The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell

I know, I know...it's been a while since I've posted a recent read. One reason is, I read the recent release by Diana Gabaldon (Echo in the Bone) and it was nearly 900 pages and I took my sweet time reading it. I'm not planning on reviewing that because unless you've read the previous 6 books it won't make any sense to you and if you ever do decide to read this series (Outlander series and I seriously recommend it) I don't want to ruin anything for you.

So, I've finished the above. This book happens to be the 17th (I think) in her Kay Scarpetta series. It takes place, like the last one in NYC. Kay is working on the autopsy of a young woman who came into the morgue that day. The autopsy reveals a violent death but the body is telling a different story than what the police brought in with it. As a scientist, Kay is forced to believe what medical, factual evidence says to her no matter that her friends/family/police think she may be delving into a God-like mentality of herself. This in turn causes her to start questioning her knowledge and training. More intrigue enters the picture when a suspicious package is delivered to her apartment in NYC. As the contents of the package are revealed, Kay, her husband, Benton, her niece Lucy and her best friend Marino are forced to face the fact that something from their past is not just haunting them but is in fact stalking them.

I read this book fairly quickly because it was deeeeelicious. Patricia Cornwell has stepped back and returned to writing in a more personal way - giving her characters the attention and respect that they deserve. (For a couple novels - probably numbers 14 and 15, Cornwell disappointed). She's allowed, in the Scarpetta Factor for her "novel family" to continue to develop without turning into "people" they are not. If you are familiar with this series, I would certainly recommend it but if you haven't read any, start with #1 - Postmortem - you won't be disappointed!