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Writing one of her best, Cornwell has given us a dark psychological tale, wound
tightly with familiar friends and foes. Followers of Kay Scarpetta will revel in this
undertaking. Her relationships with family, friends, and enemies --- as well as the truth
and the imagined --- all collide in this intriguing story.
Beautiful women are dying in fires across the country, and Scarpetta and her niece Lucy
begin to investigate these mysterious deaths. As a forensic pathologist, Scarpetta soon
discovers a clue that ties the victims together --- minute metal shards in their skulls.
Apparently these fires, started in the master bath, are an attempt to hide the real reason
for these serial deaths.
Things are further complicated by the return of Scarpetta's nemesis Carrie Grethen. A
former lover of Lucy's, Carrie has recently escaped from prison. She threatens and lurks,
but is she involved? If she is involved, she must have help. Is an unauthorized AOL
computer connection in prison Carrie's source to finding an
accomplice?
Scarpetta, a multidimensional character, is believable with strengths and
weaknesses. Her joys, sorrows, triumphs, and defeats become the reader's own.
Facing a very difficult personal loss fuels her desire to solve this pattern of crime
before Lucy, or even she, is the next victim. She encounters difficulties as she races
headlong toward the thrilling conclusion which moves at James Bond pace. And Scarpetta is
involved at every step.
POINT OF ORIGIN will stand as one of Patricia Cornwell's finest books to date.
--- Reviewed by Marge Fletcher
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