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Postmortem
The first in the ground-breaking, globally bestselling Kay Scarpetta series
Series: Kay Scarpetta
Brief Description
The first book in the Kay Scarpetta series, from No. 1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell - coming soon to Prime Video. A serial killer is on the loose in Richmond, Virginia. Three women have died, brutalised and strangled in their own bedroom. There is no pattern:...
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Postmortem
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Description
The first book in the Kay Scarpetta series, from No. 1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell - coming soon to Prime Video.
A serial killer is on the loose in Richmond, Virginia. Three women have died, brutalised and strangled in their own bedroom. There is no pattern: the killer appears to strike at random - but always early on Saturday mornings.
So when Dr Kay Scarpetta, chief medical officer, is awakened at 2.33 am, she knows the news is bad: there is a fourth victim. And she fears now for those that will follow unless she can dig up new forensic evidence to aid the police.
But not everyone is pleased to see a woman in this powerful job. Someone may even want to ruin her career and reputation . . .
Enter the world of Dr Kay Scarpetta before Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis bring it to life on screen.
'Devilishly clever' SUNDAY TIMES
'The top gun in this field' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'Forget the pretenders. Cornwell reigns' MIRROR
'The Agatha Christie of the DNA age' EXPRESS
Series: Kay Scarpetta
View all-
Sharp Force
NO ONE IS SAFE FROM THE SERIAL KILLER NOT EVEN SCARPETTA... During the early hours of Christmas morning, chief medical examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta receives a chilling call. The Phantom Slasher has struck again. The serial killer has terrorised Northern Virginia for months. His pattern is to stalk with sophisticated technology that enables him to invade his victims' homes and...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Identity Unknown
THE THRILLING NEW KAY SCARPETTA MYSTERY FROM THE WORLDWIDE BESTSELLER Iconic. Bold. Brilliant. Identity Unknown is hauntingly original, impossibly clever and devilishly daring. Scalpel-sharp storytelling, trademark twists and characters that feel like family, this series is one of the all-time greats' CHRIS WHITAKER, author of Sunday Times bestseller All the Colours of the Dark Summoned to an unnerving, abandoned theme...Paperback$2900Elsewhere:$5999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Postmortem
A serial killer is on the loose in Richmond, Virginia. Three women have died, brutalised and strangled in their own bedroom. There is no pattern: the killer appears to strike at random, but always early on Saturday mornings. So when Dr Kay Scarpetta, chief medical officer, is awakened at 2.33 am, she knows the news is bad: there is a...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Book Of The Dead
The Book of the Dead is the morgue log, the ledger in which all cases are entered by hand. For Kay Scarpetta, however, it is about to have a new meaning. Fresh from her bruising battle with a psychopath in Florida, Scarpetta decides it's time for a change of pace. Moving to the historic city of Charleston, South Carolina, she...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Postmortem
The first book in the Kay Scarpetta series, from No. 1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell - coming soon to Prime Video. A serial killer is on the loose in Richmond, Virginia. Three women have died, brutalised and strangled in their own bedroom. There is no pattern: the killer appears to strike at random - but always early on Saturday mornings....Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Postmortem
The inspiration for the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series Scarpetta—starring Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis! From #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell comes Postmortem, the groundbreaking thriller that introduced Dr. Kay Scarpetta and redefined the crime genre. A killer is stalking the streets of Richmond, Virginia. When the bodies begin to mount, Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta...Paperback$5200Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
Pre-orderRapid and Fatal
The New York Times bestselling Kay Scarpetta series is now an original series on Amazon Prime! To stop a diabolical series of mysterious murders, Dr. Kay Scarpetta must hunt for a killer who leaves no trace, in the newest thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell. A billionaire couple, founders of an elite security firm, are found...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableOut 2 Feb 2027Pre-order -
Unnatural Death
The breathtaking new Kay Scarpetta thriller from the global bestseller Two mauled bodies in the woods. Two top secret autopsies. The most chilling case of Scarpetta's career . . . Chief medical examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta finds herself in a Northern Virginia wilderness examining the remains of two campers wanted by federal law enforcement. The victims have been savaged beyond...PaperbackSold Out -
The Scarpetta Factor
It is the week before Christmas. The effects of the credit crunch have prompted Dr Kay Scarpetta to offer her services pro bono to New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. But in no time at all, her increased visibility seems to precipitate a string of dramatic and unsettling events. She is asked live on the air about...PaperbackSold Out -
Unnatural Exposure
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...PaperbackSold Out -
Livid
THE THRILLING NEW KAY SCARPETTA MYSTERY FROM THE #1 GLOBAL BESTSELLER 'I'M STILL SEEING STARS . . . KAY SCARPETTA IS THE SAME GRUMPY, WONDERFUL, RIVETING PERSONALITY SHE'S ALWAYS BEEN AND SHE'S ONLY GETTING BETTER WITH TIME' — JAMES PATTERSON Murder and mayhem. Scarpetta is back, and she's racing against the clock . . . Chief medical examiner Kay Scarpetta...PaperbackSold Out -
From Potter's Field
Christmas had never been a particularly good time for Dr Kay Scarpetta. Although a holiday for most, it always seems to heighten the alienation felt by society's violent fringe; and that usually means more work for Scarpetta, Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner. The body was naked, female, and found propped against a fountain in a bleak area of New York's Central...PaperbackSold Out
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781408736661
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 26 February 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Sphere
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 22.0mm
Width: 126.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 432
About the Author
In 1990, Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. An auspicious debut, it went on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity Awards, as well as the French Prix du Roman d'Aventures - the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. Growing into an international phenomenon, the Scarpetta series won Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development.
