Autopsies can reveal the secrets of the dead.
 
And this victim is sending Scarpetta a message…
 
Summoned to an abandoned theme park to retrieve a body, Dr. Kay Scarpetta is devastated to learn that the victim is a man she once had an intense love affair with.

The murder scene is bizarre, with a crop circle of petals around the body, and Giordano’s skin is strangely red. Scarpetta’s niece Lucy believes he was dropped from an unidentified flying craft. Scarpetta knows an autopsy can reveal the dead’s secrets, but she is shocked to find her friend seems to have deliberately left her a clue.    

As the investigators are torn between suspicions of otherworldly forces, and of Giordano himself, Scarpetta detects an explanation closer to home that, in her mind, is far more evil…

Review:

Sinuous, sharp, and sinister!

Identity Unknown is a menacing, disturbing tale that sees the past collide with the present when Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta finds herself investigating the unusual murder of her former lover, the esteemed astrophysicist Sal Giordano, when his body is found dumped strangely at a deserted amusement park.

The writing is crisp and clever. The characters are meticulous, diligent, and driven. And the plot is an ominous, compelling tale full of twists, turns, red herrings, secrets, deduction, mayhem, violence, and murder.

Overall, Identity Unknown is a tight, tense, gripping tale that is unbelievably the twenty-eighth book in the Kay Scarpetta series. I have yet to read a novel by Cornwell that isn’t pacey, suspenseful, and satisfying, and this one was no exception.

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or one of the following links.

In this thrilling new installment of Patricia Cornwell’s #1 bestselling series, chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta finds herself a reluctant star witness in a sensational televised murder trial causing chaos in Old Town Alexandria with the threat of violent protests.

Forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta has just inherited one of the most notorious cases of her career. Two years ago, a former beauty queen’s body washed up on the shore of Wallops Island, Virginia. She was last seen on a boat with her fiancé, who has since been held in jail while awaiting trial.

Scarpetta must act as the expert witness for the case—an investigation previously botched by another forensic pathologist. After a grueling cross-examination by the prosecutor, Scarpetta leaves the court only to discover that the sister of the judge on her case has been found dead.

Scarpetta ultimately finds herself facing a powerful, invisible enemy who’s planning the unthinkable.

Review:

Intricate, menacing, and sophisticated!

In this twenty-sixth instalment in the Kay Scarpetta series, Livid, Cornwell has written an ominous thriller that sees Virginia’s Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta not only testifying in the April Tupelo volatile trial but also investigating the bizarre murder of CIA employee Rachael Stanwyck, sister of her close friend Judge Annie Chilton, that as it unfolds also seems strangely connected to a failed assassination attempt on the President, the brutal murder of a beloved local market owner and the suicide of a Tidewater medical examiner.

The writing is descriptive and brisk. The characters are intuitive, knowledgeable, and persistent. And the plot is a well-paced, cleverly plotted tale full of mischief, mayhem, coercion, corruption, criminal behaviours, dangerous endeavours, crime scene analysis, secrets, deduction, lies, terrorists, and murder.

Overall, Livid is another action-packed, intriguing, sinister tale by Cornwell that I am sure will be a solid, satisfying, entertaining read for any long-standing fans of the series.

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or one of the following links.