Autopsy: A Scarpetta Novel (Kay Scarpetta, 25)

Dr. Kay Scarpetta is on familiar ground as she returns as the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Virginia. But nothing is the same… except the murder and mystery of a good whodunnit. A young female neighbor of Pete Marino and Dorothy, Scarpetta’s sister, is found murdered in a National Park. Scarpetta’s investigation finds the victim has been spying on NASA. At the same time, an astronaut bails out of a spaceship, leaving his crewmates for dead. Why did he call the dead girl from space before he fled back to Earth? And why did Scarpetta get called to the White House?

Scarpetta has a morgue full of questions and no answers when she opens a bottle of wine after a long day and nearly becomes a murder victim herself. Obvious lies and deception from her new assistant lead the determined Scarpetta to dig deeper and unearth a previous death in the same park. Her predecessor seems to have swept that death under the rug.

In typical Scarpetta fashion, the no-nonsense medical examiner listens to the clues and observes the obvious to find answers and justice for the dead. Autopsy strides comfortably back into the dark and dangerous work of the complicated medical examiner. Long-time readers of this series will enjoy the gritty crime details, puzzling clues, and familiar characters in Scarpetta’s world. The story moves along quickly, and while not extremely inventive, is an enjoyable read.