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The Bone Bed (Kay Scarpetta #20)

by Patricia Cornwell (Goodreads Author)

3.47 of 5 stars 3.47 · rating details · 4,617 ratings · 844 reviews

A woman has vanished while digging a dinosaur bone bed in the remote wilderness of Canada. Somehow, the only evidence has made its way to the inbox of Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta, over two thousand miles away in Boston. She has no idea why. But as events unfold with alarming speed, Scarpetta begins to suspect that the paleontologist’s disappearance is connected to...more

Hardcover, 463 pages

Published October 16th 2012 by Putnam Adult (first published 2012)

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Oct 19, 2012 Elise rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thrillers, reviewed

What can I say about Scarpetta number twenty? I didn't dislike the book, but in my opinion, Cornwell has yet to produce a follow-up book that is in anyway comparable to the quality of her first six to eight books. This review does contain a few mild spoilers!

Before I air my complaints, I will give credit where credit is due. Bone Bed reintroduces readers to the Kay Scarpetta they met in Virginia. For the first time in I don't know how many books, Scarpetta is back in her diving gear and working...more What can I say about Scarpetta number twenty? I didn't dislike the book, but in my opinion, Cornwell has yet to produce a follow-up book that is in anyway comparable to the quality of her first six to eight books. This review does contain a few mild spoilers!

Before I air my complaints, I will give credit where credit is due. Bone Bed reintroduces readers to the Kay Scarpetta they met in Virginia. For the first time in I don't know how many books, Scarpetta is back in her diving gear and working the crime scenes like she used too. That is the one thing I really appreciated about this book. Kay is sharp. I had forgotten what an impressive investigator she could be. As she goes through a crime scene, very little escapes her attention. Her intelligence, ambition, and compassion are magnetic. I can't speak for everyone, but that is the character that captured my attention and held my interest in 90s.

With that said, I found her supporting characters highly annoying and redundant. Marino and Benton are still stuck in a downward spiral of regret and resentment. I know that real life issues (you know, your average faked death and attempted rape) don't go away over night, but I think Cornwell has taken it to a level that is entirely unnecessary. I for one, am very tired of hearing the sad song that refuses to end. Benton played dead; Mario got drunk and tried to play hooky. Naturally, these flaws in character will keep the two of them from being best friends and undoubtably leave some skeletons in the closet, but Cornwell has strung it out to the degree that she has allowed it to monopolize the chemistry that made the characters so captivating in the beginning.

Another issue I had with this book is that I felt like I had read it already. Scarpetta and her team discover links between several different homicides and find themselves chasing a deranged serial killer. As they close in, the lunatic loses control and ends up going after ... Wait, I don't want to spoil your fun, I'll let you guess, but I'm betting you'll get it right without even having to buy a vowel!! Any of that sound familiar? It's almost as if Cornwell follows a formula. She changes the locations, characters, and modus operandi, but the big picture remains the same. While this formula may be making her millions, it has flattened her series and turned into average and predictable. She has sold Scarpetta out and it's a d*** shame.

(less)

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Jan 02, 2013 1mackie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Cornwell used to write interesting stories; she was one of my favourite authors. But about 10 novels ago, she decided to expand on her character's personalities. This would be fine, except she can’t seem to shut up about it. I get it that Scarpetta's partner (Marino) is a uncontrollable, unreliable slob who's in unrequited love with her. I also understand her husband (Benton) is an uncontrollable, unreliable narcissistic jerk. And I know her niece (Lucy) is unreliable, uncontrollable, gay and ha...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Bobbee marked it as to-read

If this Scarpetta book is as great as Cormwell's other 19 books, it will be a hit with me! Not yet read.

UPDATE: I read the book last week, and found it to be up to Cornwell's usual standard. Enjoyed and think others will also.

