Product Description

A serial killer is on the loose in Richmond, Virginia. Three women have died, brutalised and strangled in their own bedroom. There is no pattern: the killer appears to strike at random - but always early on Saturday mornings. So when Dr Kay Scarpetta, chief medical officer, is awakened at 2.33 am, she knows the news is bad: there is a fourth victim. And she fears now for those that will follow unless she can dig up new forensic evidence to aid the police. But not everyone is pleased to see a woman in this powerful job. Someone may even want to ruin her career and reputation ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6049 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review
'An excellent chiller with pace and tension' Sunday Telegraph 'Devilishly clever' Sunday Times

Sunday Times
'Devilishly clever'

About the Author
Patricia Cornwell's series of crime novels featuring the forensic examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta are international bestsellers. She is also the author of two police procedurals and the biography of Ruth Graham. She divides her time between Virginia and New York.

Customer Reviews

Brilliant, pioneering debut
The women die on Saturday mornings. They die horrifically and seemingly randomly. They are brutalised and strangled in their bedrooms by an intruder. This is all that is known. This is how they die.

When newly installed Dr Kay Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner of Richmond, Virginia, gets a call at just after half past two in on Saturday morning, she knows even before she answers the phone that a fourth woman has died. Though deeply distressed at the actions of this latest devious, unfathomable serial killer, all Scarpetta herself can do for the victims is to let them speak through her to help catch he who is responsible. Diligently she performs her morbid task, investigating the bodies of the fatally wronged, even though not all are pleased that she occupies this job.

There's little doubt that this is one of the most successful debut novels of all time, winning a plethora of awards upon its release and still drawing people into the series even today, and I am sure it will continue to do so. It deserves too, as well. Post-mortem is a cunning, powerful, emotional and clever debut from a woman who is now the most successful (not to mention wealthy!) female crime writer in the world. With this book Cornwell pretty much created an entire new genre, and blew out the gates for a new generation of writers to follow her through. None of them are quite as good, though. None have ever matched the quality or the fascination of the so-well-described forensic detail, none have ever managed to create a more interesting and complete character than Scarpetta, who still develops to this day, thanks to Cornwell's ability to keep her series growing in different directions. They haven't always been universally popular directions, changes, but I feel they must be commended just for the fact that Cornwell has refused to write carbon-copies of this first book all through her career. God knows, she could have done, but I'm sure that lots of readers would by now be sick of them.

The plotting here is slick and easy, the personal contexts and conflicts nudge the quality even higher, and the writing has autumnal grace in it. She can also find the stark bleak poetry of a dead body.

There's no doubt that Cornwell has found her unique place in the crime fiction Hall of Fame, as has Scarpetta, the most fascinating and complex female protagonist in the entire genre. Currently, it is very much in vogue to criticise Cornwell, and from what I can see this is almost solely because the most recent novels - Scarpetta or otherwise - are just different. But, whatever you think of them, Post-mortem is a brilliant forensic thriller, and it always will be.

An excellent crime thriller
Dr Kay Scarpetta has a difficult job on her hands investigating a series of horrific murders where the victims are all well-heeled young women. All of them are found naked, bound and strangled in the early hours of Saturday morning.

As she unravels the forensic clues with the brash detective, Pete Marino, her task is made even more difficult as it appears that legal officials, who should be on her side, suspect her of compromising evidence and leaking to the press. The case is made even more complex when it appears that her ten-year-old niece, Lucy, has become involved. To cap it all, it looks like the perpetrator could have inside knowledge of the investigation.

The reader is kept guessing almost to the very end of the book. The suspense is never-ending. That's the way that a good crime thriller should be, and this is one believe me!

A good read
The was the first book I read by Patricia Cornwell and I was greatly impressed. Like other people have commented, the pace is fast and the storyline keeps you constantly involved. You get to know the characters very well and this keeps you more involved as the plot progresses. I was, however, slightly disapointed with the ending but overall a very enjoyable read and I plan read more of her books.