When convicted killer Ronnie Joe Waddell is executed in Virginia’s electric chair, he becomes what should be a routine case for Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta. But after Waddell’s execution, everyone connected to him begins to die – including a member of Scarpetta’s staff. When crucial records disappear from her files, Scarpetta comes under fire for incomeptence. Caught in a web of political intrigue, she must fight to free herself from murderous insinuations and threats to her own life. She soon finds herself retracing Waddell’s bloody footprints, following a trail that might lead to long-hidden secrets deep within the state government. Either the truth will set her free – or unleash upon her a punishment both cruel and unusual.
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Reviews
Highly addictive.
Chillingly detailed forensic thriller, confirming Cornwell as the top gun in this field.
Perhaps the first entirely credible woman sleuth, Scarpetta is closest to Sherlock Holmes in relying entirely on her brain rather than breaks or brawn to solve baffling cases
The Agatha Christie of the DNA age
