Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780399143946
ISBN number: 0399143947
Label: Putnam Adult
Manufacturer: Putnam Adult
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 272
Printing Date: July 06, 1998
Publishing house: Putnam Adult
Sale Popularity Level: 56682
Studio: Putnam Adult
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
From the New York Times #1 bestselling author of Unnatural Exposure and Cause of Death comes a white-hot new Kay Scarpetta novel that pits Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner against an audacious and wily killer who uses fire to mask his crimes.
Amazon.com Review:
Virginia's chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta is getting ready for a romantic holiday with her retired-FBI-profiler boyfriend, Benton Wesley, when she receives a cryptic and foreboding letter: 'Hey DOC, Tick Tock, Sawed bone and fire,' it begins. Even more creepy, the taunting note has been signed by Carrie Grethen, the psychotic killer Kay helped send to a psychiatric facility for going on a murder spree with Temple Gault in Cornwell's earlier book Body Farm. Benton believes that Grethen--who also happens to be the former lover of Scarpetta's niece Lucy--has big plans for a comeback. And before Kay and Benton can leave for their trip and discuss it further, Scarpetta is called upon to don yet another professional hat, that of a 'consulting forensic pathologist' for the federal government. Someone has burned a highfalutin horse ranch and all of its contents, including a human being, to the ground. Worse, Grethen has escaped and is on the loose and closer to Kay and her beloved than she knows. Point of Origin, the ninth Scarpetta thriller, is classic Cornwell: rich with detail and strong dialogue, and doused with harrowing twists.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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Boring. Predictable. Unfinished. In the end, too many unresolved issues that at one time in the book were critical and all-consuming. This was a book I simply struggled to pick back up. It took about six actual reading hours spent over about a 3 week period. I only finished it out of my own stubborn persistence. It was like dieting or working out, I just forced it.
What about the darn loose horse?
What about the fire starter and the silicon? (This actually was shaping up to be interesting, but then was completely forgotten.)
The relationship between the niece, McGovern and Scarpetta is totally silly, not important to the story and completely unbelievable, yet received about 100+ pages of dialogue. Annoying.
This book broke too many fundamentals of good story writing to have even been published. Unreadable. Disappointing.
Rated by buyers 
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I am an avid fan of Patricia Cornwell and have never read a Kay Scarpetta mystery I didn't like and this includes my most recent purchase Point of Origin. A fast-paced, page turner I completely enjoyed.
Rated by buyers 
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I liked this installment in the Kay Scarpetta series. The forensics are detailed and graphic, and by now I feel I know her characters well, both their good aspects and their faults. The only issue I have with the series is that they skip major changes in the character's lives. For example, in the last book, Benton was still at the FBI, and when this one opens, he is retired. We don't get to know what led up to that decision and how he feels about it. Lucy was last with the FBI and in the process of having her career ruined. In this book, all of a sudden that is over and she is with the ATF.
Regardless of those deficits, I still enjoy the series. Carrie Grethen is back and the book starts with a poem she writes to Kay. I won't give away spoilers, but this one has an ending that shocks, and is a heartbreaker.
If you plan to read more of the Kay Scarpetta series, don't skip this one. It is needed in my opinion to fully understand at least the subsequent two books. (that is as far as I've gotten in the series)
Rated by buyers -
The large number of reviews previously posted for Point of Origin sum up the majority of my disappointments with the book. Scarpetta is a basket case throughout the book, is totally obsessed with her niece and whines constantly about her job (why does she do it). In addition, multiple threads surface unexpectedly or are dropped without any endeavor at resolution. A point that I struggled with constantly was Cornwell's apparent total lack of comprehension of how a horse farm works. With over 20 high priced horses, the farm only had one old caretaker who quit an unstated amount of time prior to the fire. The owner (an extremely busy man) has supposedly been taking care of these horses himself, but decides to take off for a few days without making any arrangements for their care. Anyone with any basic knowledge of horses would also be aware that this is as likely as leaving an infant in a crib while the parents leave for a getaway weekend. The credibility of the investigation rang totally hollow for me with this lack of research.
Rated by buyers 
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I'm not sure what really made me not like the most. Either the ending or Lucy.
The ending reminded me of a soap opera. Someone dies, however he will be resurrected... I just can't get past the ridiculous soap operatic ending. If only Lucy could have been killed too (although, then she would have to be resurrected too).
I'm sooooo very weary of Lucy (a.k.a Supergirl) the obnoxious genius has gone from computer wiz kid to a FBI agent, helicopter pilot, undercover drug agent, fire expert & the list keeps growing in future novels. Then having to constantly read about Lucy's lifestyle choice & complications. I don't care if Lucy is a lesbian.
I'm also disappoint that the escaped colt that received such big buildup was forgotten. I mean, a bunch of horses die in this fire, but one survives, why?????? Who knows it's never explained.
Cornwell's books drastically go downhill after "Point of Origin" & if you must continue to read the series, go to the Library.
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