January LaVoy narration of 'Identity Unknown' by Patricia Cornwell is stellar. Her narration moves the story along swiftly with her expert use of character voices. I highly recommend this AudioBook.

Thank you for Hatchett Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this book in return for a review.

#28 in the Scarpetta series, this time Kay is tasked with figuring out what has happened to her former lover/colleague, Sal Giordano. His body was left in an abandoned theme park, with strange crop circles around him and a red tint to his skin. There also seems to have been a UFO in the vicinity of the area when Sal was killed. And oddly, Sal has left Scarpetta with a clue to what he was up to before his death.
We also get (maybe?) a conclusion to a villain that Scarpetta has been dealing with for way too long. It will be a sad day in the Commonwealth if this ME ever decides to retire. Or if Cornwell retires Scarpetta.
The amazingly brilliant January Lavoy is the narrator.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this audio e-arc.*

I enjoy all the Scarpetta books and this was no exception. This was fast paced and a wild ride. This involved a person that was close to Kay and was a bit more emotional and I really liked that aspect.
Marino was a bit rough for me in this book, I got angry at him a few times, but their relationship is a bit weird but it is so long lasting.
The audio was fantastic.
Thanks to Hachette, Patricia Cornwell and Negalley for an early ALC.

Audio book review - As narrators go this one helped the flow of the book but did not enthrall this audience member.
This was an action packed story that the kept me interested, but felt that this book could have done with a much more exciting narrator.
The book itself is a great story with clever hints and twists that keep you excited.

Kay Scarpetta is back along with her family and team. Interesting story involving the question of extraterrestrials. Great narrator.

Patricia Cornwell's *Identity Unknown* takes readers on a convoluted journey with Dr. Kay Scarpetta, who is called to a haunting murder scene at an abandoned theme park. While the initial premise is intriguing—a former lover found dead with bizarre clues surrounding him—the plot quickly veers into territory that feels disjointed and implausible, particularly with the inclusion of aliens. This element detracts from the story's suspense and makes the narrative feel forced rather than engaging.

Scarpetta, traditionally a strong character, comes off as unlikable in this installment, making it difficult for readers to empathize with her plight. Her cold demeanor and self-absorbed tendencies overshadow the emotional weight of her loss, leaving the story feeling flat at times. While the mystery elements have the potential to captivate, the oddball twists and Scarpetta's character ultimately overshadow the book's strengths. Overall, *Identity Unknown* is a mixed bag that struggles to find its footing amid supernatural distractions.

I have read all of the Kay Scarpetta books in the series and have enjoyed most of them but I have mixed feelings for this book.

In Kay Scarpetta #28 there is a lot going on. It starts with the suspicious death of a child and some bullying by her parents to then go to the death of a dear friend of Kay's (and former lover) to having the reappearance of her nemesis Carrie to having everything be connected. This is all before we discuss the hot and cold between her and Marino, whatever is going on with Lucy, her relationship with her husband Benton and her dysfunctional relationship with her sister Dorothy.

Full disclosure now. I have to admit that I am SOOO tired of the Carrie story line. She is the go to villain and it is getting a little old. It is also making Kay who I always thought of as a strong character seem a little paranoid.

The plot of this book moved along quickly despite the crazy premise of aliens causing the death of Sal, Kay's friend initially. The secrecy behind his death will make the conspiracy theorists go crazy but it is fiction after all. With two cases that take place side by side I really felt that the first case, the child death of Luna was ignored for the friend and then it was all tied up in the end with a bow.

Overall, this book had me hooked from the start. I have always enjoyed the books in this series but I do have issues with some of the plots. I will also now admit that I can't wait to see what is in store for Kay and her group next and would recommend this book to others.

My thanks to Net Galley, Hachette, and Grand Central for this advanced audio copy.

I was not crazy about the recent Scarpetta novels but this one is back on track! Kay has 2 connecting cases. The murder of a 3 year old girl, and a body that was dropped from the air into an amusement park owned by the wealthy father of the murdered girl who wound up being a former boyfriend of Kay's.

A former villain returns to spice things up which I loved. I just wish there was more focus as in the earlier books on the Benton/Lucy/Kay/Marino dynamics. It's touched upon but not like before.

