2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss Body of Evidence, the second book in the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell.

Pages: 403pages

Length: 1 month (December)

Participants: Lorraine, Dominique, Beth

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

Starting this one over the weekend.

Just got the book from the library. I will start it this weekend.

I just finished Body of Evidence. Despite noticing a few flaws in the story, I really enjoyed it. There seemed to be less focus on CSI or forensic medicine in this one, but we get to know Scarpetta much better—especially her personal life, which I found refreshing. The ending was solid, though it left me hoping Kay might think things through a bit more in the future!

I’m heading on vacation in January, from the 20th to February 11th. My husband has planned lots of tours and activities, so I won’t have much time for reading. My goal is to finish Book 3 of the series before leaving and dive into Book 4 once I’m back.

Looking forward to hear your thoughts!

I started this yesterday and have finished the first 3 chapters. It's a quick read and a page turner.

Finished tonight. I so enjoy reading the characters of Scarpetta and Marino. I basically agree with Lorraine's review, but I sincerely doubt Kay will do much to change her ways going forward! I read an interesting review where someone rated this book 5 stars as a standalone but only 3 as a second in a series. The rationale was that book 2 was so formulaically similar to book 1 that it detracted from its overall score. I don't necessarily disagree with that assessment; the general bones of the two stories are so similar (Kay gets involved in investigation to the point of being in dire jeopardy). That didn't detract from my enjoyment of book 2; I just found the review a thoughtful commentary.

Finished!

It was good but something was missing. I found that some parts were too long.

(view spoiler)[ Didn't really the Mark character, feels like he might be part somewhere in the series with the way things ended.
The story about was good it was sad about Sterling and Beryl'/spoiler. (hide spoiler)]