Dust

Kay Scarpetta, Book 21

By: Patricia Cornwell

Narrated by: Kate Reading

From the world’s number-one bestselling crime writer comes the extraordinary new Kay Scarpetta novel.

Massachusetts Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta has just returned from working one of the worst mass murders in U.S. history when she’s awakened at an early hour by Detective Pete Marino.

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 engineer Gail Shipton, last seen the night before at a trendy Cambridge bar. It appears she’s been murdered, mere weeks before the trial of her $100 million lawsuit against her former financial managers, and 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 has reason to worry that the person responsible is the Capital Murderer, whose most recent sexual homicides have terrorized Washington, D.C. Stunningly, Scarpetta will discover that her FBI profiler husband, Benton Wesley, is convinced that certain people in the government, including his boss, don’t want the killer caught.

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.” The murder of Gail Shipton soon leads deep into the dark world of designer drugs, drone technology, organized crime, and shocking corruption at the highest levels.

With unparalleled high-tension suspense and the latest in forensic technology, Patricia Cornwell once again proves her exceptional ability to surprise—and to thrill.

©2013 Cornwell Entertainment, Inc. (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Great book

I really like this book because it was not obvious. twists and turns were really great.

Sounds like an AI voice

Love the story and the plot but couldn’t get past the voice. No emotion no inflection. I almost couldn’t finish it.

Great story!

I always love to see the relationships between characters keep blooming and changing. Another great story.

Great story!

I loved it. This was a great story. I especially loved chapter 44 . However the whole story was good!

Plot twist

I enjoy Patricia Cornwell‘s writing and most of her Kay Scarpetta novels. It was hard for me to get into the tone of this one, Kay is depressed from the beginning, and I don’t think she smiles throughout the whole book. Not that they’re ever lighthearted, grant you. But I found this one to be especially somber. Wasn’t the best wrap up in the end, in my opinion.

Love her writing!

As a medical professional I love listening to the detail in her stories and putting all the pieces together.

ONE OF HER BEST

Everything.. everything was so well done. Story, narration, characters. everything. please give this great book a read.

Bad narration

I have always liked the adventures of Kay Scarpetta and usually read the books quickly. The narrator’s voice for the male characters was very hard to listen to; I even fell asleep a few times listening.

I like the Kate Scarpetta series.

I thought this one book dragged in the last quarter of it. Not my favorite, but I will keep reading. Every other one has been terrific.

Love the narrator!!

Another great mystery by Patricia Cornwall. Thank you. All the great characters from earlier stories, an update on their relationships.