The Last Precinct (Paperback)

Format:	Paperback 576 pages

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Physically and psychologically bruised by her encounter with the killer Chandonne, Dr Kay Scarpetta has to leave her home in the hands of the police team investigating the attack. She finds shelter with an old friend, Anna Zenner, but it is not the haven of security she needs when she discovers that Anna has been sub- poenaed to appear before a Grand Jury which is investigating Scarpetta for murder. Kay knows she is being framed and she also knows she can trust no-one. Meanwhile it appears that Chandonne killed a woman in New York before his murderous spree in Virginia, but when Scarpetta looks more closely into that case with the NY prosectuor Jaime Berger, proof of his guilt is far from certain - in fact she begins to believe that he may not be the perpetrator of any of the crimes he is accused of. As she follows the forensic trail to the real killer she gradually realises that someone has been spinning a web for years with the aim of entrapping her. Who is it, and why are they so desperate to be rid of her? Visit the author's own website on www.patricia- cornwell.com

Book details

Published
04/06/2001

Publisher
Sphere

ISBN
9780751525359

Publisher and industry reviews

Jacket review

'When she is this good, she is hard to beat.' New Statesman 'Forget the pretenders. Cornwell reigns.' Mirror

UK Kirkus review

To really appreciate Cornwell's latest it would be an advantage to have read her previous novel Black Notice, as The Last Precinct starts less than 24 hours after Black Notice ends. In the aftermath of the invasion of Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta's house where she was almost killed by her arch enemy, Jean-Baptiste Chandonne, Scarpetta is furious that other law enforcement officers did not protect her and traumatized by her narrow escape. But her troubles are far from over when she finds that she has to work on other bodies that may be connected to Chandonne and gets involved with the in-fighting as the Manhattan District Attorney claims jurisdiction on him when an earlier murder in New York may also be his doing. Finally, at her wits end Scarpetta is forced to go for help to an investigative consulting company set up by her niece Lucy called 'The Last Precinct' that may be her last hope before she herself ends up in the last precinct for law officers, namely death. This is not perhaps the best place to start reading Cornwell, but despite the many flashbacks and the graphic anatomical details, this is a fascinating and gripping read. (Kirkus UK)

About the author

Patricia Cornwell

Patricia Cornwell's first novel, POSTMORTEM, was published in 1990 and won five international awards. Her Scarpetta novels have since become Number One bestsellers throughout the world. She has also published two police procedurals, HORNET'S NEST and SOUTHERN CROSS.