Postmortem
A Scarpetta Novel
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4.2 • 922 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The inspiration for the upcoming Prime Video series Scarpetta—starring Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis!
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell comes Postmortem, the groundbreaking thriller that introduced Dr. Kay Scarpetta and redefined the crime genre.
A killer is stalking the streets of Richmond, Virginia. When the bodies begin to mount, Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta is pulled into a chilling investigation that blends high-stakes forensics with psychological warfare. Armed with cutting-edge science and unflinching resolve, Scarpetta must navigate hostile forces both inside and outside the investigation—because someone isn’t just trying to hide the truth. They’re trying to kill her.
Cornwell’s gift for combining expert-level criminology with bone-chilling suspense makes this book a true modern classic. Relentlessly paced and shockingly prescient, Postmortem is the electrifying first chapter in the Scarpetta series—still as razor-sharp and relevant as ever.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cornwell, a former reporter who has worked in a medical examiner's office, sets her first mystery in Richmond, Va. Chief medical officer for the commonwealth of Virginia, Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the narrator, dwells on her efforts to identify ``Mr. Nobody,'' the strangler of young women. The doctor devotes days and nights to gathering computer data and forensic clues to the killer, although she's hampered by male officials anxious to prove themselves superior to a woman. Predictably, Scarpetta's toil pays off, but not before the strangler attacks her; a reformed male chauvinist, conveniently nearby, saves her. Although readers may be naturally disposed to admire Scarpetta and find the novel's scientific aspect interesting, they are likely to be put off by her self-aggrandizement and interminable complaints, annoying flaws in an otherwise promising debut.
Customer Reviews
Good read
Ready for the next book in this series.
The best book PC has ever written
This book was so many things. Gripping with an I have to finish it and move on the next read momentum. It is educational to a world I never wondered about or had any interest in getting to know. The mental pictures as what happens in a morgue leave me thinking these employees are heroes, my goodness there are very graphic things that goes on in that place! But because of these employees those mysterious deaths are solved, more crimes are solved and we are all the wiser in numerous ways. Very very good book to read! I love it when authors actually have lived alot of what they write instead of just doing research.
Needed more development,
Belabored points that did not matter, then suddenly all the pieces that were recently introduced magically fell into place with a big white bow.