From Potter's Field

Written by Patricia Cornwell

Narrated by Blair Brown

#1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell returns to the chilling world of gutsy medical examiner Kay Scarpetta in this suspense classic.

An unidentified nude female sits propped against a fountain in Central Park. There are no signs of struggle. When Dr. Kay Scarpetta and her colleagues Benton Wesley and Pete Marino arrive on the scene, they instantly recognize the signature of serial killer Temple Brooks Gault. Scarpetta, on assignment with the FBI, visits the New York City morgue on Christmas morning, where she must use her forensic expertise to give a name to the nameless—a difficult task. But as she sorts through conflicting forensic clues, Gault claims his next victim. He has infiltrated the FBI's top secret artificial-intelligence system developed by Scarpetta's niece, and sends taunting messages as his butchery continues, moving terrifyingly closer to Scarpetta herself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Sep 1, 1995
• ISBN: 9780671868819

Patricia Cornwell

Patricia Cornwell is recognized as one of the world’s top bestselling crime authors with novels translated into thirty-six languages in more than 120 countries. Her novels have won numerous prestigious awards including the Edgar, the Creasey, the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Prix du Roman d’Aventure. Beyond the Scarpetta series, Patricia has written a definitive book about Jack the Ripper, a biography, and three more fiction series among others. Cornwell, a licensed helicopter pilot and scuba diver, actively researches the forensic technologies that inform her work. She was born in Miami, grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston. 

Reviews for From Potter's Field

[carol420 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dr. Kay Scarpetta, Marino and of course, FBI Agent Benton Wesley investigate the death of a frozen naked woman propped openly in Central Park. Their path leads them to the parents of a psychotic serial killer, one of whom can see nothing wrong about her son and the other parent who would only see his if pointing a shotgun at the son's face. The woman's identity is a shock.

The plot here is sometimes scatty and random. I tend not to like books full of random killings, without rhyme or reason. Here the "randomness" is chilling, and Tenple Gault is a super villain, who curdles the blood. He is just so...hateable. You loathe him absolutely. Especially when you find out how he treats his sister. You just hate him even more.

[susandennis-139327 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I think I've burned out on Cornwell.

[readingover50 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm not sure why, but this book didn't hold my interest as much as the previous one did. The bad guy, Temple Gault should have been a very creepy character, but he seemed less scary and more sad this time. His mental state is deteriorating as his attacks are escalating. There was some more Lucy in the story, yay! Not much Benton, which was ok by me. Overall a good story, just not a great one.

[buffalogr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Exciting and fast paced, Scarpetta, Marino and Wesley finally tackle a3-book serial killer in downtown New York...away from her native Virginia. It was a fun read and I'm on to the next Cornwell mystery.

[trishaj-2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Pretty typical Cornwell book. I thought it moved a little slow at times, but I enjoyed it for the most part.

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent story. Fast-paced, quick read. Not a mystery since we all knew "whodunit" from the start, but a couple of surprises. Kay Scarpetta is a really well-written character and that's what it all boils down to.

[elkehannover · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Inhaltsangabe:Temple Gault ist das Phantom aus dem vierten Band der Reihe. Die Morde wurden einst aufgeklärt, aber Gault eben noch nicht gefasst. Und so muss Kay am Heiligen Abend nach New York, da eine weibliche Leiche im Central Park gefunden wurde. Die Tat wird eindeutig Gault zugeschrieben.Eigentlich wollte Kay nach Miami, ihre schwerkranke Mutter und die Nichte Lucy besuchen. Doch Lucy kehrt sehr schnell nach Quantico, dem FBI-Hauptquatier, zurück. Gault und seine Komplizin Carrie haben sich unbefugt Zugang zu einem neuen Computer-Programm verschafft, wo merkwürdige Nachrichten verschickt werden. Und dieses Programm hat Lucy mit geschrieben.Nach kurzer Zeit passiert in New York ein weiter Mord – an einem Polizisten. Für Kay ist die Sache gleich klar, das auch hier Temple Gault wieder zugeschlagen hat. Weitere Nachforschungen haben ergeben, das er Dinge tut, die in irgendeiner Weise mit Kay oder ihrer Herkunft stehen. Für sie steht fest, er will sie und kreist sie mit seinen Taten immer weiter ein. Doch die weibliche Leiche konnte bislang noch immer nicht identifiziert werden und Kay glaubt, das sie der Schlüssel zu Temple Gault ist.Wieder zurück in Virginia wird sie gleich mit Temple Gault konfrontiert: Während sie in ihrem Institut arbeitet, ermordet er zwei Polizisten, einen in ihrem Institut. Obwohl Kay sich nicht einschüchtern lassen will, verliert sie die Nerven …Mein Fazit:Ich habe dieses Mal den Sprung vom vierten zum sechsten Band gemacht, da ich den fünften vor zehn Jahren schon gelesen habe (das war eigentlich mein Einstieg in diese Serie). Obwohl die Romane ja immer insich abgeschlossen sind, wäre es wohl doch vorteilhafter gewesen, den fünften Band noch einmal zu lesen. Ich hatte enorme Schwierigkeiten, in diese Geschichte reinzukommen.Die Autorin hat durchaus einige Dinge erklärt, aber dennoch hatte ich das Gefühl, irgendetwas nicht richtig zu verstehen. So dauerte es bis ca. zur Hälfte, bis ich richtig in dem Roman drin war. Dann allerdings war es schon sehr spannend und die Jagd nach Temple Gault für mich sehr mitreißend geschrieben. Am Ende habe ich dann tatsächlich kurz mal den Atem angehalten, weil es den Anschein hatte, er würde sie wieder überlisten. Das Ende empfinde ich als deshalb als sehr unbefriedigend, weil es so abgehackt kam. Kein Nachwort, keine weiteren Erklärungen … das empfinde ich als sehr unglücklich gewählt.Ansonsten sind da natürlich die vertrauten Figuren, die sich auch weiter entwickelt haben. Lucy, die ihre Ausbildung beim FBI fast beendet hat. Marino, der Kay ein guter Freund geworden ist und auch Benton, mit dem sie eine heimliche Liebesaffäre pflegte. Irgendwie habe ich das Gefühl, sie inzwischen alle gut zu kennen.Alles in allem ein solider Krimi, der mich zum Schluss fesseln konnte, Vier Sterne bekommt er von mir.Veröffentlicht am 19.11.15!

