Portrait Of A Killer Patricia Cornwell Sparknotes

Portrait of a killer, By Patricia Cornwell, tells the story of a serial killer known as none other than Jack the Ripper. This including how the author herself believes she has discovered the identity of the murderer. Patricia Cornwell, the author, is a crime writer who is fascinated by medicine, forensic science, and crime. She researches crimes and makes discoveries, then writes about her findings. Portrait of A Killer is no exception to this matter, and one of the discoveries she believes she has made is the actual identity of the killer. Jack the Ripper was a viscous murderer whose identity is still a controversy, but in 2002, Patricia became convinced that through modern forensics and research, she has discovered the true identity of the 19th century killer. He committed his crimes …show more content…
Throughout the book, Patricia also made it clear the toll the investigation was taking on her. She described the way it affected her mentally and physically. Dealing with sleepless nights and stressful evenings on several occasions, all credit of which going to the investigation.
Patricia was able to make such a claim as to discovering the identity of the killer, due to paintings, dead bodies found, and even notes from the killer himself. One would think that evidence such as this would be more than enough to convict someone guilty, and Patricia believes so just as well. In stating how adamant she is in this claim, she has put her reputation on the line in the most literal way by saying “If someone proves me wrong, not only will I look horrible about it, I will lose my reputation.” She has not only been accused of being crazy for this suspicion, but has also spent millions of dollars buying paintings from her suspect. This also means that from what she wrote in the book, and from the evidence