(Little, Brown, $39.99)
Supersleuth Dr Kay Scarpetta, a character beloved by crime-novel aficionados, is back for her 19th paperback outing by all-conquering American author Patricia Cornwell.
In Red oist, she needs every inch of her sass and skill to help solve her latest whodunit and once again, it’s personal.
The good doctor – and even better detective – is determined to find some answers after the slaying of her deputy and protégé, Jack Fielding, and her own near miss at the hands of a deranged madwoman, hellbent on revenge.
Kay travels to a women’s prison in the US’ Deep South to interview a convicted sex offender about Jack’s untimely death.
She soon finds out the inmate also holds the key to a string of unexplained deaths, including the grisly slaughter of a well-to-do family years earlier.
With the body count mounting and someone trying to frame her for crimes she’d never commit, Kay needs to find the perpetrators before they find and kill her.
Red oist is a modern murder mystery, with iPhones, iPads and other ultra high-tech gizmos and gadgets used to help ensnare the bad guys and girls. It’s about as far from an old-fashioned Scotland Yard murder mystery as you can get.
Patricia specialises in a particular kind of crime novel. The killers are especially calculated and callous, the murders especially bloody and gruesome.
Her books are meticulously researched and jam-packed with scientific detail. While fans of contemporary crime capers will appreciate the forensic nitty-gritty, the uninitiated may find it all a little bewildering.
However, if you like your heroines with a little bit of moxie and guile, Red oist and the Scarpetta series is the perfect read.
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