It has been a while since I read a Kay Scarpetta book (since number 17) and I really enjoyed it. It was different with the talk of UAC, OZ, yellow brick road, covid times, an old love of Kay being murdered, weird/supernatural things going on, etc. I thought it was a nice change of pace to a forensic series that has been going on for some time. I was able to piece together what I had missed and enjoyed the book quite a bit

Another wonderful Scarpetta book. I've loved the Kay Scarpetta books for decades. This book is just as well written and exciting as the others. All of our favorite characters are in this book, too.

A man that Kay was involved with (well before her husband), has just been found dead and his body appears to have been dropped from the sky. Additionally, there are some abnormalities that Kay just can't ignore.

Kay is also working on the autopsy for a girl who appears to have been abused. She is almost ready to declare the death a homicide but she needs a bit more time. Meanwhile, the "important people" who parented the child are demanding the return of her body.

There is a bit of unusual evidence on the girl's body that also is showing up on the man's. Kay and her team get pulled into more interesting cases, that seem interrelated, as well.

I had both an e-book and the audio version. Great story, great narration.

medical-examiner, relationships, relatives, unpleasant-suspect, unputdownable, triggers, abuse, torture, science, scientist, crime-fiction, thriller, threats, suspense, suspicion, twisty, psychological-thriller, psychopath, entitled-attitude, nemesis, ex-detective, friends, friendship, friction, forensic-medicine, forensic-psychologist, forensics, wealthy*****

I'm waaay behind in my Scarpetta reading so I missed out on a lot of the backstory. That didn't really matter because there was all the memory stuff included within the story. The main cases presented are that of a child who was tortured and murdered by her very wealthy parents who try every trick imaginable to pursue their own agenda. The other is the peculiar death of a brilliant scientist/former lover whose body is found at an abandoned theme park which somehow has electricity. Forget flying saucers, now they're called UFC- unidentified flying craft and that's just what the FBI and Secret Service think orchestrated the death. Is it a coincidence that the property is owned by the aforementioned wealthy psycho?
January Lavoy is an amazing narrator who adds immeasurably to the story by employing a wide range of voices for the myriad of characters and bringing them to life by adding the appropriate emotions and inflection in her voice.
I requested and received a temporary audio copy from Hachette Audio | Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you.
January LaVoy @justjanuary #IdentityUnknown #NetGalley Patricia Cornwell @1pcornwell #KayScarpettaBk28 #Thriller

I could be at fault since this is my first experience with the Kay Scarpetta series, but I had a tough time connecting with "Identity Unknown" until I hit the 43% mark. The characters felt somewhat distant, and I was trying to figure out their identities. However, once I got past that point, I found myself enjoying it more as I started to understand the story better. The ending was fantastic too! I'm definitely looking forward to reading or listening to more from this author in the future.

On a positive note, the premise of the story was quite intriguing—who wouldn't be curious about a body that falls from a UFO in an abandoned amusement park? The narrator truly excelled in her role, and at times, I was convinced there was another voice actor bringing the other characters to life. Her performance made the listening experience enjoyable and engaging.

Thank you Netgally and Hachette Audio | Grand Central Publishing for allowing me to listen to this audiobook.

I have read Patricia Cornwell for at least 30 years, back when her books were mysteries, Scarpetta solved murders, she fell in love, she fell out of love, she lived in Baltimore, she moved to Canada and since she was the medical examiner in the morgue, death followed her everywhere.
This is the first Scarpetta book I have listened to and found January LaVoi to be a good narrator. She had lots of characters. The only voice that was completely different than the character I had pictured in my mind was Marino. I didn't like him at all the way he was narrated.

As other reviewers have said, this is an interesting book. Cornwell has rarely written a strike out. But I've noticed that since Lucy has grown up and joined the Secret Service, the books have gotten weirder. No one would use the world the word 'a simply murder mystery" or "thriller". These are complicated story lines often seeming to have nothing to do with each other and, of course, they tie up in the end.

If you have followed Scarpetta and her niece, Lucy, these many years, you'll love this book. You may love it if it's your first book. And maybe I'm just getting old, but I had to work at following everything. That won't stop me from reading the next book.

This is the latest Kay Scarpetta story. Once again Cornwell hits it out of the park. In this edition there are two stories intertwined the death of a young girl and the death of one of Kay's former co-workers. But maybe there use to be more to their relationship. Kay along with Marino, Lucy and Benton work to see how these murders are connected. And will we see someone from their past come back with vengeance on their mind. And who thought they would see fake moon dust in a Scarpetta book?

