Scarpetta

By Patricia Cornwell

Published by Putnam Adult
Hardcover. 512 pages
ISBN-10: 0399155163
Kay Scarpetta series Number 16

If you are a Scarpetta fan you will not be able to resist reading this book. As I have missed reading her last two books, I was somewhat surprised to find that Benton Wesley has suddenly come back to life and is married to Kay Scarpetta. The story starts when Scarpetta is called to New York where a prisoner in a psychiatric prison ward has specifically asked for her and then proceeds to relate a very strange tale. Is his story true or just a figment of his vivid imagination? There follows a mixture of violent deaths, chases through the New York streets and through cyberspace. Scarpetta's tales now seem to have more and more bizarre characters, but there is always the ever faithful Marino and, of course, her computer whiz niece, Lucy. This book is not as good as those at the beginning of the series, and it was not particularly realistic, but it is a fast moving tale and is full of fascinating forensic details. One wonders how many more Scarpettas Patricia Cornwell can roll out and how will she end the series?