The Scarpetta Factor, by Patricia Cornwell
The seventeenth of Cornwell’s series featuring Kay Scarpetta, medical examiner for Massachusetts, has arrived in time for Christmas. It is actually the week before, and Scarpetta is volunteering time at the Office of the Medical Examiner in New York. The death of Toni Darien, found in the park, has Scarpetta upset. She is appearing on CNN’s TV program, The Crispin Report, and is quizzed thoroughly about the murder by the host, Carly Crispin. Online telephone questions, especially one by a former patient of Scarpetta’s husband, Benton Wesley, upset Scarpetta, and a suspicious package she receives at home warns her off the case. An actor is accused of necrophilia, and the millionairess Hannah Starr also is missing and feared dead. Scarpetta enlists Benton, her niece Lucy, and former policeman Pete Marino in the investigation. Will the murder be solved before Christmas, and will Scarpetta say yes to having her own TV show on CNN? The Scarpetta Factor is a tightly-plotted thriller with more emphasis on character development and less on the autopsy room. Cornwell’s latest book would make a nice gift for Scarpetta fans!
