A review by bibliophilebookclub
Depraved Heart by Patricia Cornwell

4.0

Hi everyone!

I'm thrilled to be the first stop on the blog tour for the new Patricia Cornwell book, Depraved Heart. This is the 23rd (can you believe that?!) instalment of the Scarpetta series. I've been a fan of Cornwell's books for as long as I can remember, and I've read all of this series. Needless to say, I was delighted to be given the opportunity to take part in the blog tour. My thanks to Hayley Camis and Harper Collins for my review copy of Depraved Heart.





About the author:

Patricia Cornwell has sold over 100 million books and had 29 New York Times bestsellers, including Dust, The Bone Bed, Red Mist and Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper- Case Closed. Postmortem is the only novel to win five major crime awards in a single year and Cruel and Unusual won Britain's prestigious Gold Dagger Award for the best crime novel. Fox 2000 have bought the rights to Kay Scarpetta to be developed for the big screen. When not writing from her Boston home, she is tirelessly researching cutting edge forensics to include in her work. Currently researching drone technology as well as continuing her work in ballistics, explosives and firearms, Cornwell has also been learning about advanced trauma for the emergency responder through simulation technology, working with the Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T) department, training on the VirFa Firearms Training Simulators as well as Scuba Diving in Bermuda.







About the book:
Dr. Kay Scarpetta is working a suspicious death scene in Cambridge, Massachusetts when an emergency alert sounds on her phone. A video link lands in her text messages and seems to be from her computer genius niece Lucy. But how can it be? It’s clearly a surveillance film of Lucy taken almost twenty years ago.

As Scarpetta watches she begins to learn frightening secrets about her niece, whom she has loved and raised like a daughter. That film clip and then others sent soon after raise dangerous legal implications that increasingly isolate Scarpetta and leave her confused, worried, and not knowing where to turn. She doesn’t know whom she can tell – not her FBI husband Benton Wesley or her investigative partner Pete Marino. Not even Lucy.


My thoughts:

Following on from Flesh and Blood, Depraved Heart picks up two months after the events involving the Copperhead Killer. Dr. Kay Scarpetta is called to a suspicious death in Cambridge. A film mogul's daughter is found dead in her home and Scarpetta and Marino attend the scene.

Within minutes of beginning her exam, Scarpetta receives a message on her phone from her niece Lucy's ICE with a video link. The accompanying footage makes her question those around her and who to trust.

Simultaneously, Lucy's home is being raided by the FBI. With worry setting in, Scarpetta rushes through her examination of the scene in order to go over to Lucy's house, not knowing about the raid.

This book essentially takes place over the course of one day. It is full of forensic detail, the kind you usually expect from Cornwell. At times, it's difficult to take in all that gets written, but it's good to know the reasoning behind the forensic processes.

I really enjoyed Depraved Heart. More so than Flesh and Blood. It's full of psychological warfare as the characters don't know who to trust, and an old nemesis resurfaces, testing everyone. There are some unexpected twists and turns along the way which make for interesting asides.

My only issue with Depraved Heart was that once you get to the climax of the story, it ends very quickly. I would have liked a little more explanation of certain events, but that's personal preference.

I gave Depraved Heart 4⭐️ on Goodreads. It was a highly enjoyable story and I'm very grateful to Harper Collins for my copy!

Happy Reading