Unnatural Exposure by Patricia Cornwell

Description

Bibliographic Details

• Author: Patricia Cornwell
• Title: Unnatural Exposure (A Kay Scarpetta Series)
• Publisher: ‎ G. P. Putnam's Sons
• Publication Date: July 14, 1997
• Language: ‎ English
• Format: Hardcover – 338 pages
• ISBN-10: ‎ 0399142851
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0399142857
• Item Weight: ‎ 1.5 pounds
• Dimensions: ‎ 6.56 x 1.25 x 9.56 inches
• Reading age: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher
• Book Condition: Used – Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

Synopsis:

Kay Scarpetta finds herself pitted against a possible bioterrorist in this suspense-filled read from #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell.

Virginia's chief medical examiner, Kay Scarpetta, is trapped in a nightmare of unsolved murders and a pernicious virus in this breathless thriller, where clues are elusive and the killer's threats are hurled through cyberspace.

Dr. Kay Scarpetta is newly returned from Dublin, where she was called in to examine the remains of a murder victim whose limbs and head were expertly severed–a signature of a cunning serial killer on the loose again after an eight-year sabbatical–when the same killer apparently strikes again, this time much closer to home to Scarpetta. The remains of a woman are found in a Virginia landfill, her body dismembered in the same expert way as in the Dublin case.

After Scarpetta investigates the murder scene, the killer boldly contacts her through the Internet, inviting her to download photos of the murder victim and signing off with a chilling screen name: deadoc. Scarpetta soon discovers inconsistencies between this new case and the serial murders she has been investigating. With the help of her niece, Lucy, and FBI computer expert, she takes an extraordinary virtual tour of the background of the e-mailed photo.

But even as Scarpetta and Lucy probe illuminating details in virtual reality, local authorities try to wrap up the case by charging the man who discovered the body. When Scarpetta determines that the victim was exposed to a rare smallpox-like virus before she died and, later, that herself may have been infected, she realizes that she is up against a killer with access to an incredible sophisticated arsenal of deadly force–a killer with a specific animus directed toward her.

Packed with unrelieved tension and constant surprises, Unnatural Exposure is the case of Kay Scarpetta's life–and a triumph for Patricia Cornwell.

About the Author:

In 1990, Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. An auspicious debut, it went 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 all these distinctions in a single year.

Growing into an international phenomenon, the Scarpetta series won 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.

Today, Cornwell’s novels and iconic characters are known around the world. Beyond the Scarpetta series, Cornwell has written the definitive nonfiction account of Jack the Ripper’s identity, cookbooks, a children’s book, a biography of Ruth Graham, and two other fictional series based on the characters Win Garano and Andy Brazil.

While writing Quantum, Cornwell spent two years researching space, technology, and robotics at Captain Calli Chase’s home base, NASA’s Langley Research Center, and studied cutting-edge law enforcement and security techniques with the Secret Service, the US Air Force, NASA Protective Services, Scotland Yard, and Interpol.

Cornwell was born in Miami. She grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston and Los Angeles.