Book Review: Post Mortem by Patricia Cornwell (Kay Scarpetta 1)

This is the first in the series featuring Dr Kay Scarpetta who at this time is the Chief Medical Examiner of the State of Virginia in the USA. We are also introduced to her world that features a police sergeant detective Pete Marino who Scarpetta has a rather abrasive working relationship with. We are also introduced to Scarpetta's niece Lucy who at the time of this novel is 10 years old going on 30.

A woman has been strangled and this is the latest in a line of unsolved murders in Richmond, a serial killer is on the loose. There are few clues but as the medical examiner Scarpetta is one of the chief sleuths in tracking down the killer. We are introduced to the forensic laboratory world of crime.

We also meet Benton Wesley who is an FBI profiler who aids the investigation by trying to get inside the head of the killer.

A husband of one of the victims is suspected by Marino, but Scarpetta is far from convinced. News leaks out and the focus is on Scarpetta's office as the source of the leaks. She comes under the microscope herself from many different sources as a result.

Scarpetta manipulates the media releases to try and flush out the killer but ends up with the killer on her tail!!!

I was hooked on the series from this first novel.

A good start to the series and 8/10 for me.