The fifteenth book in the Kay Scarpetta series, from No. 1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell.

'America's most chilling writer of crime fiction' The Times

The 'book of the dead' is the morgue log, the ledger in which all cases are entered by hand. For Kay Scarpetta, however, it is about to have a new meaning.

Fresh from her bruising battle with a psychopath in Florida, Scarpetta decides it's time for a change of pace. Moving to the historic city of Charleston, South Carolina, she opens a unique private forensic pathology practice, one in which she and her colleagues offer expert crime scene investigation and autopsies to communities lacking local access to competent death investigation and modern technology. It seems like an ideal situation, until the murders and other violent deaths begin.

A woman is ritualistically murdered in her multi-million-dollar beach home. The body of an abused young boy is found dumped in a desolate marsh. A sixteen-year-old tennis star is found nude and mutilated near Piazza Navona in Rome.

Scarpetta has dealt with many brutal and unusual crimes before, but never a string of them as baffling, or as terrifying, as the ones before her now. Before she is through, that book of the dead will contain many names - and the pen may be poised to write her own.

Praise for the groundbreaking series:

'One of the best crime writers writing today' Guardian

'Devilishly clever' Sunday Times

'The top gun in this field' Daily Telegraph

'Forget the pretenders. Cornwell reigns' Mirror

'The Agatha Christie of the DNA age' Express

The latest in the bestselling series featuring fiction's original pathologist, Dr Kay Scarpetta.

About the Author
In 1990, Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. An auspicious debut, it went on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity Awards, as well as the French Prix du Roman d'Aventures - the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. Growing into an international phenomenon, the Scarpetta series won Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development. Today, Cornwell's novels and iconic characters are known around the world. Beyond the Scarpetta series, Cornwell has written the definitive nonfiction account of Jack the Ripper's identity, cookbooks, a children's book, a biography of Ruth Graham, and three other fictional series based on the characters Win Garano, Andy Brazil, and Captain Callie Chase. Cornwell continues exploring the latest space-age technologies and threats relevant to contemporary life. Her interests range from the morgue to artificial intelligence and include visits to Interpol, the Pentagon, the U.S. Secret Service and NASA. Cornwell was born in Miami. She grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston.

Reviews
Classic Cornwell territory with...a sharp political element that will ensure the book isn't on George Bush's bedside table Daily Express Serving up an Ace...Cornwell is firmly back on the money here. Daily Mirror Patricia Cornwell is the queen of gritty, grisly, crime fiction writing and her latest offering doesn't disappoint. Book of the Dead will keep you gripped throughout Heat "The reason we read novels about the forensic investigation of crime is not artistic decorum but a fascination with how things work. This is what Cornwell has always provided, and it is an area in which she does not disappoint." Times Literary Supplement 'Hannibal Lecter, eat your liver out. Tersely written, elaborately plotted and crammed with research, Cornwell's writing has always been hard-boiled - but this one would crack a paving stone if dropped.'


Awards
Winner of Galaxy Book Awards 2008 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9780751534054
Author Patricia Cornwell
Format Paperback
Page Count 480
Imprint Sphere
Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
Weight(grams) 360g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 128mm * 34mm