Kay Scarpetta #15

Book of the Dead

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Soon after relocating to Charleston, S.C., to launch a private forensics lab, Scarpetta is asked to consult on the murder of U.S. tennis star Drew Martin, whose mutilated body was found in Rome. Contradictory evidence leaves Scarpetta, the Italian carabinieri and Scarpetta's lover, forensic psychologist Benton Wesley, stumped.

But when she discovers unsettling connections between Martin's murder, the body of an unidentified South Carolina boy and her old nemesis, the maniacal psychiatrist Dr. Marilyn Self, Scarpetta encounters a killer as deadly as any she's ever faced.

511 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1,2007

About the author

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Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, in 1990 while working as a computer analyst at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. Postmortem, was the first bona fide forensic thriller. It paved the way for an explosion of entertainment featuring in all things forensic across film, television and literature.

Postmortem would go on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d'Aventure prize – the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. To date, Cornwell's books have sold some 100 million copies in thirty-six languages in over 120 countries. She's authored twenty-nine New York Times bestsellers.

Patricia's novels center primarily on medical examiner Kay Scarpetta along with her tech-savvy niece Lucy and fellow investigator Pete Marino. Celebrating 25 years, these characters have grown into an international phenomenon, winning 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.

Fox 2000 bought the rights to Kay Scarpetta. Working with producer Liz Friedman, Marvel's Jessica Jones and fellow Marvel EP and Twilight Saga scribe Melissa Rosenberg to develop the film and find Scarpetta a home on the big screen.

After earning her degree in English from Davidson College in 1979, she began working at the Charlotte Observer.

Cornwell received widespread attention and praise for her series of articles on prostitution and crime in downtown Charlotte. From the Charlotte Observer, Cornwell moved to a job with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia – a post she would later bestow upon the fictional Kay Scarpetta.

When not writing from her Boston home, Patricia tirelessly researches cutting-edge forensic technologies to include in her work. Her interests span outside the literary: Patricia co-founded of the Conservation Scientist Chair at the Harvard University Art Museums. She appears as a forensic consultant on CNN and serves as a member of Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital's National Council, where she advocates for psychiatric research. She's helped fund the ICU at Cornell's Animal Hospital, the scientific study of a Confederate submarine, the archaeological excavation of Jamestown, and a variety of law enforcement charities. Patricia is also committed to
funding scholarships and literacy programs. Her advice to aspiring authors: “Start writing. And don't take no for an answer.”


Social and Digital Outlets

http://www.patriciacornwell.com

https://www.facebook.com/patricia.cor...

https://twitter.com/1pcornwell

https://instagram.com/1pcornwell/


Other areas of expertise & interests
Forensics | Forensic Technologies | Ballistics | Weapons | Explosives | Pathology & Autopsies | Crime | Historical and Unsolved Criminal Cases | Jack The Ripper | Helicopter Piloting | Suba Diving | Archaeological Excavation Experience |

Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 99 votes)
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99 reviews All reviews
April 17,2025
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Si es tu primer libro de novela policial o es el primer libro que lees de la autora, no te lo recomiendo. Pero si ya has leído algo de la autora (preferentemente en orden cronológico) y no es la primera vez que lees este género, ve por él.

Hay una genialidad detrás de la construcción del caso.
Comienza como una serie de personajes y momentos que parecen en un principio confusos, pero que se van hilando de a poco hacia una gran investigación. Son distintos puntos que van hacia algo fijo, pero que están involucrados los unos con los otros de forma directa o sutil.
En base parece un caso prototipo, es decir la búsqueda de un asesino serial, que finalmente se convierte en algo mucho más complejo, por todo el trasfondo de personajes.

Lo que me lleva a lo excelentes que son los personajes, y los divido en dos grupos, quienes están inversos en la trama de forma más directa: Benton, Self, Maroni, Otto y un poco Lucy. Y quienes en apariencia están menos involucrados: Kay, Marino y Rose. En cuanto a sus profesiones todos hacen su parte y brillan por su singularidad, son inteligentes y efectivos en sus disciplinas. De hecho la parte en la que se ponen en práctica todos los procedimientos es emocionante. Se construye con inteligencia y astucia.

Si tuviera algo que decir, es más personal, porque aunque me gustaron los personajes en realidad los sentí muy distantes y no diría que alguno se volvió mi favorito.
Esto es algo que ya había experimentado en Inhumano, Kay me parece un personaje con el que no encajo, pero que sin embargo me parece increíble.

Ahora este libro en más del 60%, si no has leído los anteriores, te va a parecer todavía más confuso porque hay cosas que se dan por sentado que ya las sabías y en algunas otras pueden ser spoiler.

Mi gran problema fue el final. Todo había sido espectacular, pintaba para ser de mis mejores lecturas, y luego vienen esas últimas 40 páginas.
Se resuelve el caso, sí, pero todo fue demasiado apresurado y pareciera que hasta le cortaron partes, por un momento nada de lo que pasa tuvo sentido y uno de los grandes pilares jamás se resuelve. De hecho nada se resuelve o tiene un cierre.
Y por otro lado, la manera en la que tratan una situación bastante cuestionable, no es ni por asomo lo mejor, tratan de victimizar al perpetrador y disculpar muchas de sus conductas, que sí, habían otros aspectos a tomar en cuenta, pero que no son justificaciones.

