Port Mortuary by Patricia Cornwell

Kay Scarpetta has been training at the Dover Port Mortuary, mastering the art of 'virtual autopsy' - a groundbreaking procedure that could soon revolutionise forensic science. And it is not too long before these new skills urgently need to be put into practice. A young man drops dead, apparently from a heart condition, eerily close to Scarpetta's home. But when his body is examined the next morning, there are stunning indications that he may have been alive when he was zipped inside a pouch and locked inside the cooler. When the revolutionary 3D radiology scans reveal more shocking details about internal injuries unlike any Scarpetta has ever seen, Scarpetta realizes that this is a case of murder - and that she is fighting a cunning and uniquely cruel enemy. Now it is a race against time to discover who and why before more people die. But that time is running out ...
Book details
Published28/10/2010
PublisherLittle, Brown
ISBN9781408702352

Scarpetta is back!! I am an avid Patricia Cornwell fan and as my birthday is in October, top of my list is always the new Cornwell book. This year it was the same although I was lucky enough to receive a copy to review.

The previous few books have lacked something for me and I think it was Scarpetta's own voice. This book has gone back to how Scarpetta was originally told, in Scarpetta's voice, written from her point of view. I must admit I prefer it written like this and opening the book and reading was like putting on a favorite pair of slippers.

The book was a good read and I really enjoyed it, however there was lots of technical jargon and this was difficult to follow. However there is also an insight into Scarpetta's past life, before she became a top forensic pathologist and met Marino and Benton Wesley which I enjoyed, she was able to put right some wrongs in her past which I think was something she needed to do.

The main story is about a young boys murder who was killed in his back yard by nails being hammered into his head while his parents were inside the house and the death of a young man who dropped dead near to Scarpetta's home apparently from a heart condition which just doesn't add up. When Scarpetta returns from Dover Port Mortuary, where she has been training in new techniques of 'virtual autopsy' there is also the disappearance of Fielding, the man Scarpetta left in charge while away. The story which follows is the investigation into the three cases with shocking results.

I won't go into story details any further as I don't want to ruin the story for other readers but I would recommend it to you all, Scarpetta is back and she is as good as ever, with intrigue and suspense built into the story from the word go!

Thank you to Kate Wright-Morris from Colman Getty for sending me the book to review