Mem. Ed. $20.99
Pub. Ed. $35.95
You pay $0.25
"Maybe ... something at work, the economy being what it is. Some of the girls she works with have been laid off," Mrs. Darien said. "She gets in moods like everybody else. Especially this time of year. She doesn't like winter weather."
"Any medications you might be aware of?"
"Just over- the- counter, as far as I know. Vitamins. She takes very good care of herself."
"I'm interested in who her internist might be, her doctor or doctors. Mr. Darien didn't fill in that part."
"He wouldn't know. He's never gotten the bills. Toni's been living on her own since college, and I can't be sure who her doctor is. She never gets sick, has more energy than anyone I know. Always on the go."
"Are you aware of any jewelry she might have routinely worn?
Perhaps rings, a bracelet, a necklace she rarely took off?" Scarpetta said.
"I don't know."
"What about a watch?"
"I don't think so."
"What looks like a black plastic sports watch, digital? A large black watch? Does that sound familiar?"
Mrs. Darien shook her head.
"I've seen similar watches when people are involved in studies. In your profession, I'm sure you have, too. Watches that are cardiac monitors or worn by people who have sleep disorders, for example," Scarpetta said.
A look of hope in Mrs. Darien's eyes.
"What about when you saw Toni at Thanksgiving," Scarpetta said. "Might she have been wearing a watch like the one I just described?"
"No." Mrs. Darien shook her head. "That's what I mean. It might not be her. I've never seen her wearing anything like that."
Scarpetta asked her if she would like to see the body now, and they got up from the table and walked into an adjoining room, mall and bare, just a few photographs of New York City skylines on pale- green walls. The viewing window was approximately waist- high, about the height of a casket on a bier, and on the other side was a steel screen-actually, the doors of the lift that had carried Toni's body up from the morgue.
"Before I open the screen, I want to explain what you're going to see," Scarpetta said. "Would you like to sit on the sofa?"
"No. No, thank you. I'll stand. I'm ready." Her eyes were wide and panicked, and she was breathing fast.
"I'm going to push a button." Scarpetta indicated a panel of three buttons on the wall, two black, one red, old elevator buttons. "And when the screen opens, the body will be right here."
"Yes. I understand. I'm ready." She could barely talk, she was so frightened, shaking as if freezing cold, breathing hard as if she'd just exerted herself.
"The body is on a gurney inside the elevator, on the other side of the window. Her head will be here, to the left. The rest of her is covered."
Scarpetta pushed the top black button, and the steel doors parted with a loud clank. Through scratched Plexiglas Toni Darien was shrouded in blue, her face wan, her eyes shut, her lips colorless and dry, her long, dark hair still damp from rinsing. Her mother pressed her hands against the window.
Copyright (c) 2009 by CEI Enterprises, Inc.
It may be a week before Christmas, but Kay Scarpetta is in an unholy mess. Her increased visibility as senior forensic analyst for CNN is prompting unsettling on-the-air phone calls, particularly one from a former psychiatric patient of Benton Wesley’s. Is the suspicious package awaiting Kay when she returns home a threat from the caller, warning off her latest case: a surreal plot involving an actor accused of an unthinkable sex crime and the disappearance of a millionairess. Adding to Kay’s worries is the invitation to host her own TV show; what if viewers come to think she has a mythical quality to solve cases. If only it were so!
The Scarpetta Factor is Patricia Cornwell at her brilliant, page-turning best.
Lrg Print Hardcover: 864 pages
Publisher: Putnam Pub Group/Mbr Of Penguin Put ( October 20, 2009 )
Item #: 03-7785
ISBN: 9781615233496
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.25 x 1.38 inches
Product Weight: 29.0 ounces

Sadly, this was a very slow book- I used to love her books but they are just too boring now for me.
Reviewer: Wendy
I was sorely disappointed in the Scarpetta Factor. have read most of Cornwell.'s books, and enjoyed them all, up til this one. Too confusing, trying to keep up with too much going on at the same time. For example Kay reading reports, and talking to Lucy at the same time. All in all a very disappointing read. Hope the next one is much much better
Reviewer: Shirley F
I am very glad to see that I am not the only one disappointed with PatriciaCornwall's new book I had trouble with her last book but finished it - don'tknow if I will ever finish this one. Her sentences seem to go on and on and nothing happening. I may never buy another book by this author.
Reviewer: Alice
I normally love Patricia Cornwell and expecially the Scarpetta books all the others in the series were great and I read them all and couldnt wait for the next this one was boring from the start and I can barely read it . I sure hope it ends soon I may just put it away without finishing it. Very Disapointing
Reviewer: Cindy
I am struggling to get through her latest book. There is way too much ?old? relationship material and not enough about the mystery of the missing or the murder. Please spare us from reading page after page the acerbic and hurtful relationships between the main characters that have been substance for how many novels now? And this particular novel goes on and on about the relationships and very little excitement or mystery so far. I hope I get the tenacity to pick it back up and finish the story.
Reviewer: tevob1