AUTOPSY

5 stars out of 5

When ace Medical Examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta is at her best - using evidence to determine all manner of dead body things like what caused the demise and not spending page after page feeling that she's being put upon - she's hard to beat. And in this book - the 25th in the popular series - I'd say she's there. No, her paranoia hasn't disappeared, but it's noticeably less obtrusive, allowing me, at least, to fully appreciate her skills. And here, she's taken on a new job that's brought her sort of full circle: The forensic pathologist has returned to Virginia as chief medical examiner.

She and her husband, Forensic Psychologist Benton Wesley, have moved to Old Town Alexandria amid political turmoil, some of which can be attributed to fallout from the recent pandemic. Living in a guest house is Scarpetta's technologically gifted niece, Lucy, and nearby neighbors are longtime friend and investigator Pete Marino and his wife, Dorothy (Kay's far-from-beloved sister Dorothy, also loosely defined as Lucy's mother).

It all sounds quite civilized; but Scarpetta's office is quite another story. Amid her regular responsibilities, she's expected to do clean-up duties resulting from some 20 years of mismanagement (or worse). Giving her grief every step of the way is her secretary Maggie, who was a devoted assistant to Scarpetta's incompetent predecessor and seems intent on making trouble for her new boss (making Scarpetta's paranoia totally justified in this instance). No reason was given, so I'll assume the woman can't be fired because she's a government employee; otherwise, I can say for sure she'd have been sent packing after my first day in office - and I have to believe Scarpetta would have done the same.

Soon after Scarpetta takes over and is getting to know her co-workers, she's called to take a look at what appears to be a rather gruesomely murdered woman lying near railroad tracks. That, in turn, raises suspicion of connections to a previous crime. And in the midst of all this, she gets a nasty surprise that temporarily sidelines her, after which she and Wesley get summoned to the White House (she's been appointed to a highly classified national Doomsday Commission). There they learn of possible murders aboard a secret laboratory that's orbiting Earth. Back at home and work in Virginia, the focus turns to the local murder or murders and trying to find out who is behind the aforementioned surprise before he or she strikes again (and worse, is successful). 

For me, this one was a better balance of characters, with a fair amount of interaction with Wesley (quite an impressive guy in his own right), some with Marino and less on her sister and niece (a plus in my book because I've never been fond of either one, although I did work up some sympathy for her niece and what she's been through of late). My only disappointment came at the end, when things seemed wrapped up far too quickly for my liking. On the other hand, I suspect some of it will carry over to the next edition. Overall, a well done story that I always hated to put down - a big thank you to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

Autopsy by Patricia Cornwell (William Morrow, November 2021); 400 pp.