Patricia Cornwell Dives into the Mysterious World of Kay Scarpetta

The Book Case

ABC News

Fiction, Arts, Books, Society & Culture

4.1 • 766 Ratings

🗓️ 14 December 2023

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you haven’t heard of Patricia Cornwell you’ve never been to a bookstore, or an airport, or a library…heck. She is everywhere and there is a reason for that. Prolific AND talented, she has written 27 mystery novels centered around her medical examiner heroine, Kay Scarpetta, and she shows no sign of stopping. We talk about what it’s like to create and shepherd a character like Scarpetta, and what keeps her going. We then have a brief talk about our favorite books of the year. We hope you will join us. Books mentioned in this week's episode: Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell All That Remains by Patricia Cornwell Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell From Potter’s Field by Patricia Cornwell Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell Unnatural Exposure by Patricia Cornwell Black Notice by Patricia Cornwell Scarpetta’s Winter Table by Patricia Cornwell Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell Dust by Patricia Cornwell Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell Port Mortuary by Patricia Cornwell Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell The Bone Bed by Patricia Cornwell Flesh and Blood by Patricia Cornwell Depraved Heart by Patricia Cornwell Chaos by Patricia Cornwell Autopsy by Patricia Cornwell Livid by Patricia Cornwell Unnatural Death by Patricia Cornwell Portrait of a Killer by Patricia Cornwell The Last Precinct by Patricia Cornwell Predator by Patricia Cornwell Spin by Patricia Cornwell Quantum by Patricia Cornwell The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum Paved Paradise by Henry Grabar Absolution by Alice McDermott The General and Julia by Jon Clinch Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers Central Park West by James Comey Swamp Story by Dave Barry A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears by Michael Schulman The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:22.6	available November 20th, 2024. Game catalog varies by region and overtime. And yeah, that's the end of the script.
0:32.0	Welcome to all your listeners of the bookcase.
0:38.2	We are delighted to have you back with us.
0:40.1	I'm Charlie Gibson.
0:41.0	And I am Kate Gibson.
0:42.7	And today a writer that you've seen in airport bookstores, bookstores, independent bookstores, everywhere that you look.
0:50.5	Patricia Cornwell, who's written how many Kay Scarpeda books at this point?
0:54.2	27. That's a few. She's 27 books. Yeah. She's extraordinarily prolific. And Kay Scarpetta is
1:00.8	everywhere, as you say, in airport bookshops, regular, anywhere you can look, you'll find her.
1:06.6	And Kay Scarpetta is interesting because she's not just a regular detective.
1:13.6	She is, well, she's basically what?
1:14.8	She's a medical examiner.
1:15.3	Yes.
1:19.6	So she's an M.E., which normally you think of M.E. is like, you know, if you're watching a crime show, the cop or the lawyer or the whatever, always stops by the M.E.
	...

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