"Gripping, intelligent, and utterly unflinching, Cornwell hasn’t lost her edge; if anything, Scarpetta’s scalpel is sharper than ever."
A sexually violent psychopath is terrorising northern Virginia, using sophisticated technology to stalk and invade his victims’ homes. Before they die, they are introduced to a ghostly hologram. No fingerprints, no DNA, no witnesses. Only horror.
The Slasher is causing havoc. Frenzied. Brutal. Savage havoc. As the violence escalates, Scarpetta is summoned to Mercy Island, the home of a notorious former psychiatric hospital, where two people have been brutally attacked.
In this, the 29th outing for Cornwell’s legendary heroine, Kay Scarpetta, Cornwell proves she’s still the master of forensic crime fiction. The book opens with Scarpetta elbow-deep in what the cops call a “floater” - the decomposed remains of Rowdy O’Leary pulled from the Potomac. It’s an opening that perfectly sets the tone: gritty, graphic, and grounded in Cornwell’s deep forensic expertise.
The re-examination of Mercy Island exposes both the brutality of the past and the terror of the present. Cornwell’s scene-setting is exceptional. We are under no illusion about the horror that lies on Scarpetta’s autopsy tables or the darkness lurking within human nature.
Scarpetta’s world feels as vivid and familiar as ever against a landscape of terror, professional pressure, political interference, and simmering family tension.
The Slasher’s methods - signal jammers, holograms, stealth drones - are chillingly plausible in an age of smart homes and surveillance. This is a novel that doesn’t shy away from the graphic or the gruesome — the scenes are horrific, yet always purposeful. Cornwell’s and Scarpetta’s control and precision anchor the chaos.
Long-time fans will feel like they’re in conversation with old friends. I found myself talking back to the book, utterly invested in Scarpetta’s world once more. She’s a legend. Fastidious, steadfast, relentless. And one I’d wholeheartedly want in my corner when the darkness closes in.
| Primary Genre | Crime and Mystery |
| Other Genres: |
During the early hours of Christmas morning, chief medical examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta receives a chilling call. The Phantom Slasher has struck again.
The serial killer has terrorized Northern Virginia for months. His pattern is to stalk with a sophisticated technology that enables him to invade his victims' homes and watch their every move. They wake up to a ghost-like hologram before being murdered in their beds.
Scarpetta is summoned to Mercy Island, the site of a notorious psychiatric hospital where two people have been brutalized, one of them from Scarpetta's past. It soon becomes apparent that she could be next . . .
Sharp Force features in the following genres: Crime and Mystery, Thriller and Suspense
Sharp Force is available in Hardback
Sharp Force was written by Patricia Cornwell and published by Sphere an imprint of Little, Brown
Sharp Force has 384 pages
Yes it is part of Scarpetta Series series
£19.80
