Publisher – Harper Collins

Published - Out Now

Price – £20 hardback £7.99 Kindle eBook

World-renowned forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta and her husband Benton, a psychologist with the US Secret Service, have returned to Virginia. They are headquartered five miles from the Pentagon in a post-pandemic world that’s been torn by civil and political unrest.

Just weeks into the job, Scarpetta is called to a railway track where a woman’s body has been shockingly displayed, her throat cut down to the spine. But the trail of clues will lead Scarpetta back to her own neighbourhood.

At the same time, a catastrophe occurs in a top-secret lab in outer space, endangering the scientists aboard. Scarpetta is summoned to the White House to find out what happened. As she starts the new investigation, an apparent serial killer strikes again, this time dangerously close to home.

I do love the puzzle of a good crime mystery where all the random elements need to be examined and look at in different ways to solve things. For a very long time one particular crime series has been holding my attention and after a five-year gap I was so very pleased to see a triumphant return. In Patricia Cornwell’s compelling new books Autopsy the awesome Doctor Kay Scarpetta returns to where her career began in Virginia and find while some things such as death; grubby politics and the search for the truth must stay the same even when now crime covers from the ground all the way to the edge of space.

Doctor Kay Scarpetta is beginning to regret moving back to Virginia and taking back her old role as the senior Medical Examiner. Her predecessor has left a trail of incompetence and yet is now actually her boss. A suspicious office and myriad strange cases to resolve are taking up her time. In particular a woman found by railway tracks with her hands removed. Then a potential identity for the victim is found; and on top of that Scarpetta’s other role as a senior representative on the Doomsday Committee looking out for mysterious threats to the US is activated by the White House for immediate attention. A case on board a space station and the more terrestrial deceased seem connected in a very unusual way and now Scarpetta needs to find the answers before a deceitful politician and a dangerous killer get to her first.

I am so pleased to say that Scarpetta’s return is a fully recharged success. Cornwell has stripped the series back a little with Scarpetta at the fore. There is no need to be too aware of previous books and potential foes. Instead, we get a mix of a more traditional murder to solve in the railway line killer and then on top taking on board how Scarpetta’s reputation has grown over the books her special appearance at the White House to watch astronauts review a crime scene and even autopsy under her supervision. It creates a great tonal mix the grimy, tense and oppressive scenes in Virgina capture the feel of a urgent crime investigation and the sense that cunning killer is watching every move. The space scenes actually feel more a cutting edge sharp political thriller as a mix of politics, industrial espionage and cutting-edge science all collide. The two plotlines complement each other neither take away from the other and indeed as the story progresses, we see more connections grow between the plotlines.

We are once again having the tale told by Scarpetta again and I loved how we get to feel her all reactions and frustrations as the story unfurled. What really struck me this time is her determination to support the victims and find answers when too many were willing to put things under the carpet. We also get some surprises thrown at Scarpetta and one is an absolute genius bit of writing that should take you by surprise too. It helps raises the stakes and remind us that Scarpetta is human but doesn’t give in easily.

Another development I liked in this book is that the larger found family of characters are all back and this time working together willingly. We get her bombastic friend Marino once again at her side acting as a very loud Watson and in political and tactical support the more measured Benton plus providing technology and information from the arts of data mining Scarpetta’s niece Lucy. There has often been a reliance on conflict within this group being behind a lot of plots but in this case, it was very refreshing to see them all supportive and pulling together. However, Cornwell has added for Marino and Lucy some new and in some cases tragic developments that remind us of the recent years we have all been enduring. It helps give emotional depth to the world we’re visiting and really worked.

Altogether this gave me a really enjoyable mystery thriller to get my teeth into and the mix of new/old settings; refreshed characters and a very interesting plot felt like a series returning with full batteries. Long-term Scarpetta fans should really enjoy this and if you’ve ever wanted to try a Patricia Cornwell tale then this would not be a bad place to start. It is great to see the Doctor is in once again. Highly recommended!