Books with author Patricia Powell

William McGee, commonly known as Willy, was a thin, frail seven-year-old boy who wore glasses. Children often picked on Willy because of the way he looked, but Willy never let that bother him. He had something the other kids didn't have: a magic pirate captain's hat and a great imagination. By placing the hat on his head, Willy discovered that he could transform himself into Captain Williby, embarking on exciting adventures.

Never in my life would I have imagined I’d be homeless. But here I am, fifteen and sleeping on a park bench with nothing but the clothes on my back, twelve dollars in my pocket, and a backpack full of useless school books. It’s incredible how fast things can change. One minute I’m walking home from the bus stop, and the next my mother is being carted off by the police for drug- dealing and I am left with no family to take me in. Just as I resolve myself to entering a group home full of bullies and cockroaches, my principal finds a peculiar name on my emergency contact list. That’s when my world totally changes and I am thrust into a situation completely beyond my control. And to top it off – I do have family! Turns out my mother lied to me all my life. And that’s not all she lied about. Unbelievable!Books in the Karina's Journey SeriesFrom House to HomeFrom Good to BadFrom Lies to TruthGirl Unbroken - A Novella

The decision to abandon her forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta (Body of Evidence; Cause of Death; etc.) leaves Cornwell lacking more than a fail-safe series heroine. The only credible element in this novel is the urban New South setting. The story-about two women top cops and a young male newspaper reporter in Charlotte, N.C.-is routine fare at best. The three characters-42-year-old Deputy Chief Virginia West; her boss, unhappily married Chief Judy Hammer; and handsome wunderkind journalist and volunteer cop, Andy Brazil-are preternaturally competent automatons, obsessive and utterly devoid of self-awareness. A sequence of serial killings of out-of-towners, men who are pulled from their rental cars, sexually mutilated, marked with orange spray paint and shot, creates tension in Charlotte. While Hammer struggles with city politics and a depressed, obese husband, West contends with Brazil (a "handsome and fierce" 22-year-old with "total photographic recall"), who is on assignment to write about police activity, having impressed his editor by turning in "a hundred of hours' overtime five months in a row." Rather than reveal her characters through their words and actions, Cornwell forces them on us predigested ("West believed women were great"; "Brazil did not believe prostitution was right."). In that same descriptive mode, she takes them on roller coaster rides of extravagant emotion-rage, grief, resolve, despair-and offers set pieces in place of plot: mid-book, more than 150 pages pass without mention of the murders. We are made privy to the fantasies of West's cat, but not to the motivations behind the killings. There is nothing to believe in on these pages beyond Charlotte itself. 750,000 first printing; 00,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild, Mystery Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Under the leafy cover of night in Richmond, Virginia, a human monster moves undetected, leaving a gruesome trail of stranglings that has paralyzed the city. Medical examiner Kay Scarpetta senses the worst: a deliberate campaign by a brilliant serial killer— a "Mr.Nobody"—whose signatures offer precious few clues. With an unerring eye, she must call on the latest advances in forensic research to have a chance at unmasking the maniac. But this investigation will test Kay like no other, because it's being sabotaged from within—and someone wants her dead.