Unnatural Death by Patricia Cornwell
Two mauled bodies in the woods. Two top secret autopsies. The most chilling case of Scarpetta's career . . .
In this thrilling new instalment of the #1 bestselling series, chief medical examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta finds herself in a Northern Virginia wilderness examining the remains of two campers wanted by federal law enforcement.
The victims have been savaged beyond recognition, and other evidence is terrifying and baffling, including a larger-than-life footprint.
After one of the most frightening body retrievals of her career, Scarpetta must discover who would commit murders this brutal, and why.
About the author
In 1990, Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. An auspicious debut, it went on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity Awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure prize—the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. Growing into an international phenomenon, the Scarpetta series won Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development.
Today, Cornwell’s novels and iconic characters are known around the world. Beyond the Scarpetta series, Cornwell has written the definitive nonfiction account of Jack the Ripper’s identity, cookbooks, a children’s book, a biography of Ruth Graham, and two other fictional series based on the characters Win Garano and Andy Brazil. While writing Quantum, Cornwell spent two years researching space, technology, and robotics at Captain Calli Chase’s home base, NASA’s Langley Research Center, and studied cutting-edge law enforcement and security techniques with the Secret Service, the US Air Force, NASA Protective Services, Scotland Yard, and Interpol.
Cornwell was born in Miami. She grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston and Los Angeles.
Review
‘Unnatural Death’ was thrilling, mysterious and downright unputdownable! This is the 27th book in the series but it can definitely be read as a standalone. I have missed a few books from the series and understood everything perfectly. I always feel nostalgic when I pick up one of these books as they were one of the first crime series that I ever really got into. I was forever pinching them off my dad, sometimes before he could even read them! I was very excited to be delving back into the world of Kay Scarpetta and it did not disappoint. It is very rare that a series with this many instalments has the capacity to be fresh, shocking and alluring to a reader but this was never going to be the case here! ‘Unnatural Death’ manages to do all this with aplomb!
Kay and Marino have been called out to examine the bodies of two wild campers who were being investigated by the Secret Service. By Lucy, Kay’s niece no less! They were attacked in the middle of the night by unknown forces and were found mutilated the next morning. Did they know their killer or was this their criminal activity catching up with them? Kay and the team are under a lot of pressure to get this one right - both medically and politically!
This was a mysterious and tense read! The plot was intriguing and compelling. With the added detail of American mythology, it made for an ominous and strange read. The Kay Scarpetta books have always been packed full of science and at times science we aren't always aware of in the mainstream. It's still the case but there has been a slight shift to the realm of technology with cutting-edge equipment, drones and AI! Definitely reflective of the modern world in which we find ourselves now.
Scarpetta is and always has been a brilliant protagonist. Completely dedicated to her work and her family. She isn't afraid to hunt down the truth. Caring and kind to friends and colleagues. She has self-awareness but still worries about how she looks. She is utterly likeable and I can't wait to see what happens next for her and the gang!
Let me know if you pick this one up!