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Oct 22, 2012 Eva Bradshaw-Burnett rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: forensic-mystery

The Bone Bed had me captured for 18 consecutive hours of almost unbroken reading. Still based at the Cambridge Forensic Center, all of the usual characters are present. Her FBI Profiler husband, Benton Wesley, her niece Lucy and the ever present Marino. Lucy is still ensconced in electronic data, but she is keeping secrets from her aunt. Like wear did that heavy gold ring she is wearing come from. Marino seems to be drinking again and collecting miniature Skull Head vodka bottles and making orna...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Jaxie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I havent read a Patricia Cornwell book in a while. And after devouring cozy mysteries for the last 2 months (sorry Joanne Fluke et al. ) I must admit that reading "The Bone Bed" is a welcome pleasure. Patricia Cornwell (amazing jacket photo by the way, i want to drink whatever she's drinking , Holy Patricia Cornwell Buttons but i digress)bring exquisite writing, a well constructed plot, fast paced rythm of the story/case and a very unsuspecting ending making in the end a wonderful thriller/myste...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Dawn rated it 2 of 5 stars

i haven't finished yet but I should really just stop buying these books. I was convinced that (at least 5?) some books ago she changed her writing style and it totally turned me off. Then I felt like a few books ago (2?) she changed back to normal. Yet, I feel her characters have just gone off the deep end. I can't stand any of them anymore. Marino turns worse every book, Lucy becomes almost total background and into such a superwoman that she's just completely unbelievable anymore. Now, in this...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Moira Russell rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, on-the-kindle, 2012-50-new-books-challenge

Whyyyy do I keep reading these. It's like a sickness.

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Apr 26, 2013 Andreasoldier rated it 3 of 5 stars

I read this in one day, home from work, sick in bed. And despite my aching head, I enjoyed quite a bit more than some of Scarpetta's more recent outing.
Why? A lot less technobabble about helicopters, watches, and the latest in forensic tools, but it's the cases and the tensions in Kay's marriage that make this such a strong and captivating outing.
There's trouble between Kay and Benton, Marino is back in the frame, and Lucy is popping in and out.
The story opens with a paleontologist disappearin...more

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Mar 29, 2013 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I first discovered Kay Scarpetta last year in Red Mist, and was more than a little excited to review the next book in the series, The Bone Bed. I have discovered that I LOVE to listen to mysteries while in the car. With two hours of commute time per day, most of my reading is now done via audiobook. I don’t want to fall asleep while driving, so it is importantly to me to listen to engaging books that keep my attention and make my drive enjoyable.

Kay Scarpetta feels like life is starting to fall...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Karen McMillan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime

I was a big fan of Patricia Cornwell’s books many years ago when they first came out. I read the first half dozen or so and then drifted away to other authors. I decided to read her latest book, The Bone Bed, over a recent weekend, after missing so many of her previous books. Well the answer is that Patricia Cornwell still knows how to deliver a page turning, forensic-based crime novel (she did event the CSI genre, after all). But more importantly, if you are a new reader of hers or you haven’t...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Claudia rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: letteratura-americana

E' il primo libro di Patricia Cornwell che leggo e con buone probabilità sarà anche l'unico. La trama mi aveva conquistata, incuriosita e sedotta, per cui in breve tempo mi sono trovata con il libro tra le mani, pronta a leggere la Regina del Thriller con ogni onori. E invece... delusione totale! Il romanzo parte lentamente, le prime 80 pagine mi hanno letteralmente fatto crescere la barba poi pareva essersi ripreso ma... ecco che uno degli investigatori è fuori dal caso per aver chattato con la...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Liz Wilkins rated it 1 of 5 stars

Very sad to say but I think I will at last have to give up on the hope that Patricia Cornwell is ever going to return to brilliance again with her Scarpetta series. I have made my way through the last few books hoping each time that they will be as enjoyable as her earlier efforts. Its just not happening folks. I read "The Body Farm" way back in my late teens and it was this novel that started me on my love of crime fiction,and indeed a new Patricia Cornwell novel was a treat I looked forward to...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Akua Colley rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have read all but a few of the Kay Scarpetta Series. While this book and the last two or three haven't been as suspensful, I did enjoy it. I think that most of the book deals with the characters and their issues as opposed to the actual cases. The actual cases is what drew me to her books in the very begining. I would like the focus to go back to the cases with the interpersonal relationships to be secondary. I still enjoy her writing. It was still a well written story. I have read other autho...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Douglas Cook rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries-police, macabre

