I suspect this latest Cornwell Scarpetta book will divide opinion. Die hard loyal fans will like it but those who feel Cornwell has lost her way will struggle with it. The space crime angle brings renewed interest but whether there is enough elsewhere to keep the reader interested very much depends on the reader's perspective. I wouldn't begin here if reading Cornwell's Scarpetta for the first time. I'd go way back to Postmortem and follow the catalogue through. The ending seems rushed and this isn't the first time this seems to have happened in a Scarpetta book. One wonders if the dreaded publisher's deadline approached too quickly. It's neither the best nor the worst in the series but worth a read, just don't expect to be blown away.

Kay Scarpetta is back in her 25th outing. She is also back as Chief Medical Examiner in Virginia.
Married to Benton who is now a forensic psychologist in the US Secret Service.
Marino and Lucy still featured in this book but would have liked more of them.
Set in current day with Covid and post Capitol Jan 6th attack I found some of the book disjointed.
I found the storyline where she had to do a remote autopsy in outer space distracted from the serial killer storyline.
The ending was rushed and didn’t really tie up all the many story threads.
I’ve been a great fan of Patricia Cornwell books for many years and this was not one of my favourites.
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for a fair review.
3.5 Stars ⭐️

I been a fan of Patricia Cornwell for a number of years and was very excited to be able to read this book ahead of its publication. I was not disappointed! Kay and Marino are on fine form as usual and I found nothing I didn't enjoy.

Better than the last, Kay is back with all her friends and family to help her solve the case. At the same time she needs to sort out her new office.A good read.

This was a really great book, I ended up finishing this in just one sitting! It was a really interesting and engaging story, that I could not put down! I would definitely recommend this book in the coming winter months, it would be a perfect addition to a cosy winters night in, you won't regret it!

This is the first Patricia Cornwell book that I have read - and I was very excited to get stuck in. Despite having missed the first 24 books in the Kay Scarpetta series, I was sure that I would be able to enjoy the story and not feel like I was missing vital information. Thankfully this was completely the case and it didn't matter that I was new to the characters and their history.

In this new story, Kay has recently returned to Virginia with her husband and she is quickly called on to apply her expertise in forensic pathology to a murder in her sister's neighbourhood, and a parallel matter that the White House are investigating.

Unfortunately, as excited as I was to read this novel, I found it quite boring and difficult to get through. The story was quite slow moving - and when Kay was called to the White House - things progressed to being a little too ridiculous. And the ending seemed very abrupt and just quite unsatisfying!

I did like the character of Kay and would be open to reading some more in the series; however this one just wasn't for me.

As an avid Kay Scarpetta fan I was really looking forward to reading yet another instalment of her story. From Post Mortem, I’ve read every single Kay Scarpetta novel, and enjoyed them all - until now.

It all started so well, it was great to see all the usual characters, and I was really invested in the plot - how was Kay going to deal with her new boss and his loyal former secretary, solving crimes with evidence she discovered - and then it all went horribly wrong and suddenly the entire plot is wrapped up in a single (final) chapter.
I am soooo disappointed. It’s as if Patricia Cornell got bored or run out of time and just threw all the endings together to finish the story. It is such a shame, when another couple of chapters would have made such a difference and not left the reader wondering.

Kay Scarpetta is back - returning to her previous role as Chief Medical Officer in Virginia .
Unfortunately Kay is finding settling back into her role difficult ..... her staff , especially her secretary are not very welcoming - they are still loyal to her predecessor , a corrupt politician who is now the Health Commissioner for Virginia .
A case of a young woman with both her hands missing arrives on her table ...... just what has happened to this young woman who is suspected of Corporate Espionage - is there a connection to a case that had previously been rule as an 'accidental' death by her predecessor ?
Her life takes a turn when she has a brush with death withing her own home - just what is going on ?
Before she can get a hand on what is happening she is called to the White House to provide her insights and experience after a weird incident in Space that might have an impact on National Security .
Kay must bring all her experience to the fore to solve this multi faceted case .......... something she could not do without the help and support of her her husband Benton , her niece Lucy and brother-in-law Pete Marino .......... who all have their own problems .

