Author:  Patricia Cornwell

The title reveals much about the focus of Patricia Cornwell's latest forensic mystery featuring Kay Scarpetta, medical examiner extraordinaire. We learn more about Scarpetta and her faithful posse than we do about the murdered victim that sets up the story. But by this time in the series (# 17), readers embrace each new Scarpetta book more for the characters than for the mystery surrounding the victim du jour.

The plot seems merely a means to keep the pages turning, while the true heart of the story remains with Scarpetta and the usual secondary characters Benton, Marino, and Lucy. A renowned forensic specialist, Scarpetta volunteers her services to the New York City coroner's office while also moonlighting as a forensic analyst for CNN. The new public visibility embroils her in a murder mystery that soon involves a psychotic patient of her husband, Benton, and pushes her even further into controversy. Friend Marino, a cop, and niece Lucy, expert computer tech, join the team attempting to unravel what becomes a knotted personal mess. A hefty 490 pages, the story moves at a brisk pace and keeps the reader guessing.

The story is intriguing and worked for me. Cornwell invited me to discover who was thinking what, who did what, and who cared why. I enjoyed the generous glimpses into the characters' minds, revealing thoughts, feelings, and motives. The author allows the reader to listen along as characters reminisce, analyze events and feelings, and disclose secrets. Such inside information is crucial to readers new to the series; without the background they would be bewildered by the complexities of the characters. However, I would not recommend The Scarpetta Factor to any reader unfamiliar with Scarpetta. Better for them to start with one of the earlier novels such as Body Farm, Point of Origin, or Body of Evidence. The back story also serves to help long-time readers connect the dots between previous story lines and the latest happenings.

On the flip side, Cornwell's writing lost some of its tightness in this work. For instance, the phrase "in this economy" occurs frequently enough to be noticed and wondered at. At the same time, Lucy's financial woes aren't all that woeful despite having lost several million in a recent Ponzi scheme. Apparently financial struggles are relative. Additionally, Cornwell's attempt to keep her characters up-to-date results in an overabundance of references to Madoff, Ponzi schemes, Blackberries, and other electronic media.

Though long-time Cornwell followers will know this, new readers should be aware that the author unabashedly includes sexuality and homosexuality in her books. While a conversation mentioning marital sex add beneficial nuance to Kay and Benton's relationship, most of the sexuality will be offensive to Christian readers. For the most part, it is gratuitous. Do we really need an entire chapter devoted to Marino's salacious thoughts and his coworker's subtle come-ons as they pursue leads in the case? The sexual tension adds nothing but discomfort to the story. Additionally, the lesbianism of Kay's niece Lucy is integral to the story. Cornwell makes Lucy's female lover an important minor character and their relationship troubles help develop the plot. Though nothing graphic is described, scenes that depict their relationship include vital information for the plot as a whole. Skipping them would jeopardize one's grasp of the story's progression.

Cornwell fans should be pleased with this latest offering. Readers highly concerned about moral content should approach with caution or choose to forgo Cornwell's series completely.

**This review first published on November 13, 2009.