Kay Scarpetta, who keeps us coming back to Patricia Cornwell's sprawling crime novels, is one tough broad. Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This one seemed to take a bit long to get in gear, but once it did there were glimpses of the old days. But alas, there is a lengthy number of pages with her driving from Old Town down to the Fort Hunt area in Alexandria (I live near here). and Kay's genius niece Lucy, a secret service agent who's a tech expert, are embroiled in the inquiries.The crimes and crime scenes are described in quite gory detail that, while shocking and not unexpected from the novels featuring Kay Scarpetta, now strike me as rather gratuitous and a little dated. I am so pleased that Patricia Cornwell is back and can only hope there are more Kay Scarpetta novels to come of this calibre.

Kay Scarpetta is not only still fresh, she's the same grumpy, wonderful, riveting personality she's always been - a full-on human being - and she's only getting better with time.Kay's testimony infuriates both the prosecutor and the public, who want Hooke locked up for the rest of his life. One of the most dynamic and successful commercial imprints in the UK, Sphere aims to publish the highest-quality popular fiction and non-fiction, including thrillers, women's fiction, and celebrity titles. The attention to detail and means by which she could weave a tale left me in awe of Cornwel’s abilities and kept me coming back for more. Cornwell spends the next 107 pages (30% of the book) cataloging every raindrop, turn of Marino's Ford Raptor, building they pass, roads they travel to the murder scene, etc before they cross the threshold of the house where the murder took place.