Cause Of Death

Dr. Kay Scarpetta plunges into the murky depths of a ship graveyard to recover the very human remains of Ted Eddings, an... (more)

Dr. Kay Scarpetta plunges into the murky depths of a ship graveyard to recover the very human remains of Ted Eddings, an investigative reporter. Together with her niece Lucy and police captain Pete Marino, Scarpetta will follow the scents of death and violence to the heart of sinister darkness. *San Francisco Chronicle. (less)

It's New Year's Eve, the final night of Virginia's bloodiest year since the Civil War, and another poor soul has turned ... (more)

It's New Year's Eve, the final night of Virginia's bloodiest year since the Civil War, and another poor soul has turned up dead. Ted Eddings, a scuba diver and investigative reporter who was a favorite at the Medical Examiner's Office, is found thirty feet below the Elizabeth River's icy surface. Kay Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner for the state of Virginia, can't help but wonder why she received a phone call from someone reporting the death before the police were notified. Was Eddings probing the frigid depths of the Inactive Ship Yard for a story or simply diving for sunken trinkets? With the advent of a second murder -- this one hitting even closer to home -- the case envelops Scarpetta, her niece Lucy, and Police Captain Pete Marino in a world where both cutting-edge technology and old-fashioned detective work are critical offensive weapons. Together, they follow the trail of violence to its forbidding and unexpected source. (less)