Author Beryl Madison was brutally slain in her home after being stalked for weeks. Beryl had fled to Key West, but on her return to Richmond, Virginia, her stalker managed to get inside her home and murder her. Soon after Beryl’s murder, her estranged mentor is killed as well. In both cases, Kay Scarpetta is called in to perform the autopsy.
Shortly after this the murderer sets his sights on Kay, who follows Beryl’s example and flees to Florida. While there, she further investigates what Beryl did in Key West before returning to Virginia.
I do love the Kay Scarpetta books but Police Detective Pete Marino is a raging homophobic, which is annoying as hell. I can’t remember whether he mellows in the subsequent books (it’s been over 20 years since I last read a book from this series). I cannot stand homophobics! Not in real life and not in literature either. Thankfully I could tell that Kay is irritated by this as well. I will continue with the series next year, and like I mentioned before: I’m so looking forward to the TV series next year!
Read for the ReaderHaven Reading Challenge 2025
Prompt 19: published before 2000
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️