The Body Farm - (Scarpetta) by Patricia Cornwell (Paperback)

About the Book

This classic Kay Scarpetta thriller is reissued with a new Introduction by the #1 "New York Times" bestselling author. In rural North Carolina, the brutal murder of an 11-year-old shatters a small town. Now, Kay must conduct a grisly investigation at a clandestine facility in Tennessee known as "The Body Farm."

Book Synopsis

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The gruesome murder of a young girl leads Dr. Kay Scarpetta on the hunt for an elusive serial killer in this "ingenious" (Washington Post Book World) thriller.

"The Body Farm is Cornwell at her chilling best."--USA Today

IN DEVELOPMENT AS THE ORIGINAL SERIES SCARPETTA STARRING NICOLE KIDMAN AND JAMIE LEE CURTIS

Eleven-year-old Emily Steiner is dead. She left a North Carolina church meeting late one October afternoon and strolled along a lakeside path toward her house two miles away. Who met her on the path? Who followed her home, kidnapped her from her bedroom, and left her body by the lake days later? It's a puzzling and terrifying crime, reminiscent of the work of serial killer Temple Gault, who has long eluded Dr. Kay Scarpetta and law enforcement for years.

Into this volatile atmosphere comes Scarpetta's ingenious, rebellious niece Lucy, an FBI intern with a promising future in Quantico's computer engineering facility--until she is accused of a shocking security violation. While coming to terms with Lucy, Kay must conduct a grisly forensic investigation at a clandestine research facility in Tennessee known as The Body Farm. There she will find more answers to Emily Steiner's murder--and evidence that paints a picture of a crime more horrifying than she ever imagined.

Review Quotes

"Among the grittiest of this season's crime novels . . . convincing . . . chilling."--Time

"All the pacing and suspense Cornwell fans have come to expect."--People

"Reminiscent of The Silence of the Lambs. Her writing is masterful."--Booklist

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.