Postmortem - (Kay Scarpetta) by Patricia Cornwell (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

"Cornwell...[has] brought new life to the moribund detective fiction genre. Her intelligent, self-made heroine gets our respect because she is extraordinarily competent at her job, and so thoroughly devoted to it...Cornwell's renderings of death are lucid, intricate and beautifully compassionate, showing again and again how the examination of the dead illuminates the passions of the living."
--The New York Times

"Dr. Kay Scarpetta, who keeps us coming back to Patricia Cornwell's sprawling crime novels, is one tough broad."
--New York Times Book Review

"Patricia Cornwell is a "masterful mysterian."
--Kirkus

"Her writing is masterful."
--Booklist

"Cornwell's books run on high octane fuel, a cocktail of adrenalin and fear."
--The Times (London)

"Everyone knows Scarpetta; she has the wit, intelligence, and strength that any forensic sleuth should own. This never-stop action plot is yet another gift to readers from Patricia Cornwell-a literary artist that is never going to stop writing some of the best and most memorable thrillers out there."
--Suspense Magazine

"I grew up in Richmond where Patricia Cornwell's electrifying debut novel Postmortem was set. I still remember the thrill of following one of crime fiction's greatest characters, Kay Scarpetta, as she hunted down a killer."
--David Baldacci, New York Times bestselling author of Strangers in Time

"Iconic. Bold. Brilliant."
--Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of All the Colors of the Dark