The Body Farm
- Published
- 1 January 1994
- Pages
- 387
- ISBN-13
- 9780743527491
- Type
- novel
About this book
The Body Farm is a novel by Patricia Cornwell, in 1994 at 387 pages. It sits at #5 in Kay Scarpetta's reading order. Cruel and Unusual comes before it, From Potter's Field after.
Key facts about The Body Farm
Patricia Cornwell wrote The Body Farm, a novel on our list. It has been out since 1 January 1994. The book has 387 pages.
We list 2 editions of this novel. Since each edition has its own ISBN, search for 9780743527491 to find the main one.
The Body Farm is book 5 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
The Body Farm is book 5 in the Kay Scarpetta series. It follows Cruel and Unusual. It is followed by From Potter's Field. 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 9780425147627
- edition · unknown publisher · — · ISBN 9780743527491