Good read as usual. Wish though that Patricia didn't try to stuff so much into her books. Tough to keep track of everyone

First paragraph

I CHECK MY OVERSIZED TITANIUM WATCH ON ITS RUBBER strap and reach for my coffee— black, no sweetener— as distant footsteps sound in the corridor of my bullet-shaped building on the eastern border of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s campus. It isn’t light out yet this third Monday of October. Seven stories below my top-floor office, traffic is steady o...more

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Feb 17, 2013 Sandra rated it 3 of 5 stars

I don't find Marino, Lucy, or Benton at the cause of Kay's problems. I find Kay at the center of Kay's problems. She seems to want to control her personal life like she controls her work life. Down to a microscopic detail.
I have read all of the Kay Scarpetta books and I have to agree with most of the people here. At first I was hooked. Then, the books just turned into a soap opera most of the time. I like Marino, Lucy, and Benton just as they are, but Patricia Cornwell seems to be turning them...more I don't find Marino, Lucy, or Benton at the cause of Kay's problems. I find Kay at the center of Kay's problems. She seems to want to control her personal life like she controls her work life. Down to a microscopic detail.
I have read all of the Kay Scarpetta books and I have to agree with most of the people here. At first I was hooked. Then, the books just turned into a soap opera most of the time. I like Marino, Lucy, and Benton just as they are, but Patricia Cornwell seems to be turning them uglier in each book. That's just sad.
The story in this book is good, but as with all Cornwell's books, you go cross-eyed in the details. And just when you think you can skip a page..... no you can't. Her stories are so tightly woven, they are like a spider web. There is a reason for all the detail. Sometimes I have to go back and re-read places to understand what's going on three or four chapters past.
This time there is a killer loose, of course. But, there is lots of bodies turning up and they don't seem connected at first. Then little things start adding up. Then there is a new FBI agent, working with Benton. A woman who can't seem to keep her hands off, or keep her head in reality. Mean and nasty. Then there is the new guy working with Kay. Bright, young, good looking, and infatuated with Kay. Will Kay or Benton cheat? You'll have to read the book to find out! My favorite characters in these books are Marino and Lucy. You don't see much of Marino in this book, and Lucy is just brought in to "save the day", as happens in these books. She's like a super hero anymore. Cornwell fooled me again, as to who the killer is, which is always nice. I hate reading a book that I figure out half way through! I would love to see Marino find some happiness. And Lucy too. Can you do that Ms. Cornwell? Let them grow up and become part of the team?
One other thing. The book is called the Bone Bed, but the only thing you hear of it is that a woman at the dig sight, in Canada, goes missing. Most of the story is wrapped around Scarpetta and Cambridge Massachusetts. Unlike others here, I will be reading the next book, because I love this series and I am hoping someone finds happiness and I want to be there to read that. (less)

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Feb 11, 2013 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, medical, series

I was able to stomach this one better than the previous 6 or 7 in the series. Oh, Patricia Cornwell, what happened? I used to look forward to my yearly visits with Kay Scarpetta, but you have made her so arrogant, Marina so pathetic, Lucy so angry, and Benton so haughty that I find them all insufferable and must force myself to continue to read the books, hoping that you will redeem the characters. I find it tedious that men fawn over Kay, and women become feral in their lust for Benton. All of...more

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Jan 11, 2013 Joanna rated it 3 of 5 stars

It seems all my favorite authors are running dry lately, and this was no exception. I'm normally a huge Scarpetta fan but this one was awful to get in to. The retrieval of the body in the water, along with the turtle event, was dragged out interminably. I almost gave up. It felt like she needed to make the book longer and so she just went on and on.

