Chaos - (Kay Scarpetta Mysteries) Large Print by Patricia Cornwell (Paperback)

About the Book

"In the quiet of twilight, on an early autumn day, twenty-six-year-old Elisa Vandersteel is killed while riding her bicycle along the Charles River. It appears she was struck by lightning--except the weather is perfectly clear with not a cloud in sight. Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the Cambridge Forensic Center's director and chief, decides at the scene that this is no accidental Act of God. Her investigation becomes complicated when she begins receiving a flurry of bizarre poems from an anonymous cyberbully who calls himself Tailend Charlie. Though subsequent lab results support Scarpetta's conclusions, the threatening messages don't stop. When the tenth poem arrives exactly twenty-four hours after Elisa's death, Scarpetta begins to suspect the harasser is involved, and sounds the alarm to her investigative partner Pete Marino and her husband, FBI analyst Benton Wesley. She also enlists the help of her niece, Lucy. But to Scarpetta's surprise, tracking the slippery Tailend Charlie is nearly impossible, even for someone as brilliant as her niece. Also, Lucy can't explain how this anonymous nemesis could have access to private information. To make matters worse, a venomous media is whipping the public into a frenzy, questioning the seasoned forensics chief's judgment and "a quack cause of death on a par with spontaneous combustion."--

Book Synopsis

"When it comes to the forensic sciences, nobody can touch Cornwell."

--New York Times Book Review

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CHAOS

From the Ancient Greek (χάος or kháos)

A vast chasm or void. Anarchy. The science of unpredictability.

On a late summer evening in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dr. Kay Scarpetta and her investigative partner, Pete Marino, respond to a call about a dead bicyclist near the Kennedy School of Government. It appears that a young woman has been attacked with almost superhuman force.

Even before Scarpetta's headquarters has been officially notified about the case, Marino and Scarpetta's FBI agent husband, Benton Wesley, receive suspicious calls, allegedly from someone at Interpol. But it makes no sense. Why would the elite international police agency know about the case or be interested? It soon becomes apparent that an onslaught of harassment might be the work of an anonymous cyberbully named Tailend Charlie, who has been sending cryptic communications to Scarpetta for over a week.

Even Lucy, her brilliant tech-savvy niece, can't trace who it is or how this person could have access to intimate information. When a second death shocks Scarpetta to her core, it becomes apparent she and those close to her are confronted with something far bigger and more dangerous than they'd ever imagined.

From the Back Cover

#1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell returns with another scintillating thriller in her high-stakes series starring medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta.

On a hot evening in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dr. Kay Scarpetta investigates a dead bicyclist who was attacked with almost super human force. Before she's notified, her FBI agent husband receives a suspicious call, allegedly from Interpol. It becomes apparent that an onslaught of interference and harassment might be the work of the cyberbully Tailend Charlie, who has been sending cryptic communications to Scarpetta. Even her brilliant tech-savvy niece, Lucy, can't trace whoever it is. When a second death hundreds of miles south shocks Scarpetta to her core, she's confronted with something far bigger and more dangerous than she'd ever imagined.

Review Quotes

Praise for Chaos: "Thrilling.... Readers new to Cornwell will find themselves involved from the very first page, as will the veterans. Chaos is one book you should not miss." -- Bookreporter.com

"Lots of cutting-edge forensic detail and some revelatory character moments." -- Publishers Weekly on Chaos

"Patricia Cornwell has created characters with real emotions and life experiences, and she provides them with more than enough danger to make things interesting. Dr. Scarpetta has become a good friend." -- MysteryPlayground.net on Chaos

"[An] absorbing thriller." -- Blackfive.net on Chaos

"There is a quiet intensity to Ms. Cornwell's writing that compels you to read, then the eeriness sets in. . . . With CHAOS, once again Patricia Cornwell mesmerizes with her astounding scientific knowledge, her keen ear for dialogue and the human psyche, all woven together flawlessly." -- FreshFiction.com on Chaos

"While Scarpetta's character has flaws, she is still a powerful female protagonist and she offers the reader an amazing calculating approach to investigation. I am always amazed at the passion that she has for her position. . . . A fast engaging read." -- Dad of Divas Reviews on Chaos