Dr. Kay Scarpetta is starting over with a unique private forensic pathology practice in Charleston, South Carolina. But in this thrilling #1 New York Times bestseller, her fresh start ushers in a string of murders more baffling—and terrifying—than any that have come before …
The Book of the Dead is the morgue log, the ledger in which all cases are entered by hand. For Kay Scarpetta, however, it is about to acquire a new meaning.
A sixteen-year-old tennis star, fresh from a tournament win in Charleston, is found nude and mutilated near Piazza Navona in Rome. The body of an abused young boy is dumped in a desolate marsh. A woman is ritualistically murdered in her multimillion-dollar beach home. Meanwhile, in New England, problems with a prominent patient at a Harvard-affiliated psychiatric hospital begin to hint at interconnections among the deaths that are as hard to imagine as they are horrible.
Scarpetta has dealt with many brutal and unusual crimes before, but never has she seen a string of death like what she’s facing now. Before she is through, that book of the dead will contain many names—and the pen may be poised to write her own …
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"Each of Patricia Cornwell's books are without doubt brilliant in their research, each are spellbinding and each are gory beyond belief. Yet each and everyone holds the reader throughout."
— Lili (4 out of 5 stars)
" Hated it. It took forever to read, and I barely got halfway through. I cannot take another minute of this series. Talk about an epic fail. It started out so strong, so interesting, but now it's more aggravating and stupid than it's worth. "
— Sarah, 2/14/2014" Not her best but still good. Suspense was good, plot was easy to figure out for me. "
— Jan, 2/5/2014" It was definitely NOT one of her better books! It was slow and it just finally got weird in an effort to keep your attention. It ended in 2-3 pages, with no answers to parts of the storyline. "
— Leah, 1/19/2014" This book is not one of Cornwell's best mainly because it ended so quickly & abruptly. The whole plot is being set up for 3/4 of the book and it's like she became uninterested and ended it so sloppily and tried to connect the dots but it didn't make sense. "
— Cynthia, 1/6/2014" Not as good as the original ones, but I am intrigued by forensic science so I'll probably always enjoy these books. "
— Peggy, 1/5/2014" Back to the orginal Scarpetta style. The last few books have been pretty lackluster, but this one reminded me of why I bothered to continue reading the series. "
— Rachel, 12/16/2013" Picked this up in the WH Smith to pass the time while a flight was delayed. So far so good. Takes place part of the time in Charleston, SC!! "
— Emily, 11/30/2013" This is my first "Kay Scarpetta" book. I've heard good things & finally decided to pick one up. The author has a writing style that is different from anyone else I've read. It reads almost as if it's a case file... very un-flowery and sometimes abrupt. It took me a while to get used to it, but then, I really liked it. As far as the story goes, about 3/4 thru this book I became indifferent to whether or not I finished it. I'm glad I did. The best part of this book is not the murder mystery. It's the characters and their very complicated relationships to eachother. I wouldn't be in a hurry to pick up another of these, but I wouldn't be opposed to reading one either. "
— Pamela, 11/17/2013" It kind of jumped around a bit, probably a better read for someone who has read the other books and followed the storyline of the characters. "
— Heather, 11/14/2013" Clumsy writing and tiresome plot. Nobody likes Kay. Poor Kay. The last ten pages mashed all the plot likes together but---hey-- where is Marino? "
— Carol, 9/8/2013" Her books are getting darker, more graphic, and more difficult to enjoy for me. But I am still invested in the characters, which makes me keep reading. "
— Tdbelmont, 8/19/2013" Nao achei nada de especial! Para um livro que ganhou premios, fiquei um bocado desiludido "
— Frederico, 7/11/2013" i love books by patricia cornwell, i always seem to learn a little something new with each one. good stuff for the people who like forensic thrillers! "
— Steph, 7/1/2013" I think I need to read one of her earlier novels. Too much of the story was based on previous knowledge and was indecipherable to a new reader. "
— Becca, 6/16/2013" This book was very slow was glad when I finished and could move on. She went into too much detail on forensic. I also thought that she overdid the bad language. Would not recommend it to anyone. "
— Geri, 5/1/2013" always have enjoyed the series, but this book a disappointment. "
— Marie, 4/28/2013" don't like how all of the characters have anger issues. they all need to see a shrink. too much going on & was too much of a coincidence that it was all related. "
— Jennifer, 3/19/2013" I haven't enjoyed these Kay Scarpetta books as much since Kay left Virginia... "
— Susan, 1/22/2013" when I want a quick read - I always seem to end up with a series like this one. "
— Jane, 11/3/2012" Patricia Cornwell used to write good, kinda gross forensic science murder mysteries. Her past few books though have been totally wrapped up in these weird and completely unrealistically interconnected plots. And it drags on. I couldn't even finish this. "
— Priscilla, 4/24/2012" Another Scarpetta novel. Some surprising twists in this one. "
— Pat, 2/28/2012" Ugh! I'm done with these books... Scarpetta is as psycho as some of the killers she is dealing with....I don't get it. "
— Anita, 2/7/2012" meh - not great, probably done w/ this series. "
— Geri, 11/12/2011" Not the best scarpetta. This one has character emotion flying at you in every direction. The early crime focused titles are much better. "
— Ted, 10/31/2011" I really liked this one. It was more about her job than the actual story of a crime. I LOVE HER JOB "
— Khrystie, 9/7/2011" there was no conclusion!! "
— Sarah, 9/5/2011" I was disappointed. I have loved Kay Scarpetta and Marino for a long time. This, well this just annoyed me and let me down. "
— Jennifer, 8/14/2011" My first book by Patricia Cornwall - I usually read Bernard! Ok if gruesome start, a few twists along the way and then a sudden finish in which you had to fill in some of the gaps yourself. I would probably try another by the same author before deciding whether this is for me! "
— Stuart, 5/3/2011" Lots of questions raised and never really answered, not her best.<br/> "
— Julie, 5/3/2011" Starting with 'Predator', I felt Cornwell was taking these people in a direction where I no longer cared about them, any of them. Too much forensic info no one cares about, not enough plot or excitement. "
— Bob, 4/21/2011" Huge Scarpetta fan. Started reading "The Body Farm" when I was in the Peace Corps in '99 and have been hooked since...This book doesn't disappoint! "
— Michelle, 4/12/2011" Good even the Second time around "
— Sherry, 4/5/2011" The book was hard to understand with no conclusion. "
— Wally, 4/1/2011" One of my all time favorites, Starts a new chapter in Kay's life. "
— Marcy, 3/23/2011" not strictly read it but got as far as I can - it's just not my thing. "
— Helen, 3/7/2011" Definitely not her best work. I put this one down a lot. Is Cornwell pumping them out too quickly? I found numerous editorial mistakes in the text, which irritated me especially for an author who does so much research and is usually exact in her telling. "
— Carson, 3/3/2011" disappointed! I couldn't believe that Pete Marino's character was brought so low. I didn't have a good feeling when I finished the book. "
— Veronica, 3/1/2011" it was the first of the Kay Scarpetta series that i read. didn't really like some of the characters. didn't feel plausible. but will give another one a try. "
— Sam, 2/28/2011Patricia Cornwell is recognized as one of the world’s top bestselling crime authors with many New York Times bestselling novels. She wrote her debut, Postmortem, while working at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia, and it went on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity awards, as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventures—the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. Beyond the Kay Scarpetta series, she has written a definitive book about Jack the Ripper, a biography, and three more fiction series, among others.