Autopsy

No one speaks for the dead like Kay Scarpetta, forensic pathologist and Patricia Cornwell’s captivating character. Autopsy is her 25th Scarpetta novel. shocking and detailed as the previous 24. (I’ve read most of them.)

The new Virginia Chief ME’s first crime scene is a woman in full display, throat cut to her spine. That’s the beginning. As appointee of the Doomsday Commission Scarpetta is summoned to work on the first crime scene in space—remotely. While working cases in tandem, a possible serial killer strikes again. Even Scarpetta is in danger. 

The forensic detailing is classic Cornwell as is the tension… show more.

I was lucky enough to meet and interview pioneering chief medical examiner Dr. Marcella Fierro—the real-life inspiration for Kay Scarpetta, one of the most well-known characters in crime fiction. Fierro, through Cornwell, laid the foundation for every book, movie, and TV series featuring forensics. In this book, Scarpetta is back in Virginia, where she investigates the remains of a woman whose body was found dumped near railroad tracks, her throat cut and hands amputated. A penny found flattened on the rail could be a clue to the Jane Doe’s identity.