Unnatural Death - Patricia Cornwell

Out from Little, Brown; the latest DI Scarpetta novel by prolific author Patricia Cornwell

Set in and around the old abandoned goldmines of Virginia, Scarpetta is called to the scene of two bodies left for dead to the naked eye they have been mauled and it is declared unnatural to begin with upon first inspection. But then the refined coroner begins her work and uncovers there is more than what appears on the surface.

There seems to be a lot of political back-baiting occurring due to funding of government departments as her team has been whittled down along with the unwelcome return of an old fiend which will test Scarpetta's loyalty to her loved ones.

This was my first Cornwell novel, and I won the opportunity to review this new release by way of a competition on X garnering a review copy. The experience has left me gratified and appreciative, Cornwell has created a character that is appealing and forthright. Someone who you would go into battle with and a female character who is intelligent and respected in her field. There is to be a television series soon starring Nicole Kidman in the Scarpetta role - that mix of icy distance and experience coming together.

The mark of any long running series of novels featuring recurring characters such as Lee Child's Jack Reacher, is the ability of the author to welcome in new readers (such as myself in this instance) and not feel lost due to the concise plotting and expert characterisation.

This story goes at a clip and covers a lot of narrative content, yet it is done with such surgical precision, it will leave readers old and new to the Scarpetta universe very much satisfied.

My thanks to Georgina Moore and all at Midas PR for the opportunity to read this latest novel.

Please follow all the bloggers on the #UnnaturalDeath blog tour.

About the Author:

In 1990, Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. An auspicious debut, it went on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity Awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure prize—the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. Growing into an international phenomenon, the Scarpetta series won Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development.

Today, Cornwell’s novels and iconic characters are known around the world. Beyond the Scarpetta series, Cornwell has written the definitive nonfiction account of Jack the Ripper’s identity, cookbooks, a children’s book, a biography of Ruth Graham, and two other fictional series based on the characters Win Garano and Andy Brazil. While writing Quantum, Cornwell spent two years researching space, technology, and robotics at Captain Calli Chase’s home base, NASA’s Langley Research Center, and studied cutting-edge law enforcement and security techniques with the Secret Service, the US Air Force, NASA Protective Services, Scotland Yard, and Interpol.

The Coldest Warrior - Paul Vidich

New novel by Paul Vidich, a tale of espionage and a cold case

Paul Vidich has written a fictional tale set around an almost too good to be true story, delving into the 1950s and the height of the cold war tension between America and the Soviet Union.

The story Vidich weaves revolves around the unresolved death of Dr. Charles Wilson, a government scientist, who died in 1953 when one night in his Washington hotel he 'jumped or fell' from the ninth floor plummeting to his death.

The full details of his death have remained buried for twenty-two years, so following the release of the Rockefeller Commission report on illegal CIA activities in 1975, the Wilson case becomes a hot topic in the nation's capital.

Wilson's family want answers, enter agent Jack Gabriel, an old friend of the Wilson family who is instructed by the CIA director to find the truth. Yet the deeper Jack digs into the past, the changing world comes back to nip him in the butt, key witnesses connected to the case die from suspicious causes leading Jack to believe his entire family and career are at stake.

Vidich following in esteemed footsteps of Greene, Le Carre, has weaved a gripping novel that grips you throughout; yet Vidich does a great job of painting a picture of how Washington must have been during the 1970s when following Watergate the city was a perilous pit of distrust and paranoia.

The tale whips along at quite a pace, yet the tensest moment of the book was when Charles Wilson's body has to be exhumed - the tension of the piece as Wilson's son stands awaiting the coffin to open is cranked up to maximum effect and is the lasting impression of this book.

While already forming the basis of the Netflix series, Wormwood, the story is again ripe for another adaptation with sharp 1950s suits combating against each other in the search for truth - the battle was less agains the USSR but more between the CIA and FBI in this battle alliteration confrontation.

The Coldest Warrior is published by No Exit Press on 27 February 2020.

My thanks to Anne Cater and Random Things for the review opportunity and to appear on the blogtour starting February 24th.