Kay Scarpetta is Back: Read Our Review of Livid by Patricia Cornwell

The #1 bestseller returns, with a brand-new Kay Scarpetta thriller…

Chief medical examiner Kay Scarpetta is the reluctant star witness in a sensational murder trial when she receives shocking news. The judge’s sister has been found dead. At first glance, it appears to be a home invasion, but then why was nothing stolen, and why is the garden strewn with dead plants and insects?

Although there is no apparent cause of death, Scarpetta recognizes tell-tale signs of the unthinkable, and she knows the worst is yet to come. The forensic pathologist finds herself pitted against a powerful force that returns her to the past, and her time to catch the killer is running out…

Patricia Cornwell is a crime writing superstar, with novels translated into thirty-six languages in more than 120 countries. She’s best known for her ground-breaking Kay Scarpetta series, the first of which, Postmortem (1990), followed a female medical examiner long before the popularity of forensic pathology and TV shows like CSI. At the time of writing it, she worked at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. The series has since become a global phenomenon, selling over 100 million copies, and earning Cornwell a slew of awards, including the Edgar, the Creasey, the Anthony, the Macavity and the Prix du Roman d’Aventure.

Recently, Cornwell took a five-year break from Scarpetta, but with the release of Livid, the series is better than ever. Fans will love it, but for those new to the series who might be reluctant to start the backlog of titles, each novel can be read as a standalone. And the beauty of starting the series at book twenty-six is that you’ll want to read the rest, so your TBR pile will be covered for the foreseeable future.

Like her previous entries, Livid is a gripping, unputdownable thriller that delivers exactly what Cornwell excels at: police forensics, great dialogue and pitch-perfect plotting. This is an often-gory read, but fast-paced and always entertaining. You’ll tear through the pages to the explosive end. Don’t miss this.

Buy a copy of Livid here.