Flesh and Blood - Tapa dura

‘A pioneer of the genre of forensic psychological thriller’ BBC

‘With plenty of the forensic detail that Cornwell fans have come to expect from her works this is a fast-paced and exciting read. Cornwell certainly lives up to her title of America's most chilling modern writer' Express and Star

‘She is a brilliant writer and I was absolutely gripped’ Mail on Sunday

PRAISE FOR PATRICIA CORNWELL & THE KAY SCARPETTA NOVELS:

‘Cornwell’s books run on high octane fuel, a cocktail of adrenalin and fear’ The Times

‘Forget the pretenders. Cornwell reigns’ Mirror

‘Few writers match Patricia Cornwell when it comes to writing crime and her latest Scarpetta novel is one of her best’ Daily Express

‘When it comes to the forensic sciences, nobody can touch Cornwell’ New York Times Book Review

‘Cornwell has created a character so real, so compelling, so driven that this reader has to remind herself regularly that Scarpetta is just a product of an author’s imagination’ USA Today

‘Dazzling... After reading Cornwell’s thriller, most others will pale in comparison’ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

‘Magnificent plotting, masterful writing, and marvelous suspense’ Booklist

‘Cornwell’s instincts are dead-on.’ Chicago Sun-Times

‘Cornwell remains a master of the genre, instilling in readers an appetite that only she can satisfy’ Publishers Weekly

No.1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell delivers the next enthralling thriller in her high-stakes series starring Kay Scarpetta―a complex tale involving a serial sniper who strikes chillingly close to the forensic sleuth herself.

It’s Chief Medical Examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta’s birthday, and while she’s enjoying a leisurely morning, a man is shot dead five minutes from her house. The bullet tore through him as he unloaded groceries from his car. Yet nobody heard or saw a thing.

It looks like the work of a serial sniper – one who leaves no trace except for tiny copper fragments, and whose seemingly impossible shots cause instant death. As Scarpetta investigates, uncovering details that only she can analyze, she begins to suspect that the killer is sending her a message.

Adding to Scarpetta’s growing unease is the sense that those closest to her are keeping secrets. And when her pursuit of the sniper takes Scarpetta to a shipwreck off the Florida coast, she comes face to face with shocking evidence that implicates her niece Lucy – Scarpetta’s very own flesh and blood...