Maybe it's because it's a timely topic with more questions than answers that's intrigued me for at least a couple of years now. Following an arduous cross-examination by the prosecutor, Scarpetta leaves the court only to discover that the sister of the judge on her case has been found dead. I can however tell you about every item of food the Scarpetta clan ate in the final chapter of the book. Fortunately, the guardians of good—of which Kay Scarpetta is a longstanding example—remain steadfast in their opposition, seeking justice and truth to quell the uncertainties that haunt us. Scarpetta must act as the expert witness for the case—an investigation previously botched by another forensic pathologist.

Someone is surely trying to send Scarpetta a message, while making an impact on the television news cycle as well. Working with her long-time friend and colleague, Pete Marino, Scarpetta tries to get to the core of the matter, while keeping some of her past involvement with the judge out of her way. It paved the way for an explosion of entertainment featuring in all things forensic across film, television and literature.Epilogue – The following Saturday night covers pages 340 -351, which tries to wrap up those various sub-plots in a very weak and frustratingly incomplete manner. Well-plotted, terrifying, and containing gory detailed autopsies by Scarpetta, this thriller is not for the faint of heart.

I am so pleased that Patricia Cornwell is back and can only hope there are more Kay Scarpetta novels to come of this calibre. Unfortunately, in this case, the original autopsy was not performed correctly by the pathologist who is no longer alive, and Kay’s subsequent follow-up work has caused her to change the cause of death from asphyxiation to drowning. This never-stop action plot is yet another gift to readers from Patricia Cornwell-a literary artist that is never going to stop writing some of the best and most memorable thrillers out there. The story was very slow at the start and the end was rushed to try and tie up what had taken place in the previous 300 pages.The unrealistic story gets worse from here as people start getting killed, including the Judge's sister who is staying at the Judge's residence, with a microwave gun. I don't know why I keep reading these books when the last several have been poorly plotted and far too easily resolved. Cornwell continues exploring the latest space-age technologies and threats relevant to contemporary life. The primary action and major plot developments occur outside of the primary characters and offstage from the reader.