Patricia Cornwell All that Remains

All that Remains

Patricia Cornwell

Pocket, Mar 2005, $7.99

ISBN: 074349153X

When Deborah Harvey, the daughter of the National Drug Policy Director, and her boyfriend fail to return home, the FBI investigates based on the assumption that there is a link to her father's job. When their remains are finally found, the media, linking it without substance to eight other dead in pairs of two near Williamsburg, Virginia, dub the culprit the Couples Killer.

State Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta joins the investigation into the latest killings. Not much data can be gleaned from the skeletons, though the killer leaves a glaring jack of hearts at each crime site. The Feds, state, and local law enforcement trip over each other like the Keystone Cops. Meanwhile Kay and Richmond homicide detective, Pete Marino, follow the paths, many of which dead end in cul de sacs, left behind by a devious killer made even more complex by a reporter and the Harvey family.

This reprint of an early Scarpetta thriller is a fine entry as a difficult case turns ugly and convoluted by so many participants, especially the interference by cops and amateurs. Kay, her Valkyrie cohorts, and Pete, are at their best working through a myriad of potential clues obfuscated by politicians, reporters, cops and family members who devastate crime scenes and more. Fans of the great M.E. will enjoy this fine forensic police procedural.