This is part of the series.
I used to enjoy this series but I feel that it has run its course and they aren’t as good as they used to be. Bit disappointing

Excellent back to the early days of Scarpetta before the books went a bit off course.
So happy to had the opportunity to read this and highly recommend.

A new Kay Scarpetti story is always something to look forward to and this story doesn't disappoint. A complex thriller with many twists and turns.

This was another thrilling offer by a very talented author. I have read all of Ms Cornwell's books, and enjoyed this one as well. Will read more in future. Recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an ARC of this book.

A great, back to her early days glory of Kay Scarpetta at her best. Bang on..........but I'm sorry Nicole Kidman is NOT Kay Scarpetta!!

Can’t wait to see it on the big screen…. Well paced, brilliant characterisation and an ending I didn't expect, this was a wonderful thriller. A complex, suspenseful plot with tension so thick that it felt palpable.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Little Brown Book Group Uk and Patricia Cornwell for my ARC of 'Livid' in return for an honest review.

A welcome return to the Kay Scarpetta series (number 26) for me and this one is bang on. What a read. Forensic pathologist Dr. Kay Scarpetta is a reluctant witness in a televised murder trial where another forensic pathologist and messed up the investigation.

soon after the evidence has been given Scarpetta discovers that the judge's sister has been found dead in the judge's home.

Excellent read and highly recommended

A home invasion with nothing stolen is the start of the latest Kay Scarpetta case.
I have read most of the the Scarpetta novels. Thankfully this one has much of the drive and flair that Cornwell's early works possessed. This was a fabulous story. Engaging from the start. An unputdownable read.

This has been a very emotional return to Patricia Cornwell's series for me. I was an avid Kay Scarpetta fan for years (even before the Kindles were the norm!) until that day... the day Benton died... I could not believe it! I loved this character so much and when Patricia killed him I was not able to read anymore of the Scarpetta books, I was that gutted!!!! My friend told me since Benton was not dead after all but it took me all this time to read another book from this series....
This comeback was well overdue and again reminded me why Patricia Cornwell is the Queen of murder mysteries: fantastic storyline, amazing in depth well developed main characters and much action throughout.
Fantastic book, from one of the best crime series ever written!

My thanks to Little, Brown Book Group U.K. Sphere for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Livid’ by Patricia Cornwell.

This is Book 26 in Cornwell’s popular crime series featuring forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta. I have read most of the books in this series that follows Kay’s career as well as her complicated personal life.

Last year’s ‘Autopsy’ followed a five-year-break and was heralded as a return to form. I agreed and wrote in my review that I felt that Cornwell had regained her mojo. That feeling continues with ‘Livid’, which proved a highly engaging crime thriller.

It opens with Chief medical examiner Kay Scarpetta reluctantly appearing as an expert witness in a high profile murder trial that has attracted violent right-wing protesters.

Following her testimony Kay receives the news that the judge's sister has been found dead. While it appears at first glance to have been a home invasion, there are inconsistencies at the crime scene that suggest something more sinister. No further details to avoid spoilers.

I found ‘Livid’ tightly plotted and high energy. Cornwell always includes details of forensic investigative techniques, which I find fascinating. I also appreciated Cornwell’s inclusion of aspects of current day USA politics.

I zoomed through ‘Livid’ as once started it proved impossible to put down.

Livid is only my third instalment in this fabulous series by Patricia Cornwell and it was another corker! I really need to make more inroads into this series. It was great to be back in the pockets of Chief Medical Examiner, Dr Kay Scarpetta. In this novel, Kay is in court for a highly emotive murder case. Kay's friend is the presiding judge Annie Chilton, and as Kay leaves the court she receives a message about the judge's sister. Kay makes her way to the scene of the crime.

Set in Alexandria, Virginia, the author's characterisation is sublime and the plotting is very high level. Livid, I'm certain, will appeal to many.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Little, Brown via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

I can’t believe that this is book 26 of the fabulous Kay Scarpetta series. The author is really back in good form and the story follows Kay as she gives evidence at a media frenzy of a trial and then investigates the traumatic death of two people she knows from young adulthood .

Enjoying being with partners husband Benton and work partner Marino, the story portrays some real violence and malevolence.

Highly recommend and looking forward to the next book in the series.

I have read every novel in the Scarpetta series and I love Kay and her friends and family. However this book was a little different. While the plot and the method were really interesting and had all the hallmarks of a very successful procedural, the book felt slow and laboured.

This was a disappointment but I hope that there will be a return to the snappier execution in future books.

