Dust

· Kay Scarpetta Book 21 · Penguin
4.2
241 reviews
Ebook
544
Pages
Eligible
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About this ebook

In this novel of “nail-biting suspense” (The Boston Globe) from #1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell, Kay Scarpetta is thrust deep into the dark world of designer drugs, drone technology, organized crime, and shocking corruption at the highest levels.

IN DEVELOPMENT AS THE ORIGINAL SERIES SCARPETTA STARRING NICOLE KIDMAN AND JAMIE LEE CURTIS
 
A body, oddly draped in an unusual cloth, has just been discovered inside the sheltered gates of MIT, and it’s suspected the identity is that of missing computer engineering grad student Gail Shipton, last seen the night before at a trendy Cambridge bar. It appears she’s been murdered, mere weeks before the trial in her $100 million lawsuit against her former financial manager, and Massachusetts Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta doubts it’s a coincidence. She also fears the case may have a connection with her computer genius niece, Lucy.
 
At a glance there is no sign of what killed Gail Shipton, but she’s covered with a fine dust that under ultraviolet light fluoresces brilliantly in three vivid colors, what Scarpetta calls a mineral fingerprint. Clearly the body has been posed with chilling premeditation that is symbolic and meant to shock, and Scarpetta worries that the person responsible is the Capital Murderer, whose most recent sexual homicides have terrorized Washington, D.C.
 
In Dust, Scarpetta and her colleagues are up against a force far more sinister than a sexual predator who fits the criminal classification of a “spectacle killer.” With unparalleled high-tension suspense and the latest in forensic technology, Patricia Cornwell once again proves her exceptional ability to surprise—and to thrill.

Ratings and reviews

4.2
241 reviews
john powers
June 17, 2015
397 pages of narration and conversation which consists of Cornwell's adulation with fictional characters which she created, I'm guessing, from some strange view that she sees of herself.I used to enjoy her books however her characters have become cartoons which change in every book.You ask yourself now if this book will feature the lesbian Lucy or the hetero. Will her detective pal be the gross old fart or the health food beefcake.Always, though, they will appear in some new state having burned more bridges
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Terri Warren
January 21, 2014
Hard time finishing this one. Have always enjoyed the Scarpetta series but the last few have been difficult and are no longer "hard to put down." Not sure if I'll invest in another one.
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Teresa Johnson
December 16, 2014
I loved the first few Scarpetta books, but as her character developed I found that I dont like Ms. scarpetta, the book would be great, but Kay is such a stuck-up, conceited, yuppy character, I just don't think I can read anymore.
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About the author

Patricia Cornwell is one of the world’s major internationally bestselling authors, translated into thirty-six languages in more than 120 countries. She is a founder of the Virginia Institute of Forensic Science and Medicine; a founding member of the National Forensic Academy; a member of the Advisory Board for the Forensic Sciences Training Program at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, New York City; and a member of the Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital’s National Council, where she is an advocate for psychiatric research. In 2008, Cornwell won the Galaxy British Book Awards’ Books Direct Crime Thriller of the Year—the first American to win this prestigious award. In 2011, she was awarded the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Ministry of Culture in Paris. Her earlier works include Postmortem—the only novel to win five major crime awards in a single year—and Cruel & Unusual, which won Britain’s Gold Dagger Award for best crime novel of 1993. Dr. Kay Scarpetta herself won the 1999 Sherlock Award for the best detective created by an American author.

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