Unnatural Exposure (Kay Scarpetta, #8)

by Patricia Cornwell

A sadistic serial killer, the weapon a deadly virus Dublin, Ireland and Richmond, Virginia: separated by thousands of miles - linked by murder. For Dr Kay Scarpetta a lecture stint in Ireland provides the perfect opportunity to find out if the murders on both sides of the Atlantic are indeed connected. Five dismembered, beheaded bodies were found in Ireland five years ago - now four have been discovered in the States. But the tenth corpse in Virginia is different. There are vital discrepancies, and an indication that the elderly victim was already seriously ill. A copy-cat killing. Ghoulish, perhaps, but not unusual. And then abject terror grips Scarpetta and her colleagues when the next body is found. The circumstances of death broadcast a clear and horrifying message: the killer is armed with the most lethal weapon on earth - smallpox. For more about Patricia Cornwell and her books visit her website on www.patricia-cornwell.com

• ISBN10: 0751530492
• ISBN13: 9780751530490
• Publish Date: 18 May 2000 (first published 1 January 1997)
• Publish Status: Transferred
• Out of Print: 22 August 2011
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Imprint: Sphere
• Format: Paperback (A-Format (178x111 mm))
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[ibeforem]

I’m just not sure what to think about this series. I like forensics angle, and the mystery, but these later books are just so bogged down in the sturm und drang of Kay’s life. Oh, the malaise! Kay Scarpetta has the angst of your average 15 year old girl, and it’s starting to get in the way. The story here is interesting and does make you wonder about what would have to happen if a disease such as smallpox were to be used as a weapon, and the final confrontation was good, but I found the "who" in the "whodunnit" rather unsatisfying. Part of what makes a mystery satisfying is the discovery of whether or not you are right in your suspicions, but in this book there really was no way to figure it out ahead of time. Yet, I keep reading them.