This is the twenty sixth book in the Kay Scarpetta series by author Patricia Cornwell. I read the first six or so books in this series a few years ago and nothing since so to suddenly jump to book twenty six was quite a leap. It took me a while to get back in the swing of the series and I don’t think my enjoyment was spoilt in anyway from reading it as a standalone novel.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Kay Scarpetta is a reluctant star witness in a sensational televised murder trial. Two years ago, a former beauty queen’s body washed up on the shore of Wallops Island, Virginia. She was last seen on a boat with her fiancé, who has since been held in jail while awaiting trial. Kay Scarpetta is an expert witness for the case where another forensic pathologist had previously bungled the investigation. 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 enjoyed reading this book and made a promise to read more of the previous novels in this series. I would rate it at 3.5 stars but some of that is probably due to not being fully up to speed with the series.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, wow! I’m such a fan of this author, from her first book ‘Post-mortem’ published in 1990 to this cracking read.
I appreciate the subject matter of a Chief Medical Examiner won’t be to all tastes but I was astounded to note that I was almost at 50% of the book and we weren’t even fully involved at the crime scene. Plus, although for her fans, it’s wonderful to re engage with Scarpetta, Benton, Lucy and Marino, it’s not necessary to be familiar with the previous books in order to enjoy this one, or, these fabulous characters.
I found it to be an immersive and compelling read about the frightening and growing violence in American society (& wider) and the inventive ways humans can find to hurt each other.
As well as the terrorism storyline there is much about the characters and their relationships and I loved it.
I’m hoping from the ending that there is more to come and I’ll be waiting in anticipation.

Congratulations to the author and many thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Group UK, Shere for the opportunity to preview this excellent book.

It’s a long time since I read a Scarpetta novel, feeling they had lost their way a little some books ago. This book however has won me over again. No landmark changes in the lives of our main characters but instead all the focus on the story at hand. Clever and cunning and eminently believable the race is on to find those responsible for blasting the victims with enough microwaves to end their lives in agonising fashion. Thank you to Netgalley for reminding me what page turners Patricia Cornwell’s novels can be.

The book opens with Chief Medical Examiner, Kay Scarpetta, being grilled on the stand in a highly emotive murder case. A man is on trial for his life after the body of his girlfriend was found floating in the river after being with him on his boat the night before, & supporters of both sides are in the courtroom & squaring up to each other around Virginia. The prosecutor is trying to make Scarpetta look cold & indifferent to the case & that this has made her sloppy in her interpretation of the evidence, & the judge is giving him latitude way beyond what is normal.

As her testimony is finishing, Scarpetta & Marino (who is also in court) receive urgent messages & when they can finally leave the courtroom, they find out that the judge's sister has been found dead in the judge's home where she was staying temporarily. When they attend the scene, something is very off, both with the amount of personnel, the security, & the lack of animal activity or bird noise around the home. As she begins to work the scene, Scarpetta is perturbed by the number of dead insects & birds, & has an idea of what may have happened. Lucy, Scarpetta's niece who now works for the Secret Service, is at the scene with her partner & they confirm Scarpetta's worst fears.

The first few chapters were hard going due to the obnoxious prosecutor. You know that they have to try their utmost but he took the phrase "adversarial legal system" extremely literally. The overarching plot was good & I particularly liked how the different crime scenes were eventually tied together. All the main characters of the core group were involved: Scarpetta, Benton, Marino, & Lucy, & there were a few new ones too.

It just seemed a little clinical & little familiar - the machinations of a boss who dislikes her, earlier cases now under revision - you would think Scarpetta had earned a little trust & respect by now. I'll keep reading these as long as they keep being released, but I feel they've lost the heart & soul of what they were originally. I've re-read the first five or six books many times, but I'm not sure I will re-read the later ones as often. 3.5 stars (rounded up).

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Little, Brown Book Group UK/Sphere, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

It's been such a long time since I read a Kay Scarpetta novel and although some things have changed in the world of Kay and Benton, it was very easy to delve right in.
One of the things I loved most about this book was that it was sooooo chillingly, terrifyingly current with the emphasis on terrorost activity and the use of microwaves (not the kitchen kind) The research seemed top notch to me as a lay person and yet Cornwell wasn't heavy handed or too high faluting with the jargon.
An excellent storyline that was engaging from that very first , very tense courtroom scene right through to the end.
The recurring cast of characters made me feel part of a family when reading this and it was so easy to smile at Scarpetta's troubled relationship with her siter, her loving relationship with her husband and her unlikely partnership with Marino.
No hesitation in recommending this as a cutting edge, very contemporary forensic read.

These latest Scarpetta Books are almost like the first books in the series and I'm really loving them.

Kay is having a tough time in the witness box. The Prosecutor is a misogynistic blowhard at best. Her friend is the presiding Judge and there is a lot of emotion surrounding the case. When leaving the courthouse she gts the news that the Judge's sister has been murdered.

Kay and Marino are soon on the scene and some other friendly faces appear - Lucy and Tron. Now Kay and Marino know that the super, secret squirrel world of Intelligence and National Security is also involved.

Murder, threats to the President and some very weird clues are all wrapped up in the plot, including a new and very unobtrusive weapon that could wreak devastation. I did feel that the story took a bit of time to get going. The scenes in the courthouse did take an inordinate amount of chapters to get through. However, once we got to the murder scene it zipped back to a more appropriate speed.

I was glad to see all the usual crew were present- I'm still not keen on Dorothy, I have to admit. I've read almost every Scarpetta book and I always come away having learned something and no two books are ever the same.

A fantastic read that is full of science, psychology and what makes people tick without being too heavy. I loved it and I couldn't put it down.