Dust

Kay Scarpetta, Book 21

By: Patricia Cornwell

Narrated by: Kate Reading

From the world’s number-one bestselling crime writer comes the extraordinary new Kay Scarpetta novel.

Massachusetts Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta has just returned from working one of the worst mass murders in U.S. history when she’s awakened at an early hour by Detective Pete Marino.

A body, oddly draped in an unusual cloth, has just been discovered inside the sheltered gates of MIT and it’s suspected the identity is that of missing computer engineer Gail Shipton, last seen the night before at a trendy Cambridge bar. It appears she’s been murdered, mere weeks before the trial of her $100 million lawsuit against her former financial managers, and Scarpetta doubts it’s a coincidence. She also fears the case may have a connection with her computer genius niece, Lucy.

At a glance there is no sign of what killed Gail Shipton, but she’s covered with a fine dust that under ultraviolet light fluoresces brilliantly in three vivid colors, what Scarpetta calls a mineral fingerprint. Clearly the body has been posed with chilling premeditation that is symbolic and meant to shock, and Scarpetta has reason to worry that the person responsible is the Capital Murderer, whose most recent sexual homicides have terrorized Washington, D.C. Stunningly, Scarpetta will discover that her FBI profiler husband, Benton Wesley, is convinced that certain people in the government, including his boss, don’t want the killer caught.

In Dust, Scarpetta and her colleagues are up against a force far more sinister than a sexual predator who fits the criminal classification of a “spectacle killer.” The murder of Gail Shipton soon leads deep into the dark world of designer drugs, drone technology, organized crime, and shocking corruption at the highest levels.

With unparalleled high-tension suspense and the latest in forensic technology, Patricia Cornwell once again proves her exceptional ability to surprise—and to thrill.

©2013 Cornwell Entertainment, Inc (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Read the book instead

The actor reading the book is terrible. Her delivery is so distracting you can’t even listen to the story.

Narrarator

Do not like the new narrarator. The clipped cadence of Kay. The Jersey accent. Very distracting and disrupted the flow of the story.

Narrator ruined it

Narrator made the main character and her spouse sound snooty, arrogant elitists. Sad considering I’ve liked all other Patricia Cornwell audibles.

The details

Classic Cromwell/Scarpetta…Always very detailed descriptions that allow the reader “to see” every scene!

Great book

I really like this book because it was not obvious. twists and turns were really great.