LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
I first met Kay Scarpetta in the '90s when I picked up Patricia Cornwell's debut Postmortem, and I was hooked. Scarpetta was the first woman chief medical examiner in Virginia and Cornwell sold the book whilst she was working at the office of the chief medical examiner in Richmond, Virginia. An auspicious debut, it went on to win the Edgar, the Creasey, the Anthony and the Macavity Awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure - the first book ever to claim all distinctions in a single year. More than thirty years and 26 Scarpetta books later, Cornwell is still knocking it out of the park.
Hailed as the first bona fide forensic thriller, Postmortem paved the way for an explosion of entertainment featuring all things forensic. CSI? You'll read it here first.
The Scarpetta series of novels centre primarily on medical examiner Scarpetta along with her tech-savvy niece Lucy and fellow investigator the trusty Pete Marino. I have adored following this series which feels like the comfort of an old friend, I sink into it and fly through the pages although the content is hardly cosy!
If you love a series, dive in and follow their crime-fighting adventures.
Saying that, if you love a fast-paced thriller, and don't want to commit to such a huge series, Livid can be read as a standalone, and I promise you'll be gutted as the pages start disappearing and you move towards the book's close.
Scarpetta is a reluctant star witness in a sensational murder trial when she is flung into the depths of a series of murders. The Judge's sister is found dead and Scarpetta and Marino have to fight the other forces to gain control of the investigations as a forensic pathologist and her fiercely protective sidekick Marino, a former homicide detective turned forensic operations specialist. Supported by Lucy and husband Benton, the top threat analyser and criminal profiler who both work for the US Secret Service, they are a crack team of influential crime fighters.
As they navigate the misinformation, battle against forces out of their control, they are taken back to their past to solve these heinous crimes using state-of-the-art tech and ground-breaking forensic knowledge. And I for one, was delighted to be by their side every step of the way.
Deborah Maclaren
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Livid Synopsis
Murder and mayhem. Scarpetta is back, and she's racing against the clock . . .
Chief medical examiner Kay Scarpetta is the reluctant star witness in a sensational murder trial when she receives shocking news. The judge's sister has been found dead. At first glance, it appears to be a home invasion, but then why was nothing stolen, and why is the garden strewn with dead plants and insects?
Although there is no apparent cause of death, Scarpetta recognizes tell-tale signs of the unthinkable, and she knows the worst is yet to come. The forensic pathologist finds herself pitted against a powerful force that returns her to the past, and her time to catch the killer is running out . . .
About This Edition
ISBN: |
9781408725849 |
Publication date: |
20th July 2023 |
Author: |
Patricia Cornwell |
Publisher: |
Sphere an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group |
Format: |
Paperback |
Pagination: |
351 pages |
Series: |
Scarpetta Series |
Primary Genre |
Crime and Mystery
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Other Genres: |
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Recommendations: |
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Press Reviews
Patricia Cornwell Press Reviews
Post-mortem scenes that [will] make fans of this long-running series salivate . . . Something to look forward to - KIRKUS
PRAISE FOR PATRICIA CORNWELL - -
One of the best crime writers writing today - GUARDIAN
Astonishing . . . Thirty years on, there's still no other crime writer like her - SUNDAY TIMES
The top gun in this field - DAILY TELEGRAPH
America's most stimulating and chilling writer of crime fiction - THE TIMES
Forget the pretenders. Cornwell reigns - MIRROR
A pioneer of the genre of forensic psychological thriller -- BBC The Agatha Christie of the DNA age - EXPRESS
The queen of the forensic thriller - MAIL ON SUNDAY
Cutting-edge - SUN
When it comes to forensic sciences, nobody can touch Cornwell - NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
Slick, fast-paced and brilliant - HEAT
Author
About Patricia Cornwell
Patricia Cornwell is one of the world’s major international best-selling authors, translated into thirty-six languages across more than fifty countries. She is a founder of the Virginia Institute of Forensic Science and Medicine, a founding member of the National Forensic Academy, a member of the New York OCME Forensic Sciences Training Program’s Advisory Board, and a member of the Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital’s National Council, where she is an advocate for psychiatric research.
In 2008 Cornwell won the Galaxy British Book Awards’ Books Direct Crime Thriller of the Year – the first American ever to win this prestigious award. Her most recent bestsellers include Scarpetta, Book of the Dead and The Front. Her earlier works include Postmortem – the only novel to win five major crime awards in a single year – and Cruel and Unusual, which won the coveted Gold Dagger award in 1993. Dr. Kay Scarpetta herself won the 1999 Sherlock Award for the best detective created by an American writer.
More About Patricia Cornwell