And ultimately, the plot was tenuous at best. The bone bed had little to no bearing on the rest of the book, and the 'connection' was loose, to say...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Starr Reina added it

Kay Scarpetta has been entertaining and mystifying us for many, many years and she celebrates her twentieth novel with not one, not two, but three intriguing cases. Along with her FBI husband, an eccentric investigator, and a niece with a talent for computer hacking, Scarpetta matches wits with a twisted killer. If she’s not careful, Kay may find herself the next target.

A dinosaur bone hunter in Canada disappears and soon after, Cambridge forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta receives an enigmatic...more

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Dec 21, 2012 BooksnWool rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, gory-mystery

I tried this book because it was on the New Books shelf at the library and the setting sounded intriguing, and I haven't read a Cornwell for a while. Unfortunately the action is NOT actually set at the dinosaur dig in Canada. We only get two secondhand glimpses of it. For the rest of the book we follow Dr Scarpetta around Boston, from home to work to Court, to a couple of domestic locations. There is an interesting scene at the beginning where she goes diving to retrieve evidence at the scene of...more I tried this book because it was on the New Books shelf at the library and the setting sounded intriguing, and I haven't read a Cornwell for a while. Unfortunately the action is NOT actually set at the dinosaur dig in Canada. We only get two secondhand glimpses of it. For the rest of the book we follow Dr Scarpetta around Boston, from home to work to Court, to a couple of domestic locations. There is an interesting scene at the beginning where she goes diving to retrieve evidence at the scene of a rare turtle rescue. The rest is quite humdrum.

Cornwell's prose is good, though, which pushed the book above 1-star for me.

I feel this was a wasted book. If we could for once have moved away from the side of the Amazing Kay, whom I don't much like and who now bores me silly, we could have toured the dig site on the Peace River, shared the suspense of seeing the victims stalked by a mystery figure, learned more about the hacker's methods, read some flirtatious Twitter messages that nevertheless provided an ominous chill, even sympathised with a few frightened pets! Instead, all of this comes through to us as a distant echo filtered through Scarpetta's self-obsession.

The story involves a billionaire who could have provided another interesting excursion, but we barely get a glimpse of him.

There's a lot about Kay feeling her age, though it's all carefully balanced out with the author's assurances that even young men still find her hot at 50 (yeah, sure...) I don't know if we're supposed to sympathise with Scarpetta for her fears about her husband having an affair, but since she's got a case of wandering eyes herself, the whole issue comes off as a damp squib. It made me long for the English detective Vera with her dreadful clothes, orthopaedic sandals, bad temper and endlessly generous courage.

The threat to Marino never feels very threatening, so that's another lost opportunity, and a lot of the pages involving procedural, I skipped. It's not new any more.

To be fair, the mystery itself is interesting and well-crafted, although the identity of the perp could irritate some for reasons which will become clear. I'm not sure what the Detective Club would have thought of it (nuff said).

I stopped reading the Scarpetta books years ago, once the narrative moved away from the stunning action and cleverness of the first books and got diverted into the unbelievably superior characters' private inner lives. I could just about swallow Kay Scarpetta's ego and frequent avowals of humility that are supposed to mask it, but the addition of Lucy the Wondergirl was too much. (Never lost my love for Marino though, for all he's the epitome of the American Watson -- tender, bullnecked Bronx cop of unswerving loyalty.)

If I want to read Cornwell again, I'll be revisiting her wonderful early books. (less)

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Dec 18, 2012 Kathy Davie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

Twentieth in the Kay Scarpetta forensic suspense series. This one is based in Boston.

I really want to give this a "3", but when I try to figure out my reasons for that...it doesn't cut it. Cornwell has made me angry, uncomfortable, and worried. And that's not a good reason to drop it a point. Sure, there are some loose threads and some really lazy issues in this story, but she's mostly kept the pace and the excitement of the forensic sleuthing. And...I guess I should appreciate that Cornwell is...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Luanne Ollivier rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When Patricia Cornwell first started writing, I loved her books featuring forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta. But, slowly but surely the love affair ended and I stopped following this series. Well, recently I needed something to listen to, so I decided, what the heck, I'll give her another shot. So I picked up her latest book - The Bone Bed.

