Cause of Death
Scarpetta (Book 7)
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4.2 • 470 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Dr. Kay Scarpetta is faced with a labyrinthine case that wraps a web of danger around her and those closest to her—and threatens to wreak fear and death far beyond Virginia—in this “standout” (New York Newsday) thriller from #1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell.
“Fascinating, frightening . . . Reaffirms that Cornwell is one of the best crime fiction authors working today.”—The Miami Herald
IN DEVELOPMENT AS THE ORIGINAL SERIES SCARPETTA STARRING NICOLE KIDMAN AND JAMIE LEE CURTIS
On New Year’s Eve, the last day of Virginia’s bloodiest year since the Civil War, Dr. Kay Scarpetta plunges into the murky depths of the Elizabeth River to recover the very human remains of Ted Eddings, an investigative reporter. Was Eddings probing the Inactive Shipyard for a story, or simply diving for sunken trinkets? And why did Scarpetta receive a phone call from someone reporting the death before the police were notified?
With the advent of a second murder—this one closer to home—the case envelops Scarpetta, her niece Lucy, and police captain Pete Marino in a world where both cutting-edge technology and old-fashioned detective work are critical offensive weapons. Together they follow the trail of death to a well of violence as dark and forbidding as the water that swirled over Ted Eddings.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
First, the good news: the omni-competent Kay Scarpetta is back, along with her sidekicks, in a murder mystery that's tighter than her last escapade, From Potter's Field. Chief medical examiner for the state of Virginia and an FBI consultant, Kay finds ample opportunity to demonstrate her skills in the autopsy room and outside it, too: here, she also dives with a Navy SEAL rescue squad and, through her computer-genius niece Lucy, an FBI agent, takes an up-close-and-personal look at a robot operated via virtual reality. But there is bad news: the work lacks the extraordinary, can't-go-to-bed-til-you're-finished suspense of Cornwell's earlier novels, e.g. Cruel and Unusual. The killers here, members of a nihilistic, fascist cult who think their founder akin to God, are identified early on but never developed as characters. Their crimes, while heinous, don't baffle and tease the reader (or Kay) in the manner of the villain Temple Gault, who was dismissed in the last book. While Cornwell's authoritative presentation of forensic sleuthing, FBI procedures and high-tech crime-fighting compensates mightily for the overneat dovetailing of characters' paths and even the implausible role Kay plays in the climax, the hurried, almost slapdash pace of the climactic scenes is disappointing from so accomplished a writer. But even at less than her best, Cornwell remains a master of the genre, instilling in readers an appetite that only she can satisfy. One million first printing; $750,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild, Mystery Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selections.
Customer Reviews
As always
Scarpetta is riveting from the first word to the last, hard to put down and deep in realistic detail.
Cause of death
As always her books are amazing, engaging entretaining and more.
Holds your interest
This book is really to good to put down! I read it all on two sittings. I would have liked it to go on a little more, didn’t want it to end!