This is yet again an excellent story following the fortunes of Kay Scarpetta - If I must find a fault it is the fact that the climax to the story felt too rushed and some points remain unanswered - that being said it was a book I really enjoyed

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love Patricia Cornwell and have read all the Kay Scarpetta books to date, it felt so good to be reading about her again, it felt so long since the last book and this one has a, gripping plot and meeting Pete Marino, Benton and Lucy again made it all such a good read, I enjoyed the space element to the story but my only negative is the ending, it was underwhelming and felt rushed, bringing someone in we had barely heard of and it left things unanswered and not matching up, the way Kay allowed her secretary to speak to her compared to how she then spoke to Elvin Reddy just didnt tie together at all, but I love Kay and will keep reading as I love Patricias writing and plots. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the privilege of reading this early proof.

I hadn't read a Patricia Cornwell book in a long time and was looking forward to this. I really enjoyed reading about Kay Scarpetta again and being reacquainted with the characters. The storyline was well described and plenty of forensic detail, gripping and enjoyable. Looking forward to more of her books. I have read the series from the start but took a break for a couple of years. Looking forward to catching up on the books I have missed.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Welcome back to Kay and the team, a great criminal thriller we have come to expect from this author, full of twists and turns, I did find the ending a bit rushed though, looking forward to the next book.

Twenty-five books and Thirty-plus years old, the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell is a bona fide bestseller. The latest episode, Autopsy, finds Kay reprising the role of Virginia’s Chief Medical Examiner after a gap of a few years. Less than a month on the job, she feels unwelcome by her staff, especially her secretary, who are still loyal to her predecessor—a corrupt politician who is now the health commissioner of Virginia.

The latest dead body that lands on Kay’s table is that of a young woman missing both her hands, who turns out to have been involved in some high level corporate espionage that may have been the cause of her death. But, while on the investigation, she also comes to know of the recent suspicious death of a young woman in a nearby area, which was hastily concluded as accidental by the previous CME. Could there be a connection between the two deaths or is Kay simply imagining things? Before she could make any headway in the cases, she has a brush with death inside the safety of her own new home. Meanwhile, her expert assistance is needed at the Whitehouse in the wake of a bizarre incident in Space that may threaten national security. On the home front, her niece-who-may-as-well-be-her-daughter Lucy is having difficulty in coping with the loss of her partner and adopted son to Covid-19 pandemic. Though the list of challenges looks formidable, Kay is quite capable of dealing with it all, and has a few solid people, like her husband Benton Weasley and her brother-in-law Pete Marino, looking out for her.

Autopsy is the first book in the series I’ve read and I could understand the secret behind its longevity: Cornwell has created a great set of characters and armed them with cutting-edge technology, be it related to forensics or to any other science, to thrill the readers time and again. Kay Scarpetta is smart, tough and overall a very likeable character, and the solid Benton comes across as a perfect partner for her. Her relationship with her brother-in-law, Pete Marino is complex and intriguing. And Lucy, with her tech-wizardry and peculiar personality, is another interesting character. Cornwell’s characterisation of other people including the tenacious Detective Blaise Fruge, Kay’s secretary Maggie Cutbush and the slimy former CME Elvin Reddy is pretty good too. The plot of Autopsy is fast paced and presents the reader with many suspects and scenarios, and it kept me guessing all along. The description of forensic technology is top-notch and seems pretty authentic.

My first and foremost complaint against Autopsy is with respect to the ending. After building up the multiple threads grippingly, the author ties them up in an abrupt fashion within a couple of pages in the end. In doing so, she has also left many things unexplained, making the reader feel cheated. If the length of the book was the only constraint, she could very well have cut short the many superfluous dialogues and the unneeded sequences involving the Television news anchor, and expanded on the resolution part.

From what I could gather from the reviews of other books in the series, Autopsy may not rank as high as many of the early ones. For a first time reader, it is quite a good one for the technology part but as a well rounded mystery / thriller, it falls short, predominantly due to its abrupt ending. I would rate it a generous 3.5 stars out of 5.

My gratitude to the author and publishers of Autopsy, and NetGalley, for the e-ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

I hadn't read a Patricia Cornwell book for quite a long time. I enjoyed this one and re-acquainting myself with Kay Scarpetta and the many characters that surround her. The storyline was gripping and all the details that the author includes make it very real. A very enjoyable read.

