The Scarpetta Factor: Book summary and reviews of The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell

The Scarpetta Factor Summary

It is the week before Christmas. A tanking economy has prompted Dr. Kay Scarpetta—despite her busy schedule and her continuing work as the senior forensic analyst for CNN—to offer her services pro bono to New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. In no time at all, her increased visibility seems to precipitate a string of unexpected and unsettling events. She is asked live on the air about the sensational case of Hannah Starr, who has vanished and is presumed dead. Moments later during the same telecast she receives a startling call—in from a former psychiatrist patient of Benton Wesley's. When she returns after the show to the apartment where she and Benton live, she finds an ominous package—possibly a bomb—waiting for her at the front desk. Soon the apparent threat on Scarpetta's life finds her embroiled in a surreal plot that includes a famous actor accused of an unthinkable sex crime and the disappearance of a beautiful millionaires with whom Lucy seems to have shared a secret past.

Scarpetta's CNN producer wants her to launch a TV show called The Scarpetta Factor. Given the bizarre events already in play, she fears that her growing fame will generate the illusion that she has a "special factor," a mythical ability to solve all her cases. She wonders if she will end up like other TV personalities: her own stereotype.

The Scarpetta Factor Reviews

"[I]t's the dark past of Scarpetta's psychologist husband, Benton Wesley....that binds the disparate pieces together and make this one of Cornwell's stronger recent efforts." - Publishers Weekly

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The Scarpetta Factor Reader Reviews

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Rated of 5 by Cloggie Downunder
Better than the last few years
The Scarpetta Factor is Patricia Cornwell’s 17th Scarpetta novel. The Scarpetta novels have had a chequered history: they started out consistently good and then went downhill for a while. This one is quite an improvement on those of 5 or 6 years ago. While it’s a bit slow-moving in places, on the whole, it has something like the quality of the first novels. A lot of the subject matter is topical, the CSI bits are better than ever, and the characters have finally matured somewhat: they have gone from acting like self-indulgent and irritating juveniles to reasonably responsible adults, although Lucy could probably do with anger management classes. With regard to the plot, it helps if you can remember what happened around the time of Benton Wesley’s disappearance, but it’s not essential. I enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading the next Scarpetta, Port Mortuary.

Rated of 5 by Terri
Great Title!
This was a well written book and I am not much of a reader. I don't have a lot of free time to read, but this one was well worth taking the time to read. Please keep them coming Ms. Cornwell. Maybe I will get back to reading more. Your books just come to life, and they are so interesting and so intriguing. Love your books!

Patricia Cornwell Author Biography

New York Times bestselling novelist Patricia Daniels Cornwell is the only woman in the United States to receive England's coveted Gold Dagger, widely considered to be the most prestigious crime-writing award in the world.

A former award-winning police reporter for the Charlotte Observer, Cornwell worked for more than six years as a computer analyst in the chief medical examiner's office in Virginia, where she witnessed hundreds of autopsies and even assisted as a "scribe," recording the measurements of the wounds of murder victims. During that time, she also was a volunteer with the Richmond Police Department, and has spent time with law enforcement around the world.

Those experiences inspired her to create Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a tenacious...

... Full Biography

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