Part of Kay Scarpetta, book 13
First published 2005
Dr. Kay Scarpetta operates as a freelance forensic pathologist from South Florida when Richmond calls her back. The city that rejected her five years earlier supposedly needs her expertise for a baffling case. She arrives to find her former laboratory being torn down and the new chief medical examiner denying he requested her help. Her previous assistant chief hides troubling personal issues while an FBI agent interferes with the investigation. Scarpetta's usual allies Benton and Lucy cannot assist because they are handling what seems like a separate stalking case involving attempted rape. Scarpetta must examine the death of a fourteen-year-old girl using only microscopic evidence that demands the most skilled analysis. She follows complex leads and pursues unusual details to make the victim's remains reveal their secrets. The investigation forces her toward a devastating truth that may prove too painful to endure.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, investigation, serial-killer
Setting: Richmond, South Florida
Period: 21st-century
401 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Berkley
Content warnings: death, graphic-violence, murder