Part of Kay Scarpetta, book 22
First published 2014
Dr. Kay Scarpetta wakes up on her birthday in Cambridge, Massachusetts, ready for a Miami vacation with her husband Benton Wesley. Then she spots seven pennies arranged on a wall behind their house. Each coin bears the date 1981 and gleams like it was just minted. Before she can puzzle out their meaning, Detective Pete Marino calls with news of a murder nearby. A high school teacher lies dead in his driveway, shot with surgical precision while carrying groceries. No witnesses saw the killer. No one heard the shot. Scarpetta begins her investigation and realizes she's hunting a serial sniper who operates with chilling accuracy. The killer leaves almost nothing behind except microscopic copper fragments. As more victims fall, Scarpetta must decode the connection between the mysterious pennies and the murders before the sniper strikes again.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: atmospheric, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, cat-and-mouse
Setting: Cambridge, Massachusetts, Miami
Period: 1981
369 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow
Content warnings: violence