Scarpetta is now the medical examiner for the state of Massachusetts. Her niece Lucy, a talented tech wizard and investigator Pete Marino also work with/for...more When Patricia Cornwell first started writing, I loved her books featuring forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta. But, slowly but surely the love affair ended and I stopped following this series. Well, recently I needed something to listen to, so I decided, what the heck, I'll give her another shot. So I picked up her latest book - The Bone Bed.

Scarpetta is now the medical examiner for the state of Massachusetts. Her niece Lucy, a talented tech wizard and investigator Pete Marino also work with/for her. Kay's husband Benton, an FBI profiler, also often works with Kay.

Scarpetta receives an email which documents a crime committed against an American paleontologist working in Alberta and now missing. Lucy finds evidence that the clip may be connected to a murder on U.S. soil. So, a good premise and I was intrigued.

But....although I enjoy personal story lines in addition to the main plot, I quickly grew tired of listening to what seemed to be the same old, same old. Benton and Kay are having relationship problems, Lucy is being secretive, Kay's staff are betraying her, Marino is in trouble again. Sound familiar? Cornwell fills out the story with endless detail - which refrigerator is the parmigiana in - number one or two? "I check my oversized titanium watch on its rubber strap and reach for my coffee—black, no sweetener—as distant footsteps sound in the corridor of my bullet-shaped building on the eastern border of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s campus. It isn’t light out yet this third Monday of October." First lines of chapter one.

The reader was Kate Reading. I have to admit she's not one of my favourite narrators. I find her habit of dwelling on final consonants and drawing out words slightly annoying. But her tone does seem to fit the character of Kay, who seems to see herself as somewhat superior and whom I find supercilious.

The ending and the 'culprit' were such a letdown. And confirmed why I will be saying goodbye again to Patricia Cornwell. If you're so inclined - read an excerpt of The Bone Bed.

(The title The Bone Bed refers to the dinosaur bone deposits in Alberta, Canada. Although they are featured in the opening scene, they truly didn't have a lot to do with the story. It almost felt like Cornwell was copying Kathy Reich's penchant for using the word bone in many of her titles that also feature a forensic pathologist.)
(less)

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Dec 01, 2012 Susan Obryan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Author Patricia Cornwell is a writing machine. Each year in late October, she puts out another Dr. Kay Scarpetta medical/crime/thriller, as routine as post-Halloween candy sales and pre-Christmas wish lists.

"Bone Bed," the 20th in the Scarpetta series, immediately hit bestseller lists. An added bonus this year is that the novel is good, really good, and not just a product of hype and publicity. Having strayed a bit in past novels, Cornwell has returned to what readers most enjoy - characters who...more Author Patricia Cornwell is a writing machine. Each year in late October, she puts out another Dr. Kay Scarpetta medical/crime/thriller, as routine as post-Halloween candy sales and pre-Christmas wish lists.

"Bone Bed," the 20th in the Scarpetta series, immediately hit bestseller lists. An added bonus this year is that the novel is good, really good, and not just a product of hype and publicity. Having strayed a bit in past novels, Cornwell has returned to what readers most enjoy - characters who are vulnerable and forensics and crimes that.

For those who don't know, Scarpetta is a chief medical examiner with state and federal military jurisdiction. Her inner circle includes a FBI profiler for a husband (Benton), a rogue computer genius for a niece (Lucy) and an unpredictable ex-cop for a friend (Marino). Cornwell draws on her personal background, including stints as a computer analyst in the Virginia chief medical examiner's office and as a police reporter for a major newspaper. She flies helicopters and drives fast vehicles (like niece Lucy), is intrigued by serial killers (like Jack the Ripper) and (like a Bone Bed victim) recently went on a dinosaur dig where discovered a tooth fossil estimated to be 70 million years old.

