Postmortem

Patricia Cornwell

Book cover for Postmortem
Image for variant 9781668229637
Book cover for Postmortem
Image for variant 9781668229637

Postmortem

Postmortem

Patricia Cornwell

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Description

Under the leafy cover of night in Richmond, Virginia, a human monster moves undetected, leaving a gruesome trail of stranglings that has paralyzed the city. Medical examiner Kay Scarpetta senses the worst: a deliberate campaign by a brilliant serial killer— a "Mr.Nobody"— whose signatures offer precious few clues. With an unerring eye, she must call on the latest advances in forensic research to have a chance at unmasking the maniac. But this investigation will test Kay like no other, because it's being sabotaged from within— and someone wants her dead.

Critical Reviews

Praise for Patricia Cornwell

"Cornwell...[has] brought new life to the moribund detective fiction genre. Her intelligent, self-made heroine gets our respect because she is extraordinarily competent at her job, and so thoroughly devoted to it...Cornwell's renderings of death are lucid, intricate and beautifully compassionate, showing again and again how the examination of the dead illuminates the passions of the living."
--The New York Times

"Dr. Kay Scarpetta, who keeps us coming back to Patricia Cornwell's sprawling crime novels, is one tough broad."
--New York Times Book Review

"Patricia Cornwell is a "masterful mysterian."
--Kirkus

"Her writing is masterful."
--Booklist

"Cornwell's books run on high octane fuel, a cocktail of adrenalin and fear."
--The Times (London)

"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

"I grew up in Richmond where Patricia Cornwell's electrifying debut novel Postmortem was set. I still remember the thrill of following one of crime fiction's greatest characters, Kay Scarpetta, as she hunted down a killer."
--David Baldacci, New York Times bestselling author of Strangers in Time

"Iconic. Bold. Brilliant."
--Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of All the Colors of the Dark

Publishing Information

Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Pub date: 2026-02-17
Length: 400 pages

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