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The twenty-first book in the Kay Scarpetta series, from No. 1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell - soon to be an original series on Prime Video

'America's most chilling writer of crime fiction' The Times

After working on one of the worst mass killings in US history, Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta returns home to recover, but an unsettling call drives her straight back to work.

The body of a young woman has been discovered inside the sheltered gates of MIT, draped in an unusual cloth and posed in a way that is too deliberate to be the killer's first strike. A preliminary examination reveals that the body is covered in a fine dust that under ultra-violet light fluoresces blood-red, emerald-green and sapphire-blue, and physical evidence links this to another series of disturbing homicides in Washington, DC.

As she pieces together the fragments of evidence, Scarpetta discovers that the cases connect, yet also seem to conflict, drawing herself and her team deeper into the dark world of designer drugs, drone technology, organised crime, and shocking corruption at the highest level.

The next book in the Scarpetta series is Flesh and Blood. And the brand-new instalment, Sharp Force, is available now!DISCOVER THE SERIES THAT SHAPED THE WORLD OF CRIME FICTION

'One of the best crime writers writing today' Guardian

'Devilishly clever' Sunday Times

'The top gun in this field' Daily Telegraph

'Forget the pretenders. Cornwell reigns' Mirror

'The Agatha Christie of the DNA age' Express

TRACE was a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller in paperback in April 2005

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Praise for Dust

  • Cornwell, who has already won more prizes than you can shake a stick at, seems to be getting better and better - City AMIf you like your fiction fast-paced with a scientific twist, Cornwell delivers once again, and if you are new to Scarpetta, you are sure to be hooked by the end of the first chapter - Irish ExaminerThe iconic forensic consultant is as brittle as ever, and the body count is as high as Cornwell fans have come to expect. Cornwell hasn't sold 100 million novels for no good reason - IndependentPraise for Patricia Cornwell - -One of the best crime writers writing today - GuardianDevilishly clever - Sunday TimesThe top gun in this field - Daily Telegraph

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Patricia Cornwell

Patricia Cornwell

Patricia Cornwell is recognized as one of the world's top bestselling crime authors with novels translated into thirty-six languages in more than 120 countries. Her novels have won numerous prestigious awards including the Edgar, the Creasey, the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Prix du Roman d'Aventure. Beyond the Scarpetta series, Patricia has written a definitive book about Jack the Ripper, a biography, and three more fiction series among others.

Cornwell, a licensed helicopter pilot and scuba diver, actively researches the forensic technologies that inform her work. She was born in Miami, grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston.

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