Port Mortuary by Patricia Cornwell 496 pages

Once again, in writing “Port Mortuary”, Patricia Cornwell pulls her characters together and weaves a story of suspense and intrigue. There are times of uncertainty and second guessing that Cornwell is known for incorporating into her stories. For six months, Kay Scarpetta has been at Dover Air Force Base for training while her newly opened Cambridge Forensics Center in Massachusetts is being run by Fielding, her assistant and long-time employee. Kay is rushed back to Boston because a murder victim is found in the morgue refrigerator with several liters of blood on the floor. Benton, her husband is working with the FBI on several levels and Kay is being left out of the loop. Kay does what is natural for her. She begins investigating. As she finds anomalies she categorizes them. She searches for her missing assistant and finds disturbing evidence of either betrayal or a disintegration of Fielding’s psychological person. Kay flashes back to her past and has to come to terms with a decision she made decades before that went against her ethics. “Port Mortuary” is the next installment in the series of adventures for Kay and Benton and their extended family.