Synopses & Reviews
Its Dr. Kay Scarpettas birthday, and shes about to head to Miami for a vacation with Benton Wesley, her FBI profiler husband, when she notices seven pennies on a wall behind their Cambridge house. Is this a kids game? If so, why are all of the coins dated 1981 and so shiny they could be newly minted? Her cellphone rings, and Detective Pete Marino tells her theres been a homicide five minutes away. A high school music teacher has been shot with uncanny precision as he unloaded groceries from his car. No one has heard or seen a thing.
In this 22nd Scarpetta novel, the master forensic sleuth finds herself in the unsettling pursuit of a serial sniper who leaves no incriminating evidence except fragments of copper. The shots seem impossible, yet they are so perfect they cause instant death. The victims appear to have had nothing in common, and there is no pattern to indicate where the killer will strike next. First New Jersey, then Massachusetts, and then the murky depths off the coast of South Florida, where Scarpetta investigates a shipwreck, looking for answers that only she can discover and analyze. And it is there that she comes face to face with shocking evidence that implicates her techno genius niece, Lucy, Scarpettas own flesh and blood.
Review
“Bestseller Cornwells thrilling 22nd novel featuring Dr. Kay Scarpetta . . . pits the chief medical examiner against a threat uncomfortably close to home. . . . Series fans may be pleasantly shocked.” Publishers Weekly
Review
“In her twenty-second Scarpetta novel, Cornwells forensic knowhow is still at the cutting edge - even though Scarpetta was the prototype for most of TVs crack forensic investigators today - and her final scenes are both logical and shocking.” BBC (UK)
Review
“This is in many ways the best of the recent Scarpetta novels, boasting an involving story and some fine writing. Kay has finally found her voice as a first-person narrator. . . . Readers will give this one an enthusiastic thumbs up.” Booklist
Review
“Everyone knows Scarpetta; she has the wit, intelligence, and strength that any forensic sleuth should own. This never-stop action plot is yet another gift to readers from Patricia Cornwell-a literary artist that is never going to stop writing some of the best and most memorable thrillers out there.” Suspense Magazine
Review
“Cornwell is still the ace of forensic science mysteries. Dr. Kay Scarpetta and her family and friends just keep growing as characters, and Cornwells plots are still taut and tangled. . . . With Flesh and Blood, Cornwell is at the top of her game.” RT Book Reviews
Review
“The ending is unseen and unexpected-and terrifying. VERDICT Deduction is the key to solving this mystery, and Scarpetta fans will relish this nail-biting novel, Cornwells debut with publisher Morrow.” Library Journal (starred review)
Review
“Readers should be both thrilled and jolted…” CT Post
Review
“Dr. Kay Scarpetta… [is] an awesome force in the field of forensic science.” New York Times Book Review
Review
“From its opening pages, Flesh and Blood offers an adrenaline-fueled yet cerebral chase for a serial-killer that opens Scarpetta and her entourage to mortal danger. . . . Another chilling, delicious ride.” Chapter 16
Review
“Absorbing.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Review
“What [Cornwell and Scarpetta] continue to have crucially in common . . . is an unslacking commitment to doing their jobs right-getting to the bottom of things, in Scarpettas case; providing complexity and depth and suspense and thrills, in Cornwells. I should warn you that theres a cliffhanger ending.” Sullivan County Democrat
Synopsis
In #1
New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell's next enthralling thriller starring Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a serial sniper strikes chillingly close to home
Dr. Kay Scarpetta is about to head to Miami for a vacation when she notices seven pennies on a wall behind their home. Is this a kids' game? If so, why are all of the coins dated 1981 and so shiny they could be newly minted? Then she learns there's been a homicide five minutes away. A high school teacher was shot with uncanny precision as he unloaded groceries from his car. Yet no one heard or saw a thing.
Soon more victims surface. The shots seem impossible to achieve, yet they are so perfect they cause death in an instant. There is no pattern to indicate where the killer will strike next. First it was New Jersey, then Massachusetts, and then the murky depths off the coast. There she comes face to face with shocking news that implicates her niece, Lucy—Scarpetta's own flesh and blood.
About the Author
Patricia Cornwell is recognized as one of the worlds top bestselling crime authors with novels translated into thirty-six languages in more than 120 countries. Her novels have won numerous prestigious awards including the Edgar, the Creasey, the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Prix du Roman dAventure. Beyond the Scarpetta series, she has written a definitive book about Jack the Ripper, a biography, and two more fiction series. Cornwell, a licensed helicopter pilot and scuba diver, actively researches the cutting-edge forensic technologies that inform her work. She was born in Miami, grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston.
Web: patriciacornwell.com
Facebook: patricia.cornwell
Twitter: @1pcornwell