Barb's Book Reviews: Review of "Red Mist: A Kay Scarpetta Thriller" by Patricia Cornwell

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Review of "Red Mist: A Kay Scarpetta Thriller" by Patricia Cornwell

In this 19th book in the 'Kay Scarpetta' series, the medical examiner sniffs out trouble in the prison system. The book can be read as a standalone, but works best for readers familiar with the characters.

*****

Medical examiner Kay Scarpetta is the director of the Cambridge Forensic Center in Massachusetts.

Early in her career, Scarpetta trained her protégé Jack Fielding, and he eventually became her deputy chief medical examiner.

Jack's drug abuse and incompetent management led to his dismissal, and six months ago Jack was murdered by his biological daughter, Dawn Kincaid.

There's a dark story behind this: Dawn was conceived when Jack was a 12-year-old boy at a ranch for troubled youth. Jack was seduced by his therapist, Kathleen Lawler, who got pregnant, went to prison, and gave the baby up for adoption.

Jack and Kathleen's biological daughter Dawn was intellectually gifted, but troubled, and ended up being a serial killer.

Kathleen Lawler herself is a disturbed woman. She's been in and out of prison all her life, and is now incarcerated in the Georgia Prison For Women (GPFW), for vehicular homicide. Lawler convinces Scarpetta to visit her in the GPFW, where Kay speaks with Warden Tara Grimm.....

......and has a conversation with Kathleen.

It turns out Kay has been 'lured' to Georgia to meet with Jaime Berger, a former New York City prosecutor who's in Georgia to further an agenda.

Jaime wants to get Lola Dagette - a woman convicted of killing a family of four - off death row. Jaime claims Lola didn't commit the murders, and she wants Kay to help free Lola.

Things get complicated after this. Kay learns that several inmates of GPFW committed suicide in bizarre ways, and other women in the prison system died in suspicious circumstances. Kay investigates all this with the help of her husband Benton Wesley - an FBI profiler;

her niece Lucy Farinelli - a computer hacker and helicopter pilot;

and her investigator Pete Marino.

All this leads to surprising twists and a dramatic climax.

Though I enjoy the 'Kay Scarpetta' series, it requires a HUGE suspension of disbelief. It seems Kay - in her capacity as medical examiner - is ALWAYS in the sights of a demented psychopath who's trying to kill Kay and her family. Moreover, the medical examiner's office is constantly hiring employees with secret evil agendas. It would appear that being a medical examiner is more dangerous than being a CIA field agent. (You'd never know it from shows like Rizzoli & Isles; Silent Witness; Quincy M.E.; etc.)

If you're a fan of Kay Scarpetta, you'll probably like the book.

Rating: 3.5 stars

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Barb's Book Reviews

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Review of "Red Mist: A Kay Scarpetta Thriller" by Patricia Cornwell

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