Today, Cornwell's novels and iconic characters are known around the world. Beyond the Scarpetta series, Cornwell has written the definitive nonfiction account of Jack the Ripper's identity, cookbooks, a children's book, a biography of Ruth Graham, and three other fictional series based on the characters Win Garano, Andy Brazil, and Captain Calli Chase. Cornwell continues exploring the latest space-age technologies and threats relevant to contemporary life. Her interests range from the morgue to artificial intelligence and include visits to Interpol, the Pentagon, the U.S. Secret Service and NASA.
Cornwell was born in Miami. She grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston.
Also by Patricia Cornwell
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True Crime
The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell finally tells the story that rivals all of the works that precede it: her own.Patricia Cornwell is best known for her international bestselling thriller series about forensic pathologist Dr Kay Scarpetta. Every story comes from somewhere, and Scarpetta's began when Patricia Cornwell embedded herself in a morgue. In this achingly honest memoir,...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Postmortem
A serial killer is on the loose in Richmond, Virginia. Three women have died, brutalised and strangled in their own bedroom. There is no pattern: the killer appears to strike at random, but always early on Saturday mornings. So when Dr Kay Scarpetta, chief medical officer, is awakened at 2.33 am, she knows the news is bad: there is a...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Identity Unknown
THE THRILLING NEW KAY SCARPETTA MYSTERY FROM THE WORLDWIDE BESTSELLER Iconic. Bold. Brilliant. Identity Unknown is hauntingly original, impossibly clever and devilishly daring. Scalpel-sharp storytelling, trademark twists and characters that feel like family, this series is one of the all-time greats' CHRIS WHITAKER, author of Sunday Times bestseller All the Colours of the Dark Summoned to an unnerving, abandoned theme...Paperback$2900Elsewhere:$5999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Autopsy
Scarpetta is back! In this twenty-fifth entry in the electrifying, landmark #1 bestselling thriller series, chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta hunts an ingenious killer who has mastered cutting-edge science for the most nefarious ends. Forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta has returned to Virginia as the chief medical examiner. She and her husband Benton are headquartered five miles from the Pentagon,...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Sharp Force
NO ONE IS SAFE FROM THE SERIAL KILLER NOT EVEN SCARPETTA... During the early hours of Christmas morning, chief medical examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta receives a chilling call. The Phantom Slasher has struck again. The serial killer has terrorised Northern Virginia for months. His pattern is to stalk with sophisticated technology that enables him to invade his victims' homes and...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Book Of The Dead
The Book of the Dead is the morgue log, the ledger in which all cases are entered by hand. For Kay Scarpetta, however, it is about to have a new meaning. Fresh from her bruising battle with a psychopath in Florida, Scarpetta decides it's time for a change of pace. Moving to the historic city of Charleston, South Carolina, she...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Pre-order
Rapid and Fatal
The New York Times bestselling Kay Scarpetta series is now an original series on Amazon Prime! To stop a diabolical series of mysterious murders, Dr. Kay Scarpetta must hunt for a killer who leaves no trace, in the newest thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell. A billionaire couple, founders of an elite security firm, are found...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableOut 2 Feb 2027Pre-order -
Depraved Heart
No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell delivers the twenty-third engrossing thriller in her high-stakes series starring medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta. Dr. Kay Scarpetta is described as "an awesome force in the field of forensic science" by the New York Times Book Review. Dr. Kay Scarpetta is working a suspicious death scene in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when an...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2699Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Chaos
Fear is a force of nature. No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell delivers the twenty-fourth engrossing thriller in her high-stakes series starring medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta. In the quiet of twilight, on an early autumn day, twenty-six-year-old Elisa Vandersteel is killed while riding her bicycle along the Charles River. It appears she was struck by lightning...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2699Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Sharp Force
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! From #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell, a serial killer wreaks havoc on Northern Virginia, appearing as a ghostly apparition before striking—and Scarpetta must avoid becoming their next victim. Scarpetta is soon to be a streaming series starring Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis! No one is safe from the serial killer—not...Paperback$7600Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
Postmortem
The inspiration for the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series Scarpetta—starring Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis! From #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell comes Postmortem, the groundbreaking thriller that introduced Dr. Kay Scarpetta and redefined the crime genre. A killer is stalking the streets of Richmond, Virginia. When the bodies begin to mount, Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta...Paperback$5200Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
Predator
Florida is full of human predators, and they all give Dr Kay Scarpetta the opportunity and the means to do what she does best—persuading the dead to speak to her. In Boston, Benton Wesley is working on a secret case involving convicted killers. It is a project which gives Scarpetta deep disquiet, as does the behaviour of her niece, Lucy,...PaperbackSold Out
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