Murder and mayhem. Scarpetta is back, and she’s racing against the clock . . .

Book blurb

Chief medical examiner Kay Scarpetta is the reluctant star witness in a sensational murder trial when she receives shocking news. The judge’s sister has been found dead. At first glance, it appears to be a home invasion, but then why was nothing stolen, and why is the garden strewn with dead plants and insects?

Although there is no apparent cause of death, Scarpetta recognizes tell-tale signs of the unthinkable, and she knows the worst is yet to come. The forensic pathologist finds herself pitted against a powerful force that returns her to the past, and her time to catch the killer is running out . . .

My thoughts

Giving evidence in a court case Kay takes a battering from the defence. It’s a case that Kay has to deal with since the original pathologist retired. The judge, who Kay has known for years and is a friend, does nothing to protect Kay. Still, when news comes through that the Judges sister has been killed and her home is now a crime scene Kay extends the hand of friendship and invites her to stay.

Kay is settling into her new role but her assistant, who she inherited from the previous head, now her boss, continues to cause problems and Kay is going to have to do something about it!

When Kay and Marino attend the scene an unidentified phenomenon has occurred in the grounds around the house. The secret service and FBI are trying to muscle in and take over the investigation.

There is an issue with the Presidents security!

Then Wally, the owner of an iconic grocery store, is found dead. Kay has a lot on her plate and it’s not going to get any easier for a while.

I think that with Livid Patricia Cornwell is striking a really good balance between the family/personal, work issues, workload, forensics, investigating and the use of modern technology/weapons/gadgets in this book. Cornwell obviously has a passion for technology which is fascinating and often a clever device in her storylines but can occasionally, for me, be a distraction.

In this book the technology that is weaponised is shocking in its simplicity and use. It is all too easy to understand and so believe. That this item, which is so readily available, can be adapted with little effort to create mayhem and murder makes the storyline all the more chilling.

The court case results in a not guilty verdict putting a question mark on the pathologists recent cases. He had not been well, his mind impaired perhaps because of dementia, when he retired and not long after died. Here again the FBI is interfering and if they get their way all his cases will have to be reopened.

A telephone conversation with his widow leads Kay to his journals and brings a new twist on what has been happening. It also puts Kay in grave danger!

This was a cracking story which I thoroughly enjoyed reading and I’m looking forward to the next instalment in the Scarpetta series.

Book: Purchased

Information

Published: Sphere (Hatchette UK/LittleBrown); 1st edition (20 July 2023)

Buy: Sphere links |Hive UK | AmazonSmileUK | Bookshop.org (affiliate link) | Your Local Bookshop | Your Local Library

Author

Patricia Cornwell now lives in Boston. She was born in Miami and grew up in Montreat, North Carolina. After earning her degree in English from Davidson College in 1979, she began working at the Charlotte Observer, taking whatever stories came her way and rapidly advancing from listing television programs to covering the police beat. Cornwell received widespread attention and praise for her series of articles on prostitution and crime in downtown Charlotte. From the Charlotte Observer, Cornwell moved to a job with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia – a post she would later bestow upon the fictional Kay Scarpetta. It was during these years that Patricia penned Postmortem and began submitting it to major publishing houses in New York, without initial success.

Find out more about the author and her writing on the Patricia Cornwell Website or follow her on X/Twitter (links to other social media on her website).

Patricia Cornwell Bio | US book tours (past/upcoming) | UK book tours (past/upcoming)

Books

Scarpetta series | Captain Chase series | Will Garano series | Andy Brazil series | Jack the Ripper books | Other books

Latest/Upcoming Scarpetta Books

Unnatural Death (Scarpetta series 27) – PAPERBACK | ISBN-13: 9781408728673 | ON SALE: 18th July 2024

Identity Unknown (Scarpetta series 28) – HARDCOVER | ISBN-13: 9781408732618 | ON SALE: 8th October 2024