When Scarpetta receives a video and a pictured of a detached ear, she deduces that they may have something to do with a paleontologist who went missing during a dinosaur dig in Canada. The mystery has to be put on the back burner at the Cambridge Forensic Center, Scarpetta's high-tech playground, as dead bodies arrive at the Boston facility under very unusual circumstances.

An unidentified woman's body tangled in fishing lines ensnaring an ancient leatherneck turtle raises speculation that she might be a billionaire's missing wife. On trial for hiring his wife's murder, although a body have yet to be found, tries deflecting attention by discrediting Scarpetta.
Like a carefully constructed string of dominoes, pieces begin to fall into place as more seemingly unrelated deaths are methodically and scientifically tied together.

Figuring out who is the behind the crimes is only a part of the "Bone Bed" story. The tougher-than-bricks Scarpetta faces an even bigger personal dilemma - not a whodunit, but more of a "who are they" mystery. What secrets are those closest to her keeping? Are they who she's always believed them to be, or has she let herself become blind to the truth?

"Bone Bed" reads like classic Cornwell, putting the main characters up front with naked emotion. It's the struggle of personal strength vs. weakness that readers most relate to, the feeling that crime-solving heroes can be thin-skinned human, too. While Cornwell consistently delivers in the outstanding forensic technology arena, she's come up short on characterization in her last few novels by creating plots that lack emotional depth. Cornwell now is back to the basics that have attracted millions of readers for many years - characters that are as intriguing as the high-tech arena that surrounds them.

Patricia Cornwell and Kay Scarpetta, welcome home(less)

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Nov 29, 2012 Marilyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

I've been a Cornwell fan for a long time and have followed her characters through thick and thin. I had mixed feelings about this book. In the first half of the story, Cornwell has a section describing the process of retrieving an intact body from the sea that was particularly difficult and harrowing. It reminded me of a passage in Ann Patchett's State of Wonder for its amazing descriptive writing. I was mesmerized and conscious that I could visualize what was happening perched on the very edge...more

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Nov 18, 2012 Anita Wilkerson rated it 1 of 5 stars

After several bad experiences recently with Cornwell, I read this book mostly for two reasons: 1) It was free, 2) the last reader said it wasn't as awful as the last ones she's read by Cornwell.

Well, if you've got an afternoon with nothing to do, this might be a good idea, especially if you can get it for free. For God's sake, don't pay a lot of money for it!

I originally liked the Scarpetta series because there were great plot lines, good science, and characters I cared about even if some were...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Deb rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dear Patricia Cornwell,

I swear this is the last book of yours I will read. You had 463 pages of which you filled too much with your petty disagreements with your husband, niece and chief investigator. If these people are making your life as miserable as they are mine, divorce/fire/tell them to go to hell!

I got mad years ago when I felt like you were just "phoning" it in. Now you take a good plot and just clutter it up with too much stuff that isn't germane to the story. If you weren't a best se...more

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Kellie I haven't bought her books for a long time now, as soon as I realized that I was going to have to keep dealing with her spending more time talking abo...more
Nov 17, 2012 05:06am

Sandra Forbes WORST PC book to date! I will check into Chelsea Cain; thanks Kyle Wendy! I read the book Bonnie because it was a gift, I would never spend real money...more
Mar 22, 2013 06:26pm

Feb 17, 2013 Sandra rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Oct 19, 2012 Amy Tait rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have been with this series since the beginning. It was exciting and interesting, considering this was well before CSI. I hate to say I have fallen into the habit of reading these novels just because I've read the others.
In the previous two books Dr. scarpetta seemed to be getting back on track, getting back to the case with just the right amount of personal life and also handling those problems was more like earlier novels. I started to like them again, putting her books on the "must get whe...more

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Mar 03, 2013 Ozzie Cheek rated it 2 of 5 stars

Long ago I must have enjoyed the character of Kay Scarpetta. I must have liked reading Patricia Cornwell. But now, every time I pick up her new book, I'm soon reminded of how disappointed I was in the last one. Unlike James Patterson (for instance), Cornwell's books don't appear on a quarterly (or monthly) basis, so I forget my disappointment by the time the new book is out, at least for a while. Reading The Bone Bed, however, is a bit like slogging through wet sand. It seemed like a good idea u...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Steve Wilson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Has been several years since I last read a Scarpetta novel and by that it should be evident that I am not one who will eagerly anticipitate each new release in the series and I believe The Bone Bed is the twentieth.

