Post Mortem
by: Patricia Cornwell
Terri Thampan 804
So, I'm currently reading a new book! I don't usually like posting a post without finishing a book, but ah well. This book is told from the perspective of a- I think it's a medical forensic examiner (I'm not really good at telling which job is whose when the book has a ton of different people and jobs) named Kay Scarpetta. The grounds of Richmond, Virginia are suddenly not as safe as they used to be. Women are getting brutally raped and murdered inside their very own homes! It's up to the police to find the serial rapist murderer and stop the crimes.
Now, what I really like is that this book is written by a woman who was in the police force, well something to do with crime investigation and stuff. She knows what she's talking about- hopefully- or at least I think she does. Because she's lived the life of a policewoman, or something like that, she knows how it would typically be, and all those little details are what makes it important. I like Kay's character as it's a character that's not very sun-shine-y, but very passionate in her views, but smart enough not to act out on her feelings or views in bad situations. That is a real character to me. If someone was truly in such a dreary job such as this one of course they might be a little bit wiser, death is a very solemn thing after all, or at least not so happy-go-lucky. If anything they would be kinda quirky, sarcastic, have a dry sense of humor or something, but I may just be stereotyping. Truth is, having such a depressing job like that really changes people, and it sort of makes you want to appreciate the people who are really out there doing those jobs.
I like how there's a variety of people. And in the case or a serial rapist murderer, a variety of people is exactly what needs to be brought up. There are a variety of people in this world, and many people we don't know who live in our very own city or neighborhood. When we go through this kind of mass affecting crime, it really puts into perspective how many people there are in the world and that anyone could be a victim, anyone could get attacked, and it's happening all around the world. It's actually very scary...
Anyways, I really like how the case is developed.
Mostly, at the moment there is but one suspect, and he's pretty much having all this evidence pinned against him. Kay doesn't really think it's him though. What makes this case so special is that the rapist doesn't have to worry about getting caught by leaving- uhh... seminal fluid/sperm. He's a non-secreter which means the DNA in his sperm doesn't match with the DNA within his other bodily fluids... or something like that. That makes it really hard to tell who the rapist is. Non-secreters can be either gender- I think, most likely.
But what really sort of goes through my head is how do we truly know who's the criminal. The book talks about how many read the stories in the news and then think they did the crime though they did nothing. It can be psychological and mostly is. Someone who did the crime is "different" in the head, and then there are people who may not have done the crime but take the blame because they think they did the crime. It makes you wonder. Sometimes crime doers don't get caught unless there's a stroke of luck evidence. It makes you wonder what kind of criminals are still loose because the evidence pointed towards an innocent. It's quite a scary thought. But the story also has a lot to do with back stories. Everyone has them, it's what makes us humans. And mostly, what causes a criminal to be "messed up" in the head is because of back stories. Abused children are most likely to become child abuses, it's all psychological, and it's all kind of scary. Humans interact with other humans, we help form the other, and form ourselves. Who we are, what we become, it is all because of others and our interactions with them.
Terri, your summary of this book made it sound very interesting. I also liked how you gave examples of every good thing you said about the book. Another good thing you did was connect everything back to the book. Good post
ReplyDeleteTerri, I agree with Alexa. The summary you gave of this book really made it sound interesting, and made this book something I'd like to read in the future. I like how you connected the book to the real world by saying that criminals these days do in fact get released when lack of evidence 'proves' them "innocent". Why do you think this happens(Why our interactions shape what we become in the future)? Are there any other connections you can make with this book other than the ones you pointed out? Overall, this was a wonderful blogpost. I can't wait to read more.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, as always, Terri! I wonder how it's like, to see death so often. In a book I read, it said that nurses of homes for the elderly become immune to death, since they see it so often, so do police as well? Do their sense of sadness and horror from the sight of murders numb into a dull sense that becomes a normal feeling? How does it feel to except that death is inevitable for everyone and that it's just a matter of earlier of later? I wonder if anyone actually thinks that without feeling sadness... Anyways, great post!
ReplyDeleteOh dear Terri marvelous post indeed! I wonder what it would be like to be a cop or a detective. When I was young and foolish (earlier this month) I constantly kept going to he CIA website and thinking about which job I could do. Fortunately, I then realized that I am a weak, non- tactical, non- athletic, squiemish (that's probably not how it's spelled), non- violent and unpatriotic person. So I won't apply. But I do wonder how my personality would change after seeing death and treason and depressing stuff like that. I will worry and sob and scream if I forget my homework, so imagine me as a CIA agent. Would I become sarcastic and cynical, like you guessed, or world- weary and death-y like Nicole wondered? Hmmmm indeed.
ReplyDeleteSpiffy post feller!!!!!