Dr. Kay Scarpetta is starting over with a unique private forensic pathology practice in Charleston, South Carolina. But in this thrilling #1 New York Times bestseller, her fresh start ushers in a string of murders more baffling—and terrifying—than any that have come before…The Book of the Dead is the morgue log, the ledger in which all cases are entered by hand. For Kay Scarpetta, however, it … Kay Scarpetta, however, it is about to acquire a new meaning.
A sixteen-year-old tennis star, fresh from a tournament win Charleston, is found nude and mutilated near Piazza Navona in Rome. The body of an abused young boy is dumped in a desolate marsh. A woman is ritualistically murdered in her multimillion-dollar beach home. Meanwhile, in New England, problems with a prominent patient at a Harvard-affiliated psychiatric hospital begin to hint at interconnections among the deaths that are as hard to imagine as they are horrible.
Scarpetta has dealt with many brutal and unusual crimes before, but never has she seen a string of death like what she’s facing now. Before she is through, that book of the dead will contain many names—and the pen may be poised to write her own…
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I love all these Kay books
Great addition to the series. I had to get them all.
Unlike the older Scarpetta novels, I found this book difficult to follow. Disappointing.
Cornwell never disappoints
Boring. It spends the first 25% of the book going through various interactions among the characters rather than getting the reader involved in the mystery at hand.
Not up to what we expect of the Scarpetta characters. A bit of a letdown.
I did not like the flow of the book and present tense didn’t feel connected to the characters
Another great mystery writer.
Great book, who doesn’t love Patricia Cornwell
I love all of the Scarpetti books, this one was no exception.
Typical for Cornwell. Familiar cast of characters on a new adventure in crime solving.
Patricia Cornwell rocks!
Never even finished the book. I lost interest in it.
Have read this series from the beginning but found this one not up to the rest too much flipping around from years ago to today. The Charaters we had grown to love were too flawed and we never did find out what happen to some of them or how the main character ended up where she was. Kind of hard to follow at points in the story.
I love the characters and only got this one because I was hoping she went back to writing like the first books and wanted to see what Kay was up to. Was disappointed.
A mystery with our heroine Kay Scarpetta. Unlike most of these books for some reason I had more problems relating with these characters than in other books….but it was a good read.
Good. Holds your interest as all her books do.
I love this author, not only are her mysteries scary, with twisting plot turns and unexpected events. I also love that I learn a great deal from her books about medical procedure and detective work. She writes with the assumption that the reader is intelligent; very refreshing.
Another great Patricia Cornwall novel! Enjoyed every page!
Have read all her books! Love this author