Regardless, even after my absence from the Series the main characters quickly came back to me and that in and of itself is quite comforting. Obviously I have missed some of the events that have shaped these characters I still enjoy them all and the author does an excellent job in allu...more

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Nov 05, 2012 Kristine Kucera rated it 4 of 5 stars

Having read every book in the Scarpetta series, my expectations are usually set - and met - with each book. I foundd that the main character, Scarpetta, seems to have cheered up a bit - which is nice for the overall tone of the book. I also think Cornwell did an exceptional job fleshing out Scarpetta's thoughts - especially the wandering mind while concentrating on a completely different task. All that said, the book was fabulous and the plot wonderful, riveting, and a fast read. The only downsi...more

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About Patricia Cornwell

Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working as a computer analyst at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. At her first signing, held during a lunch break from the morgue, Patricia sold no copies of Postmortem and fielded exactly one question – an elderly woman asked her where she could find the cookbooks.

Postmortem would go on to win the Edgar, Cre...more Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working as a computer analyst at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. At her first signing, held during a lunch break from the morgue, Patricia sold no copies of Postmortem and fielded exactly one question – an elderly woman asked her where she could find the cookbooks.

Postmortem would go on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure prize – the first book ever to claim them all these distinctions in a single year. To date, Cornwell’s books have sold some 100 million copies in thirty-six languages in over 120 countries. She’s authored twenty-three New York Times bestsellers.

Patricia’s novels center primarily on medical examiner Kay Scarpetta along with her tech-savvy niece Lucy and fellow investigator Pete Marino. Over twenty years, these characters have grown into an international phenomenon, eventually winning 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.

Fox 20th Century currently owns the rights to the Scarpetta film, with Angelina Jolie slated to play Kay.

Patricia’s literary career expands outside the realm of the Kay Scarpetta series – she’s authored a definitive account of Jack the Ripper’s identity, two cookbooks (Food to Die For and Scarpetta’s Winter Table), a children’s book (Life’s Little Fable), and a biography of Ruth Graham. She’s also developed two other series based on Win Garano, an upstart Boston detective, and Andy Brazil, an enterprising Charlotte reporter.

Though Cornwell now lives in Boston, she was born in Miami and grew up in Montreat, North Carolina. After earning her degree in English from Davidson College in 1979, she began working at the Charlotte Observer, taking whatever stories came her way and rapidly advancing from listing television programs to covering the police beat. Cornwell received widespread attention and praise for her series of articles on prostitution and crime in downtown Charlotte.

From the Charlotte Observer, Cornwell moved to a job with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia – a post she would later bestow upon the fictional Kay Scarpetta. It was during these years that Patricia penned Postmortem and began submitting it to major publishing houses in New York, without initial success.

When not writing from her Boston home, Patricia tirelessly researches cutting-edge forensic technologies to include in her work. She flies her own helicopter, proudly emblazoned with the Scarpetta Crest, everywhere that might inspire her - from dinosaur bone beds to submarine factories to islands which host rare marine specimens.

Her interests span outside the literary: Patricia co-founded the National Forensic Academy and created a Chair in Organic Science at Harvard. She appears as a forensic consultant on CNN and serves as a member of Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital’s National Council, where she advocates for psychiatric research. She’s helped fund the ICU at Cornell’s Animal Hospital, the scientific study of a Confederate submarine, the archaeological excavation of Jamestown, and a variety of law enforcement charities. To stay in shape, she remains an avid tennis player.

Patricia is also committed to funding scholarships and literacy programs. Her advice to aspiring authors: “Start writing. And don’t take no for an answer."

Her latest book, Red Mist, is available now.(less)

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The Bone Bed (Kay Scarpetta #20)

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