“Unnatural Exposure”  by Patricia Cornwell

                                    Review #167

A Dr. Kay Scarpetta  Mystery

This new adventure of Virginia's Medical Examiner and consultant to the FBI, Dr. Kay Scarpetta, takes her from Dublin to Richmond, Va., making stops at a tiny barrier island in the Chesapeake Bay and the government's huge biological defense facility in Dugway, Utah. Tours of Graceland in Memphis and Atlanta's Center for Disease Control are added before the closing in London.

Dr. Scarpetta has been called to Ireland to help investigate a series of grisly murders in which the killer dismembers his victims. Imagine her horror when she returns to the U.S. and finds the killer…or a terrifying copycat…has struck at home. Worse, the victims appear to have been exposed to a deadly, highly contagious smallpox-like virus.  To complete her personal nightmare, Dr. Scarpetta may have been exposed to the virus, and the killer has started sending her gruesome e-mail messages.

With the help of her savvy FBI agent niece, Lucy, Dr. Scarpetta tracks the elusive killer as her own life hangs in the balance. The suspense builds to an unbearable pitch, but when the murderer's identity and motive are revealed, it's more puzzling than satisfying.

I love this character and this book.