Many thanks to Novel Suspects Insiders Club, Grand Central Publishing, and Netgalley. I received this book in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts are entirely my own.

In this book Kay Scarpetta performs an autopsy on Luna Briley a little girl that was killed by a gun by her own mother. The Briley's are bad people and have shady dealings and two people are dead at places associated with them. Sal, a man that Kay had a relationship with before her husband, is found at Oz an abandoned theme park that Kay took Lucy to when she was younger. Kay is asked to do the autopsy at a top secret location at Langley and is given top security clearance until she leaves with Marano. People from different agencies are there to observe the autopsy and ask Kay if her prior relationship will hinder her ability to perform the autopsy. Kay discovers a microfilm with a strange code that reveals where he was before his death. The Briley family starts to make trouble and even sues the governor, medical examiners department, and one other because they don't want people to learn that they were negligent parents and got off on abusing their own daughter. Norm Duffy is back and working for the Briley family as security and even tries to get revenge on Kay and Marano and shoots Marano. Carrie shows back up and is even working with the Briley's and ends up giving a video of the Briley's murdering their daughter over the husbands affair with an employee. Carrie is arrested thankfully. Kay and Marano go to the place Sal was last seen and goes to a place called True North and they make moon dust basically and Sal was working on a telescope prototype made from moon dust that would apparently change the world. This book was very interesting and once again this book was red in a matter of hours . I can't wait for the next one.

I was so excited to read a new Patricia Cornwell and it was definitely worth the wait!!!! This is without a doubt the best series and I’ve been reading them for years. Well-written, complex plot with a great cast of characters. Looking forward to more with Kay, Marino and Lucy!!
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Dr. Kay Scarpetta is one of those iconic characters that I have followed from the very beginning and whether the story line is good or not, I cannot pass up a new entry in the series. I was not very impressed with the last couple but this one makes up for it with the return to the character I have come to admire. Even though her old nemesis, Carrie Grethen, returns to torment Kay and her family again, my interest was held throughout the whole novel.

Add this one to your reading list. I believe it will be published in October, 2024. As to Carrie Grethen…..well.