Rating: 
Summary: Please Patricia, less prose more action!
Review: The most suspenseful thing about this book was waiting for it to arrive in the mail. I am a longtime Cornwell fan and have been looking forward to the next Scarpetta novel for a while now. However, I was disappointed in this one. All of the major characters, without exception, seem to be getting old and tired. I halfway expected them to all be killed off by the end of the book, because it seemed like the author didn't like them anymore. Cornwell still includes the elements that I love such as all the forensic information, but it seems she got more caught up in the prose this time. The "climax" of the novel (getting the bad guy) was too easy. Had it been a movie, it would have been over in 2 minutes flat. Overall, this book felt like a character development novel. I felt like the only reason there was an antagonist and a gruesome crime was to give the characters a reason to talk about themselves and how they feel. The plot got lost in the prose. Sorr! ! y, Patricia. However, I'll still be waiting for the next one.
Rating: 
Summary: Great, one of her best in a long time
Review: I really enjoyed Point of Origin. There is no sentimentality, Scarpetta still cannot enjoy a happy love life and i enjoyed this realism. It was great to see Lucy back and i look forward to when Lucy can start to take on her own cases.
Rating: 
Summary: Who's left to kill?
Review: Cornwell has become the new Anne Rice, as far as I'm concerned. You can't help wanting to read her because she grabbed you in the past, but what she's offering us is such a diluted form of what she used to write that it doesn't make sense to continue the habit. I didn't read Hornet's Nest because others told me it wasn't worth the paper it was printed on -- but I didn't want to believe that another Kay Scarpetta novel would follow suit. Patricia, it's time to rethink your plots and characters!!! Habit only lasts so long before it becomes a form of compulsion. Since I'm not a compulsive person, Cornwell, I fear, has lost me.
Rating: 
Summary: More disappointing than the last
Review: I'm not sure if it's because Cornwell has written (and I've read) everything there is to know about Kay Scarpetta, or if Cornwell has fallen a victim to her own success, but she's lost me as a reader.I miss the tight writing and real tension of the past. This book is overwritten, full of stupid phrases, and Kay Scarpetta has become a laughable caricature of her former self. And in typical "I'm out of good ideas" behavior, Cornwell resorts to bringing back a tired villan to try and spice things up. It doesn't work. Yawn.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Hornets Nest, but not her best
Review: I just finished Point of Origin and have to admit that it was darker than most of her others. I hated Hornets Nest, so I figured Ms Cornwell could only improve with this one. Like another reader, I would have liked to learn more about how the fires started, burned so hot, etc. Her technical stuff was top notch, as always. I think Ms. Cornwell needs to lighten up a bit, though. Look forward to her next Scarpetta novel.
Rating:
Summary: Waited too long for a climax that was weak and lacked detail
Review: As a Corwell addict, I too rushed to grab her latest effort,Point of Origin. At first the new MO of fire appealed to me. I wasdetermined to devour this book as I had all the previous ones. I felt a bit let down by Point. All started out well, sharing developments in the personal lives of Benton, Lucy, etc. What followed was a long chasm of non-activity through the middle of the book. Still having faith, I hung in there, waiting for another strong climactic ending like From Potter's Field. The ending came very late, and lacked strong build up, and certainly details. Quite frankly, it was so open ended that it reminded me of a soap opera. Also, there were several doors left open for future developments and some new characters, which would breathe much needed life into the series. I do! ! recommend reading the books in order, as well as Hornet's Nest. Reading HN just before Point was fun. Quite frankly, I could see a series developing from HN. Would be time away from Kay and Co. to approach crime from a new angle.
Rating:
Summary: A weak and repeative plot line - wouldn't recommend it
Review: I was thoroughly disappointed in Cornwell's latest effort. The plot is a recycled one as are the characters. Cornwell didn't even tie up the loose ends in the technical explanations of the fires' fuel sources. The ending reminded me of a bad soap opera,where without a body to identify one knows that the character will return..... Enough already... I thoroughly enjoyed her first books. However the last three seemed to have been "phoned in". "Point of Origin" reminded me of a screenplay for a "Summer Blockbuster" gone bad complete with one dimensional characters and lots of fire and explosions! Given the high quality of Cornwell's early works, this effort deserves less than one star.
Rating:
Summary: A very good summer read
Review: This is probably not the best Cornwell, but she has constructed a story packed with interesting, intimate technical information and insights of a coroner's office and on pyrography. The story builds well and, for the most part, is engrossing -- only occasionally enmired in minutia (and even that can be overlooked). Crusty old Detective Marino, Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta and her brilliant niece Lucy are back and up to their good deeds. Point of Origin is both entertaining and intelligent, although the ending is too fast and more contrived than should be acceptable in a story such as this. Otherwise, certainly worth the time.
Rating: 
Summary: Nonstop reading like her previous novels
Review: Can't really discuss certain things of how I felt without giving away certain things. It was a wonderful book and as usual you can't put it down. Once you open the book to the last page you are riveted to your seat.
Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful
Review: Congratulations to Cornwell on her latest work! I was grabbed from the beginning and couldn't put it down. The investigations are, as always, surprisingly accurate and edge of the seat suspense while you're thinking "What will turn up next."
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