About Depraved Heart
Hardcover: 480 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (October 27, 2015)
Dr. Kay Scarpetta is working a suspicious death scene in Cambridge, Massachusetts when an emergency alert sounds on her phone. A video link lands in her text messages and seems to be from her computer genius niece Lucy. But how can it be? It’s clearly a surveillance film of Lucy taken almost twenty years ago.
As Scarpetta watches she begins to learn frightening secrets about her niece, whom she has loved and raised like a daughter. That film clip and then others sent soon after raise dangerous legal implications that increasingly isolate Scarpetta and leave her confused, worried, and not knowing where to turn. She doesn’t know whom she can tell ñ not her FBI husband Benton Wesley or her investigative partner Pete Marino. Not even Lucy.
In this new novel, Cornwell launches these unforgettable characters on an intensely psychological odyssey that includes the mysterious death of a Hollywood mogul’s daughter, aircraft wreckage on the bottom of the sea in the Bermuda Triangle, a grisly gift left in the back of a crime scene truck, and videos from the past that threaten to destroy Scarpetta’s entire world and everyone she loves. The diabolical presence behind what unfolds seems obvious – but strangely, not to the FBI. Certainly that’s the message they send when they raid Lucy’s estate and begin building a case that could send her to prison for the rest of her life.
In the latest novel in her bestselling series featuring chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta, Cornwell will captivate readers with the shocking twists, high-wire tension, and cutting-edge forensic detail that she is famous for, proving yet again why she’s the world’s #1 bestselling crime writer.
My Review:
Depraved Heart is book number 23 in author Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta series and admittedly the first in the series I have read. I’m a huge fan of forensic, psychological, and mystery TV so I figured I would give this series a try. Well, I wasn’t disappointed. This book with filled with suspense and I loved it.
Someone is trying to frame Dr. Kay Scarpetta’s niece and it seems to be at the hands of someone they had been dealing with, and fearing, for the last twenty years. Someone they had counted out but never really forgotten about. Someone wha was beyond mentally unstable and completely diabolical. Now, they are all on a mission to figure out just what’s going on, who is sending these bizarre videos from twenty years ago to Dr. Scarpetta’s phone, and how to get out of this alive.
From start to finish I was kept on the edge of my seat. The pieces of this puzzle are given to the reader on a slow and steady pace which only added to the overall suspense. There were more than a few times I actually said “wow, this woman is completely psychotic” out loud. I also enjoyed the heavy forensic details in the book. At times it was a lot to digest while trying to keep up with what was going on with Lucy but it really did add an authentic layer that I appreciated. Now, I can’t give anything away as to who ends up being responsible for orchestrating this entire scheme but I will tell you to buckle up for a crazy ride! My mother has been a huge fan of Ms. Cornwell for years and I was really happy I gave this series a try. I will certainly be reading more!
Thank you, Ms. Cornwell, for one hell of a book! I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a well written and well thought out psychological thriller.
Four Loves
Purchase Links
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About Patricia Cornwell
Patricia Cornwell is recognized as one of the world’s top bestselling crime authors with novels translated into thirty-six languages in more than 120 countries. Her novels have won numerous prestigious awards including the Edgar, the Creasey, the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Prix du Roman díAventure. Beyond the Scarpetta series, she has written a definitive book about Jack the Ripper, a biography, and two more fiction series. Cornwell, a licensed helicopter pilot and scuba diver, actively researches the cutting-edge forensic technologies that inform her work. She was born in Miami, grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston.
Find out more about Patricia at her website, and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Wow, what an introduction to the series! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for being a part of the tour.