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 ...For more about Patricia Cornwell and her books visit her website at www.patricia-cornwell.com

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22254 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 404 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

disappointing start to a series
I know Patricia Cornwell has her fans, many of them, and it says much about their devotion that despite the bad writing and depressed heroine, the unbelievable coincidences and stereotypical detectives, that she went on to sell a stack of other books. I am hoping they will improve, as the entire series waits to be read ... a gift from a friend! But to return to details, those dangling participles are evident and her editor should have returned the book to the author and asked her to sort them out, so she didn't make the same mistakes in future. As in 'Rubbing a dollop of the lotion onto his hands, Bander pulled on a pair of white cotton gloves.'You can't do both at exactly the same time. The word 'after' needed to be dropped in at the start of that sentence. My current favourite from this book is,'slipping on her jacket' and she didn't hit the floor, either. Very cleverly held her balance. There's a mass of this kind of lazy writing. Then we have the dreadful scene when she says 'if we had blood' and in chrges Marino clutching the blood stained jump suit. I complained of these outrageous coincidences in David Baldacci's Simple Genius. I did not expext to find it it in a book that supposedly won five awards. Makes you wonder what the opposition was like, doesn't it? I did not like the fact that Marino suspected the husband of one of the victims for most of the book and then suddenly he didn't suspect him any more. Why, how, what changed his mind? We weren't told, it just disappeared, when it was convenient for it to do so.
Kay Scarpatti needs to lighten up a bit. Life is not that drear, even if you are a pathologist. I kept wanting to say, you don't like the job, go get another one!
I will read the others, because they are here. I cannot say I will enjoy reading them as much as I have other tighter written, better plotted, less coincidental books. In 'real' life there are coincidences. Fiction needs to be better plotted than real life, it's why we read it.
I would suggest those who run the awards take a long look at Stephen Booth before giving any away. Now he does deserve it.

A bit disappointing.
I finally got eound to starting the highly acclaimed Scarpetta series. And I must admit, I was a tad disappointed. The book, overall, I feel is good but I feel it lacks pace at parts and also I didnt find hardly any of the main characters very likeable.
But however as I have said it was an enjoyable book but in my oppinion not as good as it is made out to be. This could be down to the fact that it is now over 10 years old and maybe isnt as enjoyable as more recent efforts by the likes of Tess Gerritsen and Karin Slaughter etc. That said my expectations may have just been to high. However I will certainly continue with the series.

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!