SHARP FORCE

5 stars out of 5

No. 29 in the series? Seems impossible that I've followed the adventures of medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta for that many years (the first installment, Postmortem, was released in 1990, and I've looked forward to her next adventure since 28 times since then).

It hasn't all been roses, though; for one period of time I almost gave up on the esteemed doctor as the plots bordered on the supernatural and Kay somehow morphed into a paranoid (and rather unlikeable) version of her former self. Here, she seems to be back to her usual self. The story still hovers close to unbelievable - holograms that go blink in the night and security systems that mysteriously foretell another visit by the dreaded Phantom Slasher who's having his (or her) way with victims in northern Virginia - but it never reached far-out status.

Then there's Janet, an AI-generated avatar version of Kay's technology whiz and FBI consultant niece Lucy's late wife. While that one is rooted in real-life examples - such things really do exist - it's hard to wrap my head around a fake person who seems to know more about everyone and everything around her than the humans who are "talking" to her.

As the Christmas holidays are set to begin, Kay and her hunky husband Benton Wesley, a forensic psychologist for the U.S. Secret Service, are about to head overseas on their first vacation in a long time. But of course, serial killers don't care about vacations, and two more victims turn up (one of whom didn't end up dead). Needless to say, Kay must deal with the deceased one, Benton gets called in from the government side and oops, there goes the vacay.

The dead one is found on the grounds of a defunct psychiatric hospital known for its shady practices - coincidentally (well, not really - I'm sure the author planned it that way) in the same area where Kay, Benton, Lucy and Kay's sister Dorothy live - the latter with Kay's longtime colleague and investigator Pete Marino. As she returns home from her lab, Kay spots the dreaded hologram lights near her home and thinks the worst, but everything is fine thanks to Lucy's technology expertise and insistence on protecting all those she loves. Still, it hints that Kay - or someone close to her - could be the Slasher's intended next victim.

The rest of the book, of course, follows the progress of the investigation - and also of course, I'll leave those details for me to know and other readers to find out. But overall, it's another winner in my book - and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to get in on the action once again. No. 30? Bring it!

Sharp Force by Patricia Cornwell (Grand Central Publishing, October 2025); 392 pp.

MANNER OF DEATH

4 stars out of 5

Medical thrillers top the interest list for me, even ahead of the legal thrillers that are perhaps more common. So to be sure, this author's work is not unfamiliar to me. In fact, I've read one other in this series, but I was nonetheless surprised to learn that this is the 14th. It stands alone well, but of course I always advise starting any series at the beginning when possible. The featured characters are Laurie Montgomery and Jack Stapleton, married physicians at the New York Medical Examiner's Office (Laurie, in fact, is the chief ME), though her first love is doing the actual hands-on tasks rather than administrative chores.

Pathology residents routinely pass through the office, required to spend a month or so observing, and helping to perform, autopsies on the many bodies that pass through each day. One of the new residents, Ryan Sullivan, presents a bit of a dilemma; he absolutely loathes even being in the autopsy room - it upsets him so much that he'll try just about anything to get out of being there. In the process of trying to skirt the issue, he learns of a couple of instances in which the declarations of suicide - made both by the medical legal investigators, who make the initial prognoses, and the MEs was questionable, even though all were based on solid evidence. As it turns out, a previous resident also started to follow up on those cases but was murdered before she shared any conclusions from her investigations.

Ryan, though, is so hot to trot out of the autopsy room that he manages to get approval from his direct supervisor to take a few days for research - and no surprise, he finds another handful of cases in which the suicide/homicide decision could have gone either way with both the MLIs and MEs having niggling doubts but, for lack of conclusive evidence, went with suicide. Were any of those cases "staged" by a killer who was successful in covering up a murder? If so, how was it done? Why and by whom?

Those are questions that Ryan must deal with as his own investigation picks up steam; readers follow along while learning early on the answers to at least two of those questions. Sandwiched in between is quite a bit of "filler" into the private lives of the main characters (even if it was interesting, which it was, it was a little too much for my liking). Interesting to me was the frequent praise for the role of the medical legal investigators - a profession I must admit I'd never even heard of before. The ending brought a little surprise, but one I think will please most followers of the series. That includes me, and I'm already looking forward to the next installment. Meanwhile, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy. 

Manner of Death by Robin Cook (G.P. Putnam's Sons, December 2023); 346 pp.

UNNATURAL DEATH

5 stars out of 5

If I've missed any books in this series over the years - this is the 27th - I'd be surprised. No surprise, then, that I consider Medical Examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta to be an old friend whose visits I look forward to. And to be sure, I enjoyed her company this time out. And while I won't reveal any secrets, I'm sure other loyal readers like me will be almost more surprised than the good doctor at the reemergence of a particularly nasty enemy.

