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Dust

By Patricia Cornwell
Series: Kay Scarpetta
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Check link for latest rating. ( 23,507 ratings, 1,912 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Dust by Patricia Cornwell follows Dr. Kay Scarpetta, who is called to investigate the murder of a young woman found in an office park. As she unravels clues, Scarpetta uncovers a complex web of conspiracy that reaches into high levels of power. The novel interweaves forensic science with gripping suspense, keeping readers on edge as the investigation unfolds.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this gripping crime and thriller novel if you are intrigued by complex forensic details and love delving into psychological suspense. The story blends scientific investigation with a taut, fast-paced narrative that will keep you engaged from start to finish. Fans of mystery and crime-solving led by a strong, intelligent protagonist will find it particularly appealing.

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The twenty-first Kay Scarpetta thriller, from the No.1 bestseller who has sold over 75 million books worldwide

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description
The twenty-first book in the Kay Scarpetta series, from No. 1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell. 'America's most chilling writer of crime fiction' The Times After working on one of the worst mass killings in US history, Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta returns home to recover, but an unsettling call drives her straight back to work. The body of a young woman has been discovered inside the sheltered gates of MIT, draped in an unusual cloth and posed in a way that is too deliberate to be the killer's first strike. A preliminary examination reveals that the body is covered in a fine dust that under ultra-violet light fluoresces blood-red, emerald-green, and sapphire-blue, and physical evidence links this to another series of disturbing homicides in Washington, DC. As she pieces together the fragments of evidence, Scarpetta discovers that the cases connect, yet also seem to conflict, drawing herself and her team deeper into the dark world of designer drugs, drone technology, organised crime, and shocking corruption at the highest level. The next book in the Scarpetta series is Flesh and Blood. And the brand-new instalment, Identity Unknown, is available now! DISCOVER THE SERIES THAT SHAPED THE WORLD OF CRIME FICTION 'One of the best crime writers writing today' Guardian 'Devilishly clever' Sunday Times 'The top gun in this field' Daily Telegraph 'Forget the pretenders. Cornwell reigns' Mirror 'The Agatha Christie of the DNA age' Express TRACE was a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller in paperback in April 2005

Series: Kay Scarpetta

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  • Sharp Force
    NO ONE IS SAFE FROM THE SERIAL KILLER NOT EVEN SCARPETTA... During the early hours of Christmas morning, chief medical examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta receives a chilling call. The Phantom Slasher has struck again. The serial killer has terrorised Northern Virginia for months. His pattern is to stalk with sophisticated technology that enables him to invade his victims' homes and...
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  • Postmortem
    A serial killer is on the loose in Richmond, Virginia. Three women have died, brutalised and strangled in their own bedroom. There is no pattern: the killer appears to strike at random, but always early on Saturday mornings. So when Dr Kay Scarpetta, chief medical officer, is awakened at 2.33 am, she knows the news is bad: there is a...
    By Patricia Cornwell
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    $2300
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  • Cruel And Unusual
    The fingerprints say the murderer is the man who's just been executed... At 11.05 one December evening in Richmond, Virginia, convicted murderer Ronnie Joe Waddell is pronounced dead in the electric chair. At the morgue, Dr. Kay Scarpetta waits for Waddell's body. Preparing to perform a post-mortem before the subject is dead is a strange feeling, but Scarpetta has been...
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  • On Sale
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    Book Of The Dead
    The Book of the Dead is the morgue log, the ledger in which all cases are entered by hand. For Kay Scarpetta, however, it is about to have a new meaning. Fresh from her bruising battle with a psychopath in Florida, Scarpetta decides it's time for a change of pace. Moving to the historic city of Charleston, South Carolina, she...
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  • The Bone Bed
    The twentieth book in the Kay Scarpetta series, from No. 1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell. 'America's most chilling writer of crime fiction' The Times A woman has vanished while digging a dinosaur bone bed in the remote wilderness of Canada. Somehow, the only evidence has made its way to the inbox of Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta, over two thousand...
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  • Unnatural Death
    The breathtaking new Kay Scarpetta thriller from the global bestseller Two mauled bodies in the woods. Two top secret autopsies. The most chilling case of Scarpetta's career . . . Chief medical examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta finds herself in a Northern Virginia wilderness examining the remains of two campers wanted by federal law enforcement. The victims have been savaged beyond...
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  • Postmortem
    The first book in the Kay Scarpetta series, from No. 1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell - coming soon to Prime Video. A serial killer is on the loose in Richmond, Virginia. Three women have died, brutalised and strangled in their own bedroom. There is no pattern: the killer appears to strike at random - but always early on Saturday mornings....
    By Patricia Cornwell
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  • Livid
    THE THRILLING NEW KAY SCARPETTA MYSTERY FROM THE #1 GLOBAL BESTSELLER 'I'M STILL SEEING STARS . . . KAY SCARPETTA IS THE SAME GRUMPY, WONDERFUL, RIVETING PERSONALITY SHE'S ALWAYS BEEN AND SHE'S ONLY GETTING BETTER WITH TIME' — JAMES PATTERSON Murder and mayhem. Scarpetta is back, and she's racing against the clock . . . Chief medical examiner Kay Scarpetta...
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  • Cause Of Death
    An investigative reporter is found dead in Virginia's icy waters... New Year's Eve and the final murder scene of Virginia's bloodiest year takes Scarpetta thirty feet below the Elizabeth River's icy surface. A diver, Ted Eddings, is dead, an investigative reporter who was a favourite at the Medical Examiner's office. Was Eddings probing the frigid depths of the Inactive Shipyard...
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  • The Scarpetta Factor
    It is the week before Christmas. The effects of the credit crunch have prompted Dr Kay Scarpetta to offer her services pro bono to New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. But in no time at all, her increased visibility seems to precipitate a string of dramatic and unsettling events. She is asked live on the air about...
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  • Blow Fly
    After her resignation as Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner and the horrifying events which threatened her life in The Last Precinct, Kay Scarpetta has abandoned her elegant home in Richmond and is quietly living in Florida. She is beginning to get some balance back in her life and is slowly establishing herself as a private forensic consultant. But her past won't...
    By Patricia Cornwell
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  • Red Mist
    The nineteenth book in the Kay Scarpetta series, from No. 1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell. 'America's most chilling writer of crime fiction' The Times Red Mist follows Kay Scarpetta as she arranges to meet an inmate at the high-security Georgia Prison for Women. The prisoner is a convicted sex offender and the mother of a vicious and diabolically brilliant killer....
    By Patricia Cornwell
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Reviews for Dust by Patricia Cornwell highlight the author's ability to deliver a classic thriller filled with forensic detail. Her affection for the main character shines, while the novel remains fast-paced and scientifically engaging, ensuring both new and long-time fans are captivated. Cornwell continues to surpass expectations, blending her meticulous research with compelling storytelling.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780751547597

