Part of Kay Scarpetta, book 18
First published 2010
Kay Scarpetta stands at the helm of the Cambridge Forensic Center, a cutting-edge facility born from collaboration between Massachusetts, federal agencies, MIT, and Harvard. Her position as chief medical examiner represents the pinnacle of two decades of forensic work. Yet her current success stems from choices made long ago, when she accepted Air Force funding to complete medical school. Those military connections have pulled her back into service at Dover Air Force Base for specialized training. Now a case arrives that strikes at the heart of everything she has built. The investigation threatens not only to destroy her new forensic center but to unravel her career entirely. Scarpetta must navigate between her obligations to the military and her commitment to forensic truth. The dead at this port of mortuary demand answers, but finding them may cost her everything she has worked to achieve.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, military-romance
Setting: Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dover Air Force Base
Period: 21st-century
496 pages · Hardcover · Putnam