The "book of the dead" is the morgue log, the ledger in which all cases are entered by hand. For Kay Scarpetta, however, it is about to have a new meaning. Fresh from her battle with a psychopath in Florida, Scarpetta decides it's time for a change of pace. Moving to Charleston, South Carolina, she opens a unique private forensic pathology practice, offering expert crime-scene investigation and autopsies to communities lacking access to modern technology. It seems like an ideal situation, until the murders and violent deaths begin.
A young man from a prominent family jumps off a water tower. A woman is ritualistically murdered in her multi-million-dollar beach home. The body of an abused young boy is found dumped in a desolate marsh.
Scarpetta has dealt with many brutal and unusual crimes, but never a string of them as baffling, or as terrifying, as these. Before she is through, that book of the dead will contain many names - and the pen may be poised to write her own.
