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Cruel and Unusual (A Dr. Kay Scarpetta mystery)
 
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Cruel and Unusual (A Dr. Kay Scarpetta mystery) (Paperback)

by Patricia Cornwell (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
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Frequently Bought Together

Cruel and Unusual (A Dr. Kay Scarpetta mystery) + All That Remains (A Dr. Kay Scarpetta mystery) + Body of Evidence (A Dr. Kay Scarpetta mystery)
Price For All Three: £15.97

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Product details

  • Paperback: 437 pages
  • Publisher: Sphere; New edition edition (13 April 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0751530441
  • ISBN-13: 978-0751530445
  • Product Dimensions: 17.8 x 10.8 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 7,521 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #5 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Authors, A-Z > C > Cornwell, Patricia > Scarpetta
    #5 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Authors, A-Z > C > Cornwell, Patricia > Complete List

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Product Description

Review
'The Agatha Christie of the DNA age' Express 'Perhaps the first entirely credible woman sleuth, Scarpetta is closest to Sherlock Holmes in relying entirely on her brain rather than breaks or brawn to solve baffling cases' Independent

Product Description
The fingerprints say the murderer is the man who's just been executed ...At 11.05 one December evening in Richmond, Virginia, convicted murderer Ronnie Joe Waddell is pronounced dead in the electric chair. At the morgue Dr Kay Scarpetta waits for Waddell's body. Preparing to perform a post-mortem before the subject is dead is a strange feeling, but Scarpetta has been here before. And Waddell's death is not the only newsworthy event on this freezing night: the grotesquely wounded body of a young boy is found propped against a rubbish skip. To Scarpetta the two cases seem unrelated, until she recalls that the body of Waddell's victim had been arranged in a strikingly similar position ...For more about Patricia Cornwell and her books visit her website at www.patricia-cornwell.com

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Cruel and Unusual (A Dr. Kay Scarpetta mystery)
80% buy the item featured on this page:
Cruel and Unusual (A Dr. Kay Scarpetta mystery) 4.2 out of 5 stars (12)
£4.99
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Body of Evidence (A Dr. Kay Scarpetta mystery)
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Body of Evidence (A Dr. Kay Scarpetta mystery) 4.2 out of 5 stars (13)
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All That Remains (A Dr. Kay Scarpetta mystery)
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All That Remains (A Dr. Kay Scarpetta mystery) 4.2 out of 5 stars (12)
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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Cruel and Unusual, 23 Jan 2005
By Rich Milligan (Thatcham, Berkshire) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
This is the forth of the Dr Kay Scarpetta novels and they just get better and better. Certainly this is the book with the most political intrigue and career back-stabbing in it and we see for perhaps the first time Dr Scarpetta more than just a pathologist, but as a political figure to be used by others.

The "thriller" part of the book is as good as ever, with a great twisty-turny ride through the plot and a cunning surprise around every corner. The characterisations are a brilliant as ever, and the Scarpetta - Marino interplay is just fantastic.<POn the plus side this book sees a couple of good new characters appearing, including the lawyer Nicholas Grueman who I certainly hope we'll meet again.

Great book!

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A book that 'grabs' you from start to finish., 26 Aug 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: CRUEL AND UNUSUAL. (Paperback)
I have read all the previous Scarpetta stories and I certainly wasn't disappointed when I came to this book. From the moment I picked it up the story had me guessing just who was doing what to Kay Scarpetta. Patricia Cornwell had you guessing as to who was involved in the murders and when you thought you had an idea of where she was going with the story she turned it on its head and surprised you. The fact that while solving cases the book also shows Kay's private life and follows on from the previous books makes her more believable and human. The only disappointment that I found with the book was a bit of repetiveness on the lack of security with her office - this was also the case in a couple of other stories in the series. This part I cannot find totally believable as I know how secure medical computers are. One security leak yes, three or four, no. On the whole this book is like the other Kay Scarpetta books - A VERY GOOD READ.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A thriller with twists., 17 Aug 2006
By Angellica (Derbyshire, England) - See all my reviews
Although not quite as good as her earlier books this still makes for a scintillating crime novel. With twists and turns galore this book takes you on an enjoyable journey.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Cruel and Unusual (A Dr. Kay Scarpetta Mystery)
This was excellent. I would recommend that everyone read all her books. I feel that I have died now as she has stop writing Dr. Scarpetta Mystery.
Published 5 months ago by Debra Raw

4.0 out of 5 stars Another good entry in the Scarpetta series
This is Patricia Cornwell's 4th installment of the highly acclaimed Kay Scarpetta series. It's a good enough read but im starting to find the whole 'Kay is to blame' route a bit... Read more
Published 11 months ago by molko

5.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of Twists and Turns
First off, let me say that although all of Cornwell's thrillers stand alone, it's better if you read them in the order they were written. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Katie Osborne

5.0 out of 5 stars Unusual and Wow!
Ever since I started to read Patricia Cornwell`s books I know that I need to expect the unexpected. Without labelling it. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Lena

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great read!
I have bought all the Scarpetta books and have read the first 7 in less than 2 weeks - that's how great they are. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Marley T

5.0 out of 5 stars CAN'T PUT DOWN
BEING A FIRST TIME READER OF PATRICIA CORNWELL I HAPPENED TO
INHERIT A COPY OF CRUEL AND UNUSUAL FROM MY MOTHER DURING A
HOSPITAL STAY AND NEEDLESS TO SAY THE HOURS AND DAYS... Read more
Published on 26 Nov 2003 by STEVE FORD

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Believe me when I tell you I'm a Cornwell fan. I've read the first three Scarpetta novels and looked forward to this one. Read more
Published on 28 Nov 2002

3.0 out of 5 stars a great read but disappointing
This was the first of her books i'd read and generally enjoyed the experience. Is is a well written piece of work with lots of quirks and turns alwasy keeping you guessing, which... Read more
Published on 16 Mar 2001 by eddie_ross@lineone.net

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping! Couldn't put it down.
If you like crime mysteries, this one is for you. This book had me gripped with suspense but couldn't work out who was the murderer. Read more
Published on 7 April 1999

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