Jacquie Darke's sister, Alison, had been banished from her home eleven years ago, never to be heard from again. Her parents' deaths enable Jacquie to search for her, a quest which leads her to the somnolent cathedral town of Westmead, where she discovers her sister was murdered the day after she left home. What brought her to the place of her death, and who could have wanted her dead?

'A blood-stained version of the world of Barbara Pym' The Guardian

Literary Review 'Imitators now abound, but pathologically speaking nobody does it like Cornwell'
Mirror 'Forget the pretenders. Cornwell reigns.'

Physically and psychologically bruised by her encounter with the killer Chandonne, Dr Kay Scarpetta has to leave her home in the hands of the police team investigating the attack. She finds shelter with an old friend, Anna Zenner, but it is not the haven of security she needs when she discovers that Anna has been sub-poenaed to appear before a Grand Jury which is investigating Scarpetta for murder. Kay knows she is being framed and she also knows she can trust no-one. Meanwhile it appears that Chandonne killed a woman in New York before his murderous spree in Virginia, but when Scarpetta looks more closely into that case with the NY prosectuor Jaime Berger, proof of his guilt is far from certain - in fact she begins to believe that he may not be the perpetrator of any of the crimes he is accused of. As she follows the forensic trail to the real killer she gradually realises that someone has been spinning a web for years with the aim of entrapping her. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Patricia Cornwell's first novel, Postmortem, was published in 1990 and won five international awards. Her Scarpetta novels have since become Number One bestsellers throughout the world. She has also published two police procedurals, Hornet's Nest and Southern Cross.

When a young girl law student is found brutally murdered, her outraged father accuses his daughter's arrogant professor of killing her. The professor hires attorney Casey Jordan to represent him, which she does successfully. But she is stunned to receive a confession from him after his acquittal.

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Michaelhouse is in uproar: the ageing Master has announced his retirement and with unseemly haste Runham arranges his own 'election' as his successor. Within days he has dismissed several members of staff, including the redoubtable laundress Agatha, and is making life so unpleasant for the scholars that even Matthew Bartholomew believes his future as physician and teacher at the college is untenable. Then Runham is murdered and, although mourned by none, Matthew and Brother Michael know they have to solve the mystery before any more damage is done to their beloved Michaelhouse.

Nobody does it bigger than in the state of Texas. From El Paso, Dallas and Channelview come true tales of murder, mischief and malice.

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