Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Another great Scarpetta novel! I’ve been reading these since the very first one and I love them all!!
I hope this is a series that never ends!

I always look forward to the next book in Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta books. As time moves forward, the technology and time period in the setting match reality, given all the references today 2023/4 world events. In this installment, a familiar villain may have returned, but a former Scarpetta lover also surfaces and dies in a grim manner. Mostly about Kay with less focus on Lucy, Marino and Benton, I found myself keen to follow just the protagonist for a few hundred pages. Loved the clues dropped all throughout the book about the ending, and I am very curious to see what happens in the future now that things seem to have come to a definitive conclusion (again!). Give me more!

Identity Unknown is the latest in the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell. I have been reading this series since the mid-90s and was very excited to get a copy of this!

Kay is completing the autopsy of a young girl, believing that the parents’ version of events is not true, when she gets a call from Lucy- she and Marino need to head to the chopper to a sensitive case, and the victim is someone Kay knows very well.

Kay’s former lover Sal Giordano has been found in a decrepit amusement park, long abandoned, in very strange circumstances. It appears he has been dropped by an unidentified aerial phenomenon.

As Kay works with the secret service on the case, it begins to cross paths with the case she had been working on before. And it appears that old nemesis Carrie Grethen may be back in town.

Another great installment in the series! Fans of Patricia Cornwell do not want to miss this. Thanks to the publisher, the author, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Identity Unknown by Patricia Cornwall is part of the Kay Scarpetta series. The Virginia Chief Medical Examiner is in charge of the major cases for the morgue. Over the years, she has solved murders and mysteries through her medical detective work. Her long time friend Pete Marino, ex cop, is always along to help solve the mysteries. Other recurring characters are included in this one, especially her niece Lucy and husband Benton. Kay’s old archnemesis Carrie Grethen returns as the ultimate villain.
This time around, the story starts with Kay doing an autopsy on a young girl Luna who died from a gunshot to the head. She has to determine if it was a self inflicted accident or homicide. Sad but interesting. But the story quickly shifts to another dead body, one of Kay’s longtime friends who is found dead in an abandoned amusement park under strange circumstances. The rest of the book tries to weave these stories together to make it all make sense.
Unfortunately, it just didn’t work.
Too many discussions of UFOs and aliens, a cheetah on the loose, odd insertions of random insignificant meals they are having while in the midst of this hectic situation… it was all very fragmented and not cohesive. Though Kay Scarpetta is undeniably a badass in her field, I think it was a stretch to expect her to fly in a chopper in huge storms to get to a dead body, dive down a hundred feet to secure another body in the Bay, and give her the extreme clearance for governmental operations that she had. And this all seemed to happen in just a couple of days. If I were Kay, I would be thinking about retirement.
The conclusion didn’t come together as believable nor interesting and the last minute addition of yet another bad guy fell flat.
I suppose long time readers of Scarpetta novels may enjoy the romance angles this gave. Relationships in Kay’s past, Marino’s unrequited love. But I was so annoyed by the many unbelievable events, that I didn’t really care.
The most compelling part of the story for me was the tragic death of Luna at the beginning, but she didn’t get the prominent role she deserved in this story. it was the best opportunity to get back to the medical thriller plot that original Patricia Cornwall fans enjoyed. But it barely scraped the surface and was just overall a disappointment. This would have been a DNF for me if I didn’t have to write a review. I do appreciate the opportunity so thank you Net Galley and Grand Central Publishing for my ARC.

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.