I still remember reading Postmortem and being drawn into Kay Scarpetta’s world—strong, smart, and navigating both crime scenes and a male-dominated environment, where a woman has to fight for respect and attention, even with the right experience and knowledge. Patricia Cornwell’s writing remains sharp, with clear medical details and characters that feel real through their dialogue and behaviour.

In Autopsy, Scarpetta faces new challenges, including the added pressure of government involvement. The plot is engaging, with a lot going on—a recent murder case, a mysterious incident in the White House—but I felt Kay wasn’t quite her usual self. She seemed less fiery, less reactive to injustice, and I missed that strength in her character.

Still, it’s an enjoyable and easy read. Cornwell continues to make forensics accessible and gripping, and I always admire her ability to balance science with storytelling.

While it wasn’t my favourite in the series, I’d still recommend it to crime fiction fans and loyal Scarpetta readers. I'm looking forward to seeing Kay bounce back in the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love Patricia Cornwell, and this title is another winner for me! A great taut and tense read - Highly recommended.

Patricia Cornwall on true form. I’ve read so many Kay Scarpetta novels and this one doesn’t disappoint. Equally I haven’t read them for a while and it was easy to fit back in without feeling like I’d missed anything. Love the intricacies and complex story. Would definitely recommend!

Another fantastic Patricia Cornwell book! I’ve been a huge fan of the Kay Scarpetta series for years and I know I’m always in for a good read - this was certainly no different! 4 stars ****

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

It took me a while to get round to reading this book and usually I thoroughly enjoy reading Patricia Cornwell. This novel however I did not really enjoy, much to my disappointment. Generally, on the whole, easy reading, but the "incident" in space, and covert meetings with the government was a tiny step to far to be believable.

I´m sure other people will love it, however, I remain on the fence on this one.

My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

It has been so long that I have read a Kay Scarpetta novel and it was interesting and I like the way it was up to date with the pandemic and riots etc. I did skim a bit reading so it didnt grab me as much as I had hoped based on my memories.

I was given a free copy by the publishers and netgalley but the review is entirely my own.

I haven't read a Scarpetta novel for a very long time and sadly this really did not live up to expectations. I had such high hopes for this and feel terribly let down.

I had high hopes for this. Overall it is an engaging read but the ending was a letdown, being unrelated and coming from left field in a rush in the epilogue, leaving me feeling a bit shortchanged.

I didn’t really enjoy this read saw all the advertising and felt I needed to read but didn’t enjoy not sure if I needed to read the novels before to get a grip on the character but don’t think I will read any more in a rush

Haven’t read a Kay Scarpetta novel for a while and to be honest I struggled with this one. Nothing really started to happen until half way through and found it hard to keep my attention

I'm such a big Kay Scarpetta fan and this series is perfection!! I love the way Patricia Cornwell writes and she always has me glued from page one to the very end. If you haven't read this series yet, start with the first book, you won't be disappointed.

Oh god, how I love the Scarpetta series!! I've been reading since the very beginning, and have truly loved every single one!

Patricia Cornwell needs to retire Kay Scarpetta....NOW! She is done, she is repetiitive and lacks any actual suspense.
I have enjoyed many Scarpetta stories but I find I am now forcing myself to read them and get through. Even her supporting cast are starting to grate on me. I don't think you can continue to have a character such as this who consistently at risk of being killed off or fired and always survive and if it isnt her it's someone in her family. the plot itself was fine but felt more of a stretch because of who it was maybe and I think if it had been an unknown cast / ensemble it would have been something worth recommending. The writing is good and does reel you in.

As always this was a great read, full off suspense. The characters are well written and you can put yourself in their shoes.

I have been a Kay Scarpetta fan since my teens. i loved every story-line so when i saw this book my pathology senses started to tingle!
I read this in one day i was excited to star this and then when i started i just could not put it down.
The plot was great and gruesome with some good twists.
Patricia Cornwell is back and on top form.

As always a fabulous read, fast paced, absorbing and thrilling, catching up with Kay and Benton is always like meeting up with old friends, Patricia Cornwall never disappoints

It has been a long time since I read a Kay scarpetta and although it was good - it was missing the plot lines of the earlier ones! I found it hard to follow at times and I found myself rushing to get to the end!

It was good to be back in the world of Kay Scarpetta. I read all of the previous series years ago. I did enjoy this but not as much as the previous books. I didn't find it gripped me as much and not a massive amount happened to keep me as interested as I thought I would be.

3.5☆

As with the previous few Scarpetta books, I'm finding Kay's woe is me attitude frustrating. Everyone is out to hurt her feelings, whereas she doesn't care about anyone else's.

25 books on I still find Scarpetta to be a good protagonist, however I didn't feel like the story flowed as well this time.

It was confusing at times, especially the Secret Service storyline, and I felt that Lucy's character was dragged back in a really strange, and disappointing way - the whole idea that Kay's entire extended family would move with her for work was weird and how she just magics up a job for everyone (as usual) was unsurprising. Maybe the introduction of some new characters would be a good thing 25 books in?!