Kay Scarpetta’s return to Virginia makes for more interesting plots than were present for a time in this series. I admit, what I loved about the Scarpetta books were the early entries. I resisted the turn to high tech spy thrillers and upscale living with connections, connections, connections. I’ve always liked the characters and all of the main players are still here. Kay’s sister Dorothy’s marriage to Kay’s long time partner, Marino, seems odd, but in a sense Cornwell agrees with me. Recently since I kept reading the books, I realized I’d love the current version of the series if I’d never read the earlier books. I like thrillers. I like spy stories. I like high tech intrigue. I just felt a dissonance when they became early character Kay Scarpetta’s new life. My epiphany that I could like both definitely has drawn me back to the series.
This is to say I really enjoyed “Identity Unknown” and highly recommend it if you like thriller/government secrecy and high tech. In this case, a former flame of Kays and still a good friend is found dead under very odd circumstances. She had seen him the day before on his 60th birthday. Sal was a former Nobel prize recipient, a famed scientist a bit of a maverick and he died in a crumbling, abandoned theme park that has a great theme. Those keeping up with the novels know that a dangerous Russian operative who was once involved with Lucy and who was once believed dead is still around and still messing in the extended family group’s lives. Kay is brought into the case to perform the forensic autopsy but on a need to know basis and in a secure, highly secret location. Meanwhile, his death becomes fodder for social media because of how Sal was killed. Also high profile is the death of a young daughter of a powerful, wealthy couple who are less than likable. Did she play with a gun and shoot herself? As usual, what makes a mystery delectable is ruined if too much is shared. Sorry. Not Sorry. Read it!
The Narrator for this audiobook, January LaVoy, is truly one of the best I’ve ever heard and I listen to a LOT of audiobooks.
They Called me Bookworm 