After reading the first book in the series, I felt good enough to want to read the second book sooner rather than later. Book two is fashioned out of some of the basic framework as the first but with enough changes to the facade that it really doesn't detract too much from the story.

Most of the same characters are back for this installment with some new players thrown in. The forensics play along and provide physical clues to go along with the psychological clues. Like the first book, we are given plenty of clues to figure out the twist and don't feel like we've been cheated when it is revealed. As with the first book, I like that we only see what Kay sees and nothing more or less.

Kay Scarpetta, we learn, will always be very *involved* with her work and that will always play havoc with her personal life. Even this early in the series, that thread is obvious. Fortunately, even though this running thread is becoming concrete and will remain in future books, it doesn't overwhelm the main story.

The plot of this one is a little more convoluted than the first. There are several interweaving plots that connect or seem to connect and they provide us with quite a bit of depth in the mystery. What starts out fairly straightforward quickly becomes messy and confusing (on purpose) but comes together fairly nicely at the end.

For a second novel, this one does well and doesn't fall into many of the traps and pitfalls that are out there and because of that, I'll be reading the third. ( )

A very good series continues nicely. ( )

Una Kay Scarpetta agli albori della serie, ma già capo medico legale a Richmond. Benton è soltanto una conoscenza, Marino ha un brutto carattere ma ha ancora la sua famiglia, Lucy Farinelli è ancora piccola. Ma Kay è fedele a se stessa, si lancia sempre con passione in un caso e, come le rinfaccia il suo capo, rischia di farsi travolgere. Troppe e troppo strane sono le tracce in questo delitto: come mai Beryl ha aperto al suo assassino? E' davvero implicata la mafia? Il grande amore di Kay è buono o cattivo? E quelle maledette fibre arancioni, sono indice di un intrigo internazionale o sono da riferirsi a qualcosa di più semplice? Frankie chi è? Vittima o carnefice?
Kay riuscirà a sbrogliare la matassa e trovare un senso agli omicidi che fanno seguito al primo, pur rischiando la vita lei stessa. Danni collaterali: l'auto nuova fiammante di Marino e lo scoiattolo che finisce incenerito nel rogo della stessa. ( )

"Body of Evidence" does a great deal of character development. It builds the frame for the rest of the series. It is a rich, satisfying read. ( )

This was the second novel featuring Chief Medical Examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta, and established her working relationship with Lieutenant Pete Marino, Chief of the detective Division of Richmond Police Department, and Benton Wesley, one of the FBI’s Leading profilers. For once, Dr Scarpetta’s forensic skills in the examination of murder victims play less part in the resolution of the crime, in which she is thrown more onto her own resources as a detective.

In this case the victim is a successful historical novelist, who is found dead from a brutal assault in her own house. It gradually emerges that she had been stalked for a while before her death, and the terror caused by this was so great that she had decamped from Virginia to the Florida Keys. Running low on funds, she had eventually returned to Richmond, oinly to be murdered on her first night back in the city. What made it seem even more strange was that, despite her fear, she appeared to have let her murderer into the house.

As usual with this series, there are various political shenanigans lurking under the surface, exposing the tensions between the different elements of a criminal justice system in which senior office holders are always conscious of the need for re-election.

Scarpetta is a very empathetic character, and also highly plausible. However, I felt that the plot in this case was weaker than in its processor (Post Mortem), and I feel that if I had picked up this book first, I might not have bothered with any others in the series. ( )