Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The Scarpetta Factor: Scarpetta (Book 17)
    Unavailable
    The Scarpetta Factor: Scarpetta (Book 17)
    Unavailable
    The Scarpetta Factor: Scarpetta (Book 17)
    Audiobook16 hours

    The Scarpetta Factor: Scarpetta (Book 17)

    Written by Patricia Cornwell

    Narrated by Kate Reading

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    From the world's #1 bestselling crime writer comes the extraordinary new Kay Scarpetta novel.

    It is the week before Christmas. A tanking economy has prompted Dr. Kay Scarpetta-despite her busy schedule and her continuing work as the senior forensic analyst for CNN- to offer her services pro bono to New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. In no time at all, her increased visibility seems to precipitate a string of unexpected and unsettling events. She is asked live on the air about the sensational case of Hannah Starr, who has vanished and is presumed dead. Moments later during the same telecast, she receives a startling call-in from a former psychiatric patient of Benton Wesley's. When she returns after the show to the apartment where she and Benton live, she finds an ominous package-possibly a bomb-waiting for her at the front desk. Soon the apparent threat on Scarpetta's life finds her embroiled in a surreal plot that includes a famous actor accused of an unthinkable sex crime and the disappearance of a beautiful millionairess with whom Lucy seems to have shared a secret past.

    Scarpetta's CNN producer wants her to launch a TV show called The Scarpetta Factor. Given the bizarre events already in play, she fears that her growing fame will generate the illusion that she has a "special factor," a mythical ability to solve all her cases. She wonders if she will end up like other TV personalities: her own stereotype.

    The Scarpetta Factor, the seventeenth in the series, finds the familiar cast of characters together again in New York. Marino is working for the NYPD; Benton Wesley uses his forensic psycho­logical expertise at Kirby and Bellevue; and Lucy continues to dazzle with her expertise in forensic computer investigations as she works yet another case with NY prosecutor Jaime Berger.



    Watch a Video

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 20, 2009
    ISBN9781101145784
    Unavailable
    The Scarpetta Factor: Scarpetta (Book 17)
    Author

    Patricia Cornwell

    Patricia Cornwell is recognized as one of the world’s top bestselling crime authors with novels translated into thirty-six languages in more than 120 countries. Her novels have won numerous prestigious awards including the Edgar, the Creasey, the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Prix du Roman d’Aventure. Beyond the Scarpetta series, Patricia has written a definitive book about Jack the Ripper, a biography, and three more fiction series among others. Cornwell, a licensed helicopter pilot and scuba diver, actively researches the forensic technologies that inform her work. She was born in Miami, grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston. 

    More audiobooks from Patricia Cornwell

    Related to The Scarpetta Factor

    Related audiobooks

    Suspense For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    Reviews for The Scarpetta Factor

    3/5

    412 ratings31 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      When you haven't read one in a while you lose track of the relationships that PC has developed between characters over the series.
    • 4/5
      The Scarpetta Factor" opens with Scarpetta doing pro bono work in New York City as well as fulfilling her role as senior forensic analyst for CNN. During her appearance on the CNN show she is asked about details on the ongoing case of Hannah Starr. The complexity of the mystery starts to weave almost immediately. Her husband Benton and her friend Marino are clashing. Her niece Lucy continues to waiver between the gray areas of the law. But all three must work together with Scarpetta as they race to solve this mystery.

      This book still lacks some of the sparkling dialogue of the first books and rehashes old hurts and insults. However, Scarpetta comes off more human somehow as she struggles with the mystery of Hannah Starr, the offer of her own show, her shaky marriage, her injured friendship with Marino, and of course her troubled niece.
    • 1/5
      Recipe for this novel: throw in everything but the kitchen sink, some new items, some from previous books, and some plotlines that apparently took place during previous books but, um, we never actually KNEW about them, shake well, and try to swallow the result. Incomprehensible and very disappointing.
    • 5/5
      the latest in the scarpetta series. you know i read alot and i love to grab a scarpetta book for the escape and pure pleasure of the adventure. if i read anything for the pleasure it would be this series. i don't know why it sticks to you like it does but you're there and you endear most of the characters. just lovely.
    • 3/5
      This was about 100 pages too long. Too much on the emotions that Kay and Benton and Lucy are feeling but not saying. Her books are getting so long -- they need some serious editing to get back to the excellent formula present in her earlier books.
    • 1/5
      took me forever to get through it... read a few others since i started this one... really had to force myself to get to the ending that was such a letdown. let's get some new villains.. and maybe some new lead characters while we're at it!
    • 2/5
      I read/listened to the condensed version and I'm glad I did. Other reviewers say that the book drags on and I believe it. There's a bit of drama near the end, but most is endless palaver. That it's in New York City is even more distressing--she should have stayed in Richmond. There are enough NYC dramas. However, Scarpetta does get into her work and her "family," whether she's the boss or not. There are some plot things wrapped up and some other family excitement occurs; but, overall the book could have been even shorter.
    • 1/5
      I had read this before, but re-read it since I didn't remember. But as I read it, it came back to me, up til the end when it wasn't familiar at all. It's written in third person which I prefer to how she wrote the last two in first person.
    • 4/5
      I was defintely more pleased with this entry in the Scarