Now freelancing from south Florida, Dr. Kay Scarpetta returns to Richmond, Virginia, the city that turned its back on her five years ago. Investigating the death of a young girl, she must follow the twisting leads and track the strange details to reveal the sad truth that may be more than even she can bear.

"Cornwell's latest after the disappointing Blow Fly has indomitable medical examiner Kay Scarpetta returning to her office in Richmond five years after being fired. This homecoming will cheer fans: not only does the move put Scarpetta on her own turf, it reinvigorates Cornwell's storytelling, restoring some of the spunk lately lacking in her lead character. Dr. Joel Marcus, Scarpetta's replacement as Virginia's chief medical examiner, has summoned her back to help him puzzle through the mysterious death of a 14-year-old girl. Marcus is generally loathed: he's petty, inept, has a secret garbage-truck phobia and harbors an intense hatred for Scarpetta. Meanwhile, Scarpetta's niece Lucy, owner of a fabulously successful private-eye firm, has her own troubles trying to sort out who attempted to kill her friend Henri (short for Henrietta), who's now under psychiatric treatment by Scarpetta's lover in Aspen, Benton Wesley. Lurking in the background is Edgar Allan Pogue, a nutcase who has a thing for dead bodies and a grudge against Scarpetta. It's her job, as always, to connect all the puzzling forensic dots and identify the killer in time to save herself and her loved ones. She does this, mostly, but leaves the reader to puzzle out a few salient points on his or her own. Cumbersome backstory slows the action, but in general the old Scarpetta comes through, at least in the main, and this will be enough to reassure her many fans and carry them over until her next appearance. Agent, Esther Newberg. (Sept.) Forecast: A firmer editorial hand might have snipped those dangling plot threads — the price, perhaps, of such success is getting enough rope to hang oneself. But thankfully Cornwell escapes that fate, and as the bestselling female crime writer in the world she can expect her regular huge numbers. BOMC, Literary Guild, Mystery Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selection." Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"[O]ne of the liveliest Scarpetta novels since From Potter's Field....Trace finds heroine Scarpetta at her feisty and scrappy best..." Denver Post

"Cornwell has better control of her plot and characters than in her last few efforts....The mystery is intriguing, there's plenty of forensic detail, and the ending...opens the way for Scarpetta and her associates to proceed in any direction that calls to them." Booklist

"Cornwell's full-employment approach to evil hits all her high notes: grueling forensics, supernal villainy, Scarpetta's righteous duels with bullying authority figures. If the result is more synthetic than inspired, fans won't be disappointed." Kirkus Reviews

"Patricia Cornwell has created a character so real, so compelling, so driven that this reader has to remind herself that Scarpetta is just a product of the author's imagination." Carol Memmott, USA Today

"Although Cornwell's over-the-top series will probably never return to its realistic beginnings, it's a relief to find Scarpetta back in the lab where she belongs, up to her elbows in guts and gore." Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

"Cornwell still commits the basic error of spelling everything out for the reader instead of letting the characters' actions suffice....Perhaps it's time for her to permanently retire Scarpetta and concentrate on nonfiction..." Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Although she is still an excellent plotter...the people running through Cornwell's cool, cruel maze have lost much of their subtlety....So who's the real villain here, making everybody suffer? Patricia Cornwell." Boston Globe

"If you aren't put off by Cornwell's forensic pathologist as a modern Minerva, you certainly could find Trace, and presumably her other books, to be enjoyable reads. But once was enough for me." Patrick Anderson, The Washington Post

"This latest installment is somewhat disappointing, lacking the intensity of Cornwell's earlier works, and dividing the focus between Scarpetta and Lucy can be confusing. Still, true fans will want to read it." Library Journal

Patricia Cornwell's most recent number-one bestsellers include Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper — Case Closed, The Last Precinct, and Isle of Dogs. Her earlier work includes Postmortem — the only novel to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity awards and the French Prix du Roman d'Aventure in a single year — and Cruel and Unusual, which won Britain's prestigious Gold Dagger Award for the year's best crime novel of 1993. Her fictional chief medical examiner, Dr. Kay Scarpetta, won the 1999 Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author. Cornwell helped establish the Virginia Institute of Forensic Science and Medicine, the first forensic training facility of its kind in the nation, and serves as the Institute's Chairman of the Board.