Kay Scarpetta Books in Order
Patricia Cornwell's long-running crime series following Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a forensic pathologist and medical examiner who uses cutting-edge science to hunt killers. Spanning from 1990's Postmortem onward, the books trace Scarpetta's cases alongside her niece Lucy, investigator Pete Marino, and analyst Benton Wesley.
Publication order
In the order the books were originally released.
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Buy on Amazon1990 · Patricia Cornwell
Dr. Kay Scarpetta, chief medical examiner of Virginia, confronts a serial killer who strangles women in their own homes in Richmond. As the body…
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Buy on Amazon1991 · Patricia Cornwell
When a reclusive novelist is murdered shortly after rewriting her will, Scarpetta is drawn into a case tangled with threatening letters and a missing…
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Buy on Amazon1992 · Patricia Cornwell
A string of young couples has vanished across Virginia, their remains later found in the woods long after death has erased the evidence. Scarpetta…
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Buy on Amazon1993 · Patricia Cornwell
After a convicted killer is executed, fresh evidence bearing his fingerprints surfaces at a brutal new crime scene, an impossibility that throws…
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Buy on Amazon1994 · Patricia Cornwell
The murder of a young girl in North Carolina brings Scarpetta to the Body Farm, the research facility where forensic scientists study human…
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Buy on Amazon1995 · Patricia Cornwell
The killer Temple Brooks Gault resurfaces with a savage murder in New York City, luring Scarpetta and the FBI into a deadly pursuit through the…
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Buy on Amazon1996 · Patricia Cornwell
Called to autopsy a journalist who drowned while diving near a decommissioned shipyard, Scarpetta suspects the death was no accident. The…
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Buy on Amazon1997 · Patricia Cornwell
Dismembered remains turning up in a landfill echo a series of older unsolved killings, and Scarpetta realizes a methodical murderer may be taunting…
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Buy on Amazon1998 · Patricia Cornwell
A fire kills a woman at a wealthy Virginia horse farm, and Scarpetta's examination reveals it was murder disguised as accident. The trail leads back…
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Buy on Amazon1999 · Patricia Cornwell
Still grieving a devastating loss, Scarpetta investigates a decomposed body found inside a shipping container at the Richmond port. The clues lead…
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Buy on Amazon2000 · Patricia Cornwell
In the aftermath of an attack on her life, Scarpetta finds herself a suspect rather than an investigator as enemies inside the system move against…
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Buy on Amazon2003 · Patricia Cornwell
Now working as a private consultant in Florida, Scarpetta is pulled back toward an old nemesis when a death-row inmate's case reopens wounds from her…
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Buy on Amazon2004 · Patricia Cornwell
Scarpetta returns to Richmond at the request of her successor to consult on the puzzling death of a teenage girl. She finds her old office in…
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Buy on Amazon2005 · Patricia Cornwell
Scarpetta and psychologist Benton Wesley study an incarcerated killer as part of a research project probing the minds of violent predators. When…
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Buy on Amazon2007 · Patricia Cornwell
Having relocated to Charleston, South Carolina to run a private forensic practice, Scarpetta takes on the death of a young tennis star whose body…
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Buy on Amazon2008 · Patricia Cornwell
Scarpetta is summoned to New York to evaluate a disturbed young man after a vicious attack, but the encounter quickly spirals into something far more…
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Buy on Amazon2009 · Patricia Cornwell
Now consulting for a New York medical examiner's office and appearing on a cable crime show, Scarpetta is drawn into the death of a financial…
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Buy on Amazon2010 · Patricia Cornwell
Heading a cutting-edge forensic center in Massachusetts, Scarpetta returns from a training trip to find a man dead outside her own facility, with…
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Buy on Amazon2011 · Patricia Cornwell
Scarpetta travels to a Georgia prison to interview an inmate connected to the murder of a former colleague, hoping for answers about an old loss.…
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Buy on Amazon2012 · Patricia Cornwell
When a woman's body is discovered in a Massachusetts harbor, photos sent to Scarpetta's office hint at a connection to a paleontologist who vanished…
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Buy on Amazon2013 · Patricia Cornwell
Pulled from sickbed to a barren Massachusetts field, Scarpetta examines the body of a computer engineer whose death ties into a case her FBI husband…
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Buy on Amazon2014 · Patricia Cornwell
On the eve of a Florida vacation, Scarpetta finds seven shiny pennies left on a wall outside her Cambridge home, an unsettling sign that a sniper is…
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Buy on Amazon2015 · Patricia Cornwell
While performing an autopsy, Scarpetta receives mysterious video clips on her phone showing her niece Lucy years earlier, hinting at long-buried…
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Buy on Amazon2016 · Patricia Cornwell
On a sweltering evening in Cambridge, Scarpetta is troubled by strange messages and a cyclist's sudden death that defies easy explanation. As a…
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Buy on Amazon2021 · Patricia Cornwell
Back in Virginia as chief medical examiner once more, Scarpetta investigates a railway worker's brutal killing while juggling a sensitive case with…
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Buy on Amazon2022 · Patricia Cornwell
Scarpetta serves as an expert witness in a high-profile murder trial when the sudden death of a judge throws everything into turmoil. The case grows…
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Buy on Amazon2023 · Patricia Cornwell
A mutilated body discovered near a Virginia waterway draws Scarpetta into a case with unsettling, almost inexplicable elements. As she works…
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Buy on Amazon2024 · Patricia Cornwell
Scarpetta is called to a remote site where a famous figure has died under bizarre and seemingly impossible circumstances. With her sister entangled…
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Companion & related books
Short-story collections and companion titles in this series.
Frequently asked questions
What order should I read the Kay Scarpetta books in?
Publication order — Widely recommended by readers and series-guide sites (e.g. Book Series in Order, FictionDB) Start with “Postmortem.”
How many books are in the Kay Scarpetta series?
We list 29 books by Patricia Cornwell , published between 1990–2025.
Where can I buy the Kay Scarpetta books?
Each title above links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Reading order compiled from author/publisher guidance and verified bibliographic data. Spotted an error? We continuously correct the catalog.