I have read and currently own all books in the Scarpetta series.

Patricia Cornwell is very much back on form with this book. Kay Scarpetta is getting back to being her normal self at last, after things seemed to go "off the rails" somewhat around "The Last Precinct".

Cornwell said (of Kay Scarpetta) in an interview with The Daily Beast “I like her better now. In the first decade she was almost unrelentingly serious and had a difficult time with relationships. I was attempting to show a very harsh reality, so I was trying to be very linear and not have distractions. I kept to the point. Now that you can read forensic detail all over, I’m not just interested in what surgical instrument she’ll use when she walks in the morgue. I care even more about her reflections on what she’s about to do. She’s evolving and she’s more fun to be with.”

Hopefully she has now explored those relationship issues with Kay and things can continue to go from strength to strength.

The plot lines and twists in Red Mist were not predictable and for the first time in several KS novels I've wanted to read the next page, the next chapter. I've felt immersed in the storyline and the writing has me there as each new discovery is made.