Summary of Book of the Dead Summary of Book of the Dead Reviews for Book of the Dead An Excerpt from Book of the Dead

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Kay Scarpetta is starting over with a unique private forensic pathology practice in Charleston, South Carolina. And the death of a sixteen-year-old tennis star will usher in a string of murders more baffling—and terrifying—than any that have come before. “If Michelin rated mysteries, this would get three stars. Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell. Charles Dickens would be impressed with both characters in this book and their names, e.g. Dr, Marilyn Self, a malignantly conniving deranged TV psychiatrist. The tale’s heroine, Kay Scarpetta, is a private forensic pathologist grappling with the murder of a famous teenage American tennis champ in Rome. At the same time she has to deal with the murder of a malnourished and badly beaten child. Scarpetta’s relations with her colleagues, not to mention those with her significant other, are tumultuous and tangled. All these characters have varying levels of unredeeming traits. What a walloping, riveting mix of mystery, adventure and psychology, author Cornell certainly is skilled at dissecting the not always attractive innards of human nature. “ —Forbes Magazine