Otra cosa que se puede notar confusa es la misma traducción, y que personalmente no me gustó, los diálogos en su idioma original deben de tener más sentido, porque aquí se nota demasiado como el hilo de las conversaciones se vuelve confusa, por la falta de continuidad o el sin sentido, o simplemente por el cambio repentino de tema. Al menos en español son muy extrañas las conversaciones. Así que si pueden leer en el idioma original, yo diría que es mucho mejor.
April 17,2025
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Dissapointed. PC had the perfect chance with this book, this storyline to bring the characters full circle. The team of Scarpetta, Marino, Lucy and Wesley is coming apart at the seams. Using Dr Self and the animous she has for Kay (kept waiting for that to blow...never happened), and manipulating Marino.....Rose being so prominent. What's with Scarpetta crying for the bird that flys into the window but lets her longtime friend and partner sink. Then he goes over the edge damn near to the point of rape??????? This was the time for BENTON WESLEY uber shrink to step up. He must have been on a different planet. Damn I sure wish she'd go back to the 1st person narrative and bring the characters back from the dark side.
April 17,2025
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This is the first book of the series I read, not knowing that it was part of a series. I typically like these kind of novels. Forensics is a very interesting field. I have to say, though, I didn't like this. I found Cornwell's writing to be so over-technical to point where it distracted me from the actual plot of the book. Plus, her political commentary was unnecessary to the story line. Additionally, the characters were bouncing all over the spectrum of emotions rapidly, more so than you would expect throughout the course of a single book. This was a very tough one to get through.
April 17,2025
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This is Cornwell's 15th Kay Scarpetta book. The series has devolved from being about the killer and catching him with the characters in the background to being mostly about the characters. In the latest episode of the soap opera that is the life of Kay and her posse, Kay is in Charleston, South Carolina now. She has moved from VA to FL and now to SC. Lucy has a brain tumor. Benton and Kay are engaged but he lives and works in Boston. Rose is dying. And finally Marino is dating a horny skank who is getting him to rub testosterone gel on his body so he can take care of her needs. Marino steps way over the line with Kay and then disappears.

Oh yeah, the murder....well, the Sandman has killed some women including a young tennis star Drew Martin in Rome. He has also been getting psychiatric help from media star Dr. Marilyn Self as was Drew Martin. Oh yeah...Marino was too. See, Dr. Self hates Dr. Scarpetta based on the book prior to this one.

Hopefully the murder will someday be the focus of Cornwell's books again.
April 17,2025
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Trying Cornwell again. I was reading all her books but these characters got too depressing for me. Nothing good ever happens to them, they are all screwed up and her murders are gory.
April 17,2025
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I love Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta Series. I'll share my thoughts when I'm done. Has anyone else read it yet? What did you think? Dish!
April 17,2025
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6/10
Way too many funny little connections that stretch even the boundaries of fiction that is supposed to be grounded in reality. Even with the factors that help explain some of his behavior, Marino (as a character) has moved beyond pity and scorn to positively disgusting and hateful.  While the “completist” in me wants to know his fate, part of me doesn’t care about the details and is just glad he’s gone.
It is somewhat bothersome to me, having read the Kay Scarpetta books from the first through this one, that Scarpetta and her medical examiner skills have become a more minor part of each book. I prefer to see the mysteries unraveled from the investigative and ME sides of things and don’t need to be “with” the killer and the victims during the murders.
While personal relationships and issues are important, I’m hoping for a return to more competence, more focus on how the crimes are solved, and maybe a little more happiness and personal satisfaction for the main characters.
April 17,2025
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Rose puts it all in perspective when she makes this comment to Kay.."You don't confront people about their feelings and all it does is make things..."

This was by far one of the worst books of the Scarpetta series ever. I was so disappointed in this. Scarpetta has a private practice in Charleston. Kay and Benton are in Italy at the beginning investigating a brutal murder of a famous tennis star. When Scarpetta goes back to Charleston, she receives the body of a young boy who has no identity. Everything is some how related but the way things are tied together is murky. The reader has no idea what the setting is at times and that left me very frustrated. One reviewer labled the mystery as convoluted and I agree. It seemed to be a hodge podge of information thrown on a wall and whatever stuck is what the author went with. I couldn’t wait to finish this because I grew tired of it. Another reviewer commented on the characters and asked “Why do the characters have to be angry all the time?” I second that. These characters are NEVER happy. Not one, not ever. Marino has turned into a sad, lonely, but violent version of himself in this one and I didn’t like this path of his character. Benton and Scarpetta are together but their relationship is distant, but that’s nothing new. And Lucy is still the smart, haunted and miserable girl she has always been. I appreciate the fact the author has changed this series to keep things interesting, but I honestly think she choose the wrong path.
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