This was my first Patricia Cornwall book and I really enjoyed it. I was quickly invested after the first few chapters. If you like science, solving crimes, and nonstop action then you will enjoy IDENTITY UNKNOWN. I'm now planning to read her back catalog!

Many thanks to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for my gifted audiobook.

This review will be shared to my Instagram account (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the future.

This novel continues the story of Kay Scarpetta, and if you have not heard of her go and purchase the first book and start the amazing journey following her life/career. This is the 28th in the series featuring Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta and her supporting cast. This deliciously twisty story kept me up late at night, desperate to know the outcome. A definite 5 stars

10 years ago I’d read a Patricia Cornwell book first before any other….its evolved quite a bit. Her writing is still excellent, nice twists and turns but the cranky Mornonis getting boring. Time for a change.

Book Title: Identity Unknown
Author: Patricia Cornwell
Series: Dr. Kay Scarpetta #28
Format: 🎧
Narrator: January LaVoy
Publisher: Hachette Audio/Grand Central Publishing
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: October 8, 2024
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Pages 401

Story opens with Dr. Scarpetta doing an autopsy on the malnourished seven year-old Luna Briley who died from a gunshot to the head. Her billionaire father Rider and mother Piper claims it was a self-inflicted accident.
Kay notices other sign of abuse. While dealing with when to submit the report, she starts getting threating calls from the powerful Rider who is upset that she is holding up the results – which he states is without cause. (Although this story had me super curious this is not the main story;
However, it does come back to play a big role.)

While dealing with the arrogant billionaire, law enforcement the governor, Scarpetta gets call from her niece Lucy about a mysterious death at the abandoned theme park “Oz’ located near the Virginia/West Virginia border – (which just happened to be owned by – you guessed it – Rider Briley).~ Yes! The park has a yellow brick road. It closed during Covid and never reopened.

A body is found at the park with a circle of petals around the body.
Lucy believes the body was dropped from an UFC- unidentified flying craft.

Kay is devastated when she learns that the man is Sal Giordano who she once loved while teaching in Rome during one summer in the early days of her career.
Kay had stopped by Sal’s home with a gift basket to wish him a Happy 60th Birthday; although he is pleased to see her, he is getting ready for an important meeting in West Virginia and needs to leave. He thanks her for the basket as well as the white roses – however, she never sent the roses- Hmmm….

I am a big Scarpetta fan. I have read every one in this series.
My first Scarpetta was back in 1990 when I read Book #1 "Postmortem"
Needless to say, I cannot pass up a Scarpetta story!!
All my favorite characters are in this story including not so favorite but interesting Carrie Grethen, Lucy’s mentor at the FBI Academy then her lover and now her nemesis. There is no question Carrie is evil and returns to torment Lucy’s family – is it just me but who else who wonders since Carrie doesn’t have a family she is going to stay connected to this family no matter what?

As much as I love this series, I was not impressed with the last few since Marino is no longer the lovable slob that I always loved; but now an arrogant, foul mouth body builder.
Thankfully this story featured more Kay and Lucy so I wasn’t super upset with the foul language which I still believe needs toned down! This story does include Marino’s wife Kay’s sister Dorothy who does her share of being obnoxious and annoying with her drunken behavior and foul language.

I still enjoyed this story.
I love the area as I grew up in West Virginia and often visited the DC/Virginia area.

Narrator January LaVoy (my very favorite audiobook performer) once again was fabulous.

BTW: Saw on FB that Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis to star in #Scarpetta, a crime drama based on author Patricia Cornwell’s best-selling series of novels.
Heard Nicole will play Kay and Jamie will play Dorothy – Hmmm. . . .

Want to thank NetGalley and Hachette Audio/Grand Central Publishing for this awesome early audiobook.
Publishing Release Day scheduled for October 8, 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Another great book in this series. This is a series I have been reading and listening to from the very first book.
Good narration and well written as always.

Number 28 in the Scarpetta series will be out on 08 October 2024 and it’s an interesting new case for Kay and team. One of the first questions with this new murder investigation is if there is extraterrestrial involvement in the death! The investigation also becomes personal for Kay. Overall, this is a good addition to this series and I enjoyed being able to listen to the audiobook while completing chores around the house. If you enjoy this book series, you’ll enjoy the new book as well.

Thank you @hachetteaudio for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review. This same review was shared on the Barnes & Noble website.