeld des Opfers hindeuten. Wurde das Mädchen Opfer einer düsteren Familientragödie? Als ihre Nachforschungen ins Stocken geraten, beschließt Scarpetta, die „Body Farm“ aufzusuchen – eine forensische Forschungseinrichtung der ganz besonderen Art ...

Hopes were high after Dr. Bass' book abotut the body farm and the honourable mention. Turns out it's an average crime novel with some forensic insight. I think I'll skip the second.

This story was a little far fetched for me. The murder of a child is always a sad thing. The child's mother was an initially sympathetic character, whose actions quickly became more incomprehensible. The power she gains over Marino is hard to believe. When did he become so easily swayed? And the body farm was such a small part of the book. The murder wrapped up neatly in the end, a little too neatly for my taste.

Even though I had some complaints about the plot, the book was still a fun read. The personal relationship between Kay and Wesley seemed to move forward a lot. A little fast for me. I felt like I must have missed a few books because of all the relationship changes, but I know I haven't. Parts of the book were too predictable, while others were too confusing. ( )

Fieldnotes:
Black Mountain, North Carolina, Contemporary (p. 1994)
1 Medical Examiner (and Lawyer) with Sweeping Investigatory Powers
1 FBI Profiler
1 Investigator Living his way to a Heart Attack

1 Dead Child w/ injuries that just don't add up
1 Strange Discoloration
1 Exhumation
1 Very Brief Mention of The Body Farm despite that being the title

2 Instances where Kay's immediate unexplained dislike of someone means they are A VILLAIN
1 Notorious Serial Killer on the Loose
1 Dead State Investigator / Suspect
1 Spooked "Hillbilly"


Not!Autoerotic Asphyxiation (or is it?)
1 Terrible Car Not!Accident
Munchhausen by proxy


Fiscal Impropriety
Jealousy
Adultery

1 Decoy Same-sex Relationship
1 Aborted Stint in Rehab
Severely Dated Techno-babble

The Short Version:
This was my first of the Kay Scarpetta novels, and probably not a good place to start. We were plunged into the middle of Kay's relationship muddle with both Marino and Wesley, and (certainly without backstory) none of them come out of the situation particularly likeable. In fact, the bulk of the book seemed to be working through the muddle with Marino and Wesley or alternatively the subplot with Scarpetta's niece Lucy (none of whom I have any affection for) and on the back burner attempting to tie this round of murders to a roaming serial killer (who again, I must assume was a Big Deal in previous books).

Cornwall makes much of Scarpetta's training being as both an ME and a lawyer, and talking about her investigative powers, but relatively little seems to be done to actually investigate young Emily Steiner's death as the gang is far too consumed with living out their soap operatic drama, and I found essentially all of the characters unnecessarily abrasive. There is a fair amount of technical babble & jargon (your research is showing...) that, certainly on the technical front, is now largely outdated. As are the story's attitudes towards same-sex relationships ...

I don't expect I'll be picking up any additional Scarpetta novels on this outing. ( )