Trace (Kay Scarpetta Series #13) » (Reprint)

Readers of Patricia Cornwell's crime novels need a strong stomach, both for the gruesome details and the suspenseful turns of her plots. With medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, Cornwell created a cool and compelling heroine who repeatedly draws readers back for more.

Now freelancing from south Florida, Dr. Kay Scarpetta returns to Richmond, Virginia, the city that turned its back on her five years ago. Investigating the death of a young girl, she must follow the twisting leads and track the strange details in order to make the dead speak-and to reveal the sad truth that may be more than even she can bear.

The New York Times - Marilyn Stasio

… the author maintains firm control over the various unruly elements of her story, allowing Scarpetta's faithful sidekicks to make reasonable contributions to the investigation but leaving it to her brainy heroine to analyze the scientific evidence and pull the whole thing together. Although Cornwell's over-the-top series will probably never return to its realistic beginnings, it's a relief to find Scarpetta back in the lab where she belongs, up to her elbows in guts and gore.