[emscape · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

So glad to be done with this extended Temple Gault plot, and it will be interesting to see if Cornwell reverts to a one-mystery-per-book format in the next one. The most fascinating part of this was Kay's interrogation of Gault's parents, and it was over too soon. The rest of the book was made up with extensive travelling back and forth between New York, Virginia and South Carolina. The relationships between Kay and her niece Lucy as well as between Kay and Wesley are not developed or resolved much at all. I expected the final confrontation with Gault to be climactic, and it was, but there was little denouement or resolution to the tale; Gault's reasons, motivations, most of his history are not explored. Although the chase of him was pretty suspenseful and detailed, I don't feel very satisfied with the case as a whole. Hopefully, though, now that he's been caught, we can get back to the basics of Kay's expertise and finding killers because of clues a Medical Examiner would find on the body.

[hopkinshj · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Perhaps _From Potter's Field_ was not the best Patricia Cornwall book for me to start with. I always hear the hype about the Kay Scarpetta books, but the quality of the writing and the author's knowledge of her subject seems, well, weak. I had always assumed Cornwall was or had been a medical examiner. Halfway through _From Potter's Field_ I found myself looking for her bio and was not at all surprised that she actually had been a crime reporter and worked as tech writer and a computer analyst in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia. Maybe that is why I feel the medical details in the novel ring false. Or maybe I have just been spoiled by Kathy Reichs, who has a wonderful flair for sharing the more technical aspects of her profession with clarity, while not dumbing-down the information. I will, of course, give Cornwall another shot - this is the sixth book in the Scarpetta series - perhaps I simply selected a novel Cornwall phoned in. After all, _Postmortem_ (1991) has the distinction of making Cornwall the only author ever to win the Edgar Award, John Creasey Memorial Award, Anthony Award, and Macavity Award all in the same year.

[delphimo_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Serial killer Temple Brooks Gault's rampage compels the reader. Kay Scarpetta, Pete Marino, Wesley Benton, and scores of FBI and police frantically search for Gault before he strikes again. The people protecting justice have no holidays or vacations. Christmas rings in the air, and Gault strikes in New York City. The story quickly moves among New York, Richmond, and South Carolina. The woman killed in New York appears to be a homeless Jane Doe, but she has extensive gold fillings that would have cost thousands to install. Plus the nameless victim seems to have been a musician. Why did Gault select her? Other issues invade the story. Gault has invaded the FBI computer and sends messages listing himself as CAIN, as the Cain in the Bible. This story forces the reader to continue, as normal routine tasks remain undone. The ending is poetic justice as to who will be buried in Potter's Field.

[skinglist · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm glad the Temple Gault arc is wrapped up - interesting twist with his sister Jayne and Carrie dressing like him. I hope Carrie is resolved too since we're not sure if she survived. Nice to see Lucy getting into the FBI more.

[darrol_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I cannot help but think that this style of thriller--it is not really a mystery--errs by being over done. I perversely begin to almost root for Temple Gault. He is almost too mythical. Real killers are evil, but also banal and shabby. Some shabbiness comes through in his drug addiction, but he is just too clever. Stories with real insight into police and ME procedure and real insight into the psychopathic criminal mind are much more satisfying.

[jepeters333 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kay Scarpetta chases Gault to New York; chief of police is murdered.

[miyurose_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I started this series near the end and then went back to the beginning. I think that if I had started at the beginning I would have given it up by now. This series is merely "meh" for me. The storylines are entertaining enough, but it seems like the last few books have just been major downers. Everyone is so unhappy all the time. Every single one of them! I'm not sure I can take all the melancholy.

[heptonj · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another excellent read from Patricia Cornwell. A psychopath is on the loose seemingly killing random victims. But this time it's more personal when the killer invades CAIN (a crime database created by Kay Scarpettas niece Lucy). Lucys ex lover Carrie is deeply involved with the killer (Gault) who has fixated on Kay and her niece. Pete Marino gets macho and Kays relationship with Benton Wesley seems to be going nowhere but getting more complicated.A fast-paced thrilling novel which is hard to put down.

[msbeautiful · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good mystery, especially for someone who likes science/anatomy