Scarpetta Returns…
Scarpetta returns in this wholly engaging and immersive episode. The talented forensic pathologist finds herself facing a potential serial killer. With post pandemic chaos, civil unrest and catastrophic events in space the action here is non stop. A breathless, top speed, tense, satisfying read and a worthy addition to the series with Scarpetta on top form.

Very pleased I took a chance on Autopsy given my feelings about recent novels in the series, but this one is far more in the form of classic Scarpetta - and indeed she has returned to her roots as Chief Medical Examiner in Virginia

There are plenty of forensics, a dead body, an investigation and a distinct mystery to solve. All written with a less messy style than the last few installments and a really great read.

Really enjoyed it.

A great, fast-paced read that I devoured in a day - lots of twists and turns as you'd expect from a Patricia Cornwall novel.

I did find that the ending kind of came out of nowhere though, it felt quite rushed at the end.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have loved everything this author has written and this was no exception, fast paced have you hooked read. Recommend it.

This book is yet another hit from Cornwell. Her Scarpetta novels always intrigue me and work my brain. She is one of my favourite authors and at times leads me in the wrong direction.

Cornwall in her usual unapologetic style sets us up with four separate mysteries. Or are they?

It opens with Scarpetta returns to the place she started. Her first ever job. Apparently she is there to sort out the department which has been run down. There are some wonderful clashes with her new secretary, whose loyalty is at best questionable.

Cornwell has a very quick writing style and you need to keep up. She also likes to dangle carrots in front of you, but are they just what she says or do they mean something else. my one issue is the ending. Everything came together in three or four pages. I just feel a little cheated. My pride was hurt because I didn't get all of them right. Which is a credit to the author. But, everything was resolved so quickly.

The book is really enjoyable and I honestly couldn't put it down. I love Cornwell as an author and she always manages to keep my interest throughout. I look forward to the next instalment.

Enjoy!

Patricia Cornwell never fails to weave a web that draws me in and keeps me on the edge of my seat.Anoher thriller so well written so tense will be recommending.#netgalley #harpercollinsuk

Forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta has come almost full circle, returning to Virginia as the chief medical examiner, the state where she launched her storied career. Finding herself the new girl in town once again after being away for many years, she’s inherited not only an overbearing secretary, but also a legacy of neglect and potential corruption. She and her husband Benton Wesley, now a forensic psychologist with the US Secret Service, have relocated to Old Town Alexandria where she’s headquartered five miles from the Pentagon in a post-pandemic world that’s been torn by civil and political unrest. Just weeks on the job, she’s called to a scene by railroad tracks where a woman’s body has been shockingly displayed, her throat cut down to the spine, and as Scarpetta begins to follow the trail, it leads unnervingly close to her own historic neighborhood. At the same time, a catastrophe occurs in a top-secret laboratory in outer space, endangering at least two scientists aboard. Appointed to the highly classified Doomsday Commission that specialises in sensitive national security cases, Scarpetta is summoned to the White House and tasked with finding out exactly what happened. But even as she works the first potential crime scene in space remotely, an apparent serial killer strikes again very close to home.

Kay is back, finally!! As a long-time fan I was of course thrilled to get started on this. I will start with my negative and that is this is not the most thrilling of cases, it is quite laboured and, as you will see by reading this, politics comes to feature heavily which made it a heavy read. Putting this aside, I did enjoy the read and there were aspects of the plot I really enjoyed, it just needed a bit of fine tuning for me. The other aspect that I found a bit odd was the covid references, I know with new books we are going to start getting these but in this read it felt a bit like Cornwell just threw in covid every now and then, especially at the beginning. As the book went on, a plot thread developed around covid which was better and meant it fitted into the plot more.

The major positive of this read is that we are reunited with Scarpetta and co and honestly what could be better. I loved catching up with everyone and seeing what has happened to them and where they are in their lives. It is honestly like catching up with old friends and I treasured every moment. It was great to have this set in Virginia as well, it felt like coming home in a way.

Honestly, it was so fantastic to have a new Scarpetta read that it does not really matter what the book was like. 'Autopsy' is enjoyable however it is a bit too long but when you are catching up with beloved characters, how much of that really matters in the long run.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an advance copy.