Kay Scarpetta

Kay Scarpetta is the chief medical examiner of Virginia, and she lives and works in Richmond. When the novel opens, Scarpetta is looking forward to some early fall gardening, but a call to a crime scene interrupts her plans. The vehicle of a young couple has been found abandoned at a highway rest stop. Immediately, the investigators, Scarpetta included, believe this case may be connected to the deaths of three other couples whose cars were found months before their bodies were discovered in isolated places. When Scarpetta learns that one of the missing people is the daughter of a well known politician, she becomes concerned. The investigation is already complicated by the number of law agencies involved. The involvement of this politician could only make matters worse.

When the bodies are found, Scarpetta discovers that the bodies have been moved, an act that goes against all the...