Now based in Alexandria, Virginia, Scarpetta has, with the help of the governor, rid herself of a couple of cantankerous (make that downright dangerous) colleagues and starting to whip her lab into shape. Then, she gets called to a remote area to the north, where two campers have been savagely murdered - both impaled by ski poles, among other damages. Closer inspection reveals that they were killed by someone (or something) that has beyond-human capabilities.

Scarpetta and her chief investigator, Pete Marino, are joined by her Secret Service tech wizard niece Lucy, who flies in and out in a helicopter that does everything except make breakfast. While they're inspecting the crime scene and extricating the victims, Marino makes a discovery that chills his sole (and sends shivers down Scarpetta's back because of the possible repercussions).

When the victims are identified, it's learned that they were not the placid outdoor equipment store owners most folks thought they were; rather, they were criminals under investigation by law enforcement that includes Scarpetta's husband, FBI profiler Benton Wesley. The rest of the story focuses on finding out who, or what, killed the couple and why - all the while trying to stay out of the crosshairs of someone who would like nothing better than to bring down Scarpetta and everyone she loves. It certainly held my attention throughout, and needless to say I'm already looking forward to the next installment. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

Unnatural Death by Patricia Cornwell (Grand Central Publishing, November 2023); 428 pp.

DEPRAVED HEART

5 stars out of 5


At first blush, it was same old, same old: Medical Examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta's colleagues don't respect her. Her investigative partner Pete Marino doesn't trust her. Her techno-wizard, filthy rich niece Lucy doesn't believe her. Her FBI profiler husband Benton Wesley won't confide in her. And a psychopathic liar, murderer and Lucy's one-time love interest is out to kill her. 

Or so the good doctor, whose mind has moved disturbingly toward the paranoid in recent books, is convinced. This time, though, she's right on the money with that last one. After nearly killing Scarpetta with an underwater spear gun somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle a couple of months earlier, it's a pretty sure bet old nemesis Carrie Grethen wants Scarpetta - and maybe Wesley, Marino, Lucy and her now-partner Janet - at the very least discredited professionally and at worst dead. 

As she investigates a death scene in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Scarpetta gets a text message, apparently from Lucy's secret phone line, with a video link to a film of Lucy, taken a couple of decades ago when she was an FBI rookie. Soon thereafter, Lucy's highly secured estate becomes the target of an intrusive search and seizure presumably designed to collect enough evidence to send her to prison. That's followed by the murder of the daughter of a Hollywood heavyweight in her own home. Wedged in and around all that are murdered cops, more revealing and incriminating old-time videos of Lucy, and, of course, lots more Scarpetta angst.

This time, though, the story is so intriguing that Scarpetta's fretting over not being the center of everyone's universe really didn't bother me much. As the plot thickened, I was far more worried about what was happening - and about to happen - to the others. More often than not, nothing is as it seems; just trying to keep all the head games straight in my own mind was a challenge, and hanging over it all was the fear that this time, someone might not live to see another book. All in all, it's an exciting book and, IMHO, one of the best in the series of late.

Depraved Heart by Patricia Cornwell (William Morrow, October  2015); 480 pp.

DUST

4 stars (out of 5)

Just maybe (I hope, I hope), the Patricia Cornwell I used to know and love is back - finally! Frankly, I've grown a bit weary of the trials and travails of Massachusetts Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta of late - she who is put-upon by everyone, long-suffering and over-thinks everything from why her FBI profiler husband Benton Wesley's pinkie finger twitched to the right instead of the left to why her dog Sock refused to do his morning poo in the usual spot.

This one - the 21st in the series - started out in that vein, making me groan out loud, "Please, not again!" But very soon, thankfully, it moved away from the angst to focus on a great plot that held my interest all the way to the end. It begins as Scarpetta is called in to check out a female body that's been wrapped in an unusual cloth and seemingly positioned in an odd way. Turns out she's the plaintiff in a $100 million lawsuit against a big financial management firm that was supposed to begin in a week.

Coincidence? Not likely; but of course, there'd be no story if the motive were that simple. In fact, Scarpetta and her hubby, he who is being ostracized openly by his FBI boss, suspect the murder is connected to a series of others done by a person known as the Capital Murderer. As Scarpetta and her team, including Detective Pete Marino (with whom Scarpetta has a long-time but muddled relationship that Marino apparently wishes were more than professional) get down to the nitty gritty of the investigation, they begin to think people in high places don't want them to get the low-down on the case.

All the regulars get in on the act to one degree or another, including Scarpetta's niece Lucy and her partner Janet (though perhaps to a lesser degree than in some of the more recent novels, which isn't necessarily a bad thing). This is one of Cornwell's best, IMHO, and now - for the first time in a few years - I'm really looking forward to the next installment.

Dust by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam Adult, November 2013); 529 pp.