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 24 April 2014

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Sphere

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 38.0mm

Width: 200.0mm

Height: 154.0mm

Weight: 398g

Pages: 560

Collections

Best Sellers at Book Hero Crime & Thriller Fiction General Fiction In Stock Books In-Stock Fiction Books New Release Fiction Patricia Cornwell Series: Kay Scarpetta

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'Aventures - 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 three other fictional series based on the characters Win Garano, Andy Brazil, and Captain Calli Chase. Cornwell continues exploring the latest space-age technologies and threats relevant to contemporary life. Her interests range from the morgue to artificial intelligence and include visits to Interpol, the Pentagon, the U.S. Secret Service and NASA.

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

Also by Patricia Cornwell

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  • True Crime
    The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell finally tells the story that rivals all of the works that precede it: her own.Patricia Cornwell is best known for her international bestselling thriller series about forensic pathologist Dr Kay Scarpetta. Every story comes from somewhere, and Scarpetta's began when Patricia Cornwell embedded herself in a morgue. In this achingly honest memoir,...
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  • Sharp Force
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    By Patricia Cornwell
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    Elsewhere:
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  • The Bone Bed
    The twentieth book in the Kay Scarpetta series, from No. 1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell. 'America's most chilling writer of crime fiction' The Times A woman has vanished while digging a dinosaur bone bed in the remote wilderness of Canada. Somehow, the only evidence has made its way to the inbox of Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta, over two thousand...
    By Patricia Cornwell
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    The fingerprints say the murderer is the man who's just been executed... At 11.05 one December evening in Richmond, Virginia, convicted murderer Ronnie Joe Waddell is pronounced dead in the electric chair. At the morgue, Dr. Kay Scarpetta waits for Waddell's body. Preparing to perform a post-mortem before the subject is dead is a strange feeling, but Scarpetta has been...
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    $2799
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  • On Sale
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    Usually:
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    Ships tomorrow
  • Postmortem
    A serial killer is on the loose in Richmond, Virginia. Three women have died, brutalised and strangled in their own bedroom. There is no pattern: the killer appears to strike at random, but always early on Saturday mornings. So when Dr Kay Scarpetta, chief medical officer, is awakened at 2.33 am, she knows the news is bad: there is a...
    By Patricia Cornwell
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    $2499
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  • Chaos
    Fear is a force of nature. No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell delivers the twenty-fourth engrossing thriller in her high-stakes series starring medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta. In the quiet of twilight, on an early autumn day, twenty-six-year-old Elisa Vandersteel is killed while riding her bicycle along the Charles River. It appears she was struck by lightning...
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  • Pre-order
    Rapid and Fatal
    The New York Times bestselling Kay Scarpetta series is now an original series on Amazon Prime! To stop a diabolical series of mysterious murders, Dr. Kay Scarpetta must hunt for a killer who leaves no trace, in the newest thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell. A billionaire couple, founders of an elite security firm, are found...
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  • Sharp Force
    Sharp Force
    AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! From #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell, a serial killer wreaks havoc on Northern Virginia, appearing as a ghostly apparition before striking—and Scarpetta must avoid becoming their next victim. Scarpetta is soon to be a streaming series starring Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis! No one is safe from the serial killer—not...
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  • Postmortem
    The inspiration for the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series Scarpetta—starring Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis! From #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell comes Postmortem, the groundbreaking thriller that introduced Dr. Kay Scarpetta and redefined the crime genre. A killer is stalking the streets of Richmond, Virginia. When the bodies begin to mount, Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta...
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