Scarpetta
- Published
- 1 January 2008
- Pages
- 500
- ISBN-13
- 9780751538755
- Type
- novel
About this book
Released in 2008, Scarpetta holds the sixteenth spot in the series that bears her name, with Patricia Cornwell keeping the autopsy-table detail and the Marino-and-Lucy dynamic that has defined the books since Postmortem.
Key facts about Scarpetta
Patricia Cornwell wrote Scarpetta, a novel on our list. It has been out since 1 January 2008. The book has 500 pages.
We list 2 editions of this novel. Since each edition has its own ISBN, search for 9780751538755 to find the main one.
Scarpetta is book 16 of 29 in the Kay Scarpetta series. The series has 29 published books. However, the series starts with Postmortem (1990).
Sharp Force is the latest book in the series with a full release date, out on 7 October 2025. Meanwhile, Rapid and Fatal comes next, with an announced date of 19 January 2027.
Additionally, Patricia Cornwell writes Andy Brazil, Win Garano and Captain Chase as separate series. Those series sit on our thriller and techno-thriller shelves. Meanwhile, Sharp Force is the latest published Patricia Cornwell book on file, from 7 October 2025.
About Patricia Cornwell
Patricia Cornwell is credited with essentially inventing the modern forensic thriller. Born in 1956 and educated at Davidson College, she worked as a police reporter at the Charlotte Observer before spending six years as a technical writer and computer analyst inside the Chief Medical Examiner's office in Richmond, Virginia, sitting in on autopsies and absorbing real forensic procedure years before it was standard genre furniture. See every Patricia Cornwell book in order.
Its place in Kay Scarpetta
Scarpetta is book 16 in the Kay Scarpetta series. It follows Book of the Dead. It is followed by The Scarpetta Factor. See the full Kay Scarpetta reading order.
Kay Scarpetta is the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia (and, later, a federal forensic investigator and private consultant) whose autopsy table is where every case really begins. Patricia Cornwell's series is credited with popularising the modern forensic-procedural: DNA evidence, trace analysis and autopsy detail that were startlingly technical for genre fiction in 1990 and remain a core selling point today. Scarpetta investigates alongside her homicide-detective niece-in-all-but-name-later-partner Pete Marino…
Editions
- edition · unknown publisher · — · ISBN 9780739496459
- edition · unknown publisher · — · ISBN 9780751538755