Depraved Heart (Scarpetta)

Cornwell, Patricia Daniels

3.69

21,244 ratings by Goodreads

9780062325433: Depraved Heart (Scarpetta)

ISBN 10: 0062325434 ISBN 13: 9780062325433

Publisher: Harperaudio, 2015

Patricia Cornwell delivers the newest engrossing thriller in her high-stakes series starring medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta.

Depraved Heart: “Void of social duty and fatally bent on mischief.”

—Mayes v. People, 806 III. 306 (1883)

Dr. Kay Scarpetta is working a suspicious death scene in Cambridge, Massachusetts when an emergency alert sounds on her phone. A video link lands in her text messages and seems to be from her computer genius niece Lucy. But how can it be? It’s clearly a surveillance film of Lucy taken almost twenty years ago.

As Scarpetta watches she begins to learn frightening secrets about her niece, whom she has loved and raised like a daughter. That film clip and then others sent soon after raise dangerous legal implications that increasingly isolate Scarpetta and leave her confused, worried, and not knowing where to turn. She doesn’t know whom she can tell—not her FBI husband Benton Wesley or her investigative partner Pete Marino. Not even Lucy.

In this new novel, Cornwell launches these unforgettable characters on an intensely psychological odyssey that includes the mysterious death of a Hollywood mogul’s daughter, aircraft wreckage on the bottom of the sea in the Bermuda Triangle, a grisly gift left in the back of a crime scene truck, and videos from the past that threaten to destroy Scarpetta’s entire world and everyone she loves. The diabolical presence behind what unfolds seems obvious—but strangely, not to the FBI. Certainly that’s the message they send when they raid Lucy’s estate and begin building a case that could send her to prison for the rest of her life.

In the latest novel in her bestselling series featuring chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta, Cornwell will captivate readers with the shocking twists, high-wire tension, and cutting-edge forensic detail that she is famous for, proving yet again why she’s the world’s #1 bestselling crime writer.

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Review:

PRAISE FOR PATRICIA CORNWELL & THE KAY SCARPETTA NOVELS:

‘Cutting-edge’ Sun

‘A pioneer of the genre of forensic psychological thriller’ BBC

‘With plenty of the forensic detail that Cornwell fans have come to expect from her works this is a fast-paced and exciting read. Cornwell certainly lives up to her title of America's most chilling modern writer' Express and Star

‘She is a brilliant writer and I was absolutely gripped’ Mail on Sunday

‘Cornwell’s books run on high octane fuel, a cocktail of adrenalin and fear’ The Times

‘Forget the pretenders. Cornwell reigns’ Mirror

‘Few writers match Patricia Cornwell when it comes to writing crime and her latest Scarpetta novel is one of her best’ Daily Express

‘When it comes to the forensic sciences, nobody can touch Cornwell’ New York Times Book Review

‘Cornwell has created a character so real, so compelling, so driven that this reader has to remind herself regularly that Scarpetta is just a product of an author’s imagination’ USA Today

‘Dazzling... After reading Cornwell’s thriller, most others will pale in comparison’ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

‘Magnificent plotting, masterful writing, and marvelous suspense’ Booklist

‘Cornwell’s instincts are dead-on.’ Chicago Sun-Times

‘Cornwell remains a master of the genre, instilling in readers an appetite that only she can satisfy’ Publishers Weekly

From the Back Cover:

From the world's number one bestselling crime writer comes the haunting and irresistible new Dr. Kay Scarpetta novel—Depraved Heart

Depraved Heart: "Void of social duty and fatally bent on mischief."
—Mayes v. People, 806 III. 306 (1883)

Dr. Kay Scarpetta is working a highly suspicious death scene in a historic home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when an emergency alert sounds on her phone. A video link lands in her text messages, immediately begins playing . . . and seems to be from her niece Lucy. But how can it be? It's clearly a surveillance film of Lucy taken almost twenty years ago.

As Scarpetta watches she comes to grips with frightening secrets about her niece, whom she loves like a daughter. That first clip and others sent soon after raise dangerous implications that increasingly isolate Scarpetta and leave her confused, alarmed, and not knowing where to turn. She doesn't know whom she can tell—not her FBI agent husband, Benton Wesley, or her investigative partner, Pete Marino. Not even Lucy.

Cornwell launches these unforgettable characters on an intensely psychological odyssey that includes the bizarre death of a Hollywood mogul's daughter, wreckage on the bottom of the sea in the Bermuda Triangle, a grisly gift left in the back of a crime scene truck, and videos from the past that threaten to destroy Scarpetta's entire world and everyone she loves. The diabolical presence and singularly "depraved heart" behind what unfolds seems obvious—but strangely, not to the FBI. Certainly that's the message they send when they start harassing Lucy and begin building a case that could send her to prison for the rest of her life.

In the latest novel in her bestselling series featuring medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta, Cornwell captivates readers again with the jolting twists, high-wire tension, and cutting-edge forensic detail for which she is renowned, proving yet again why she is the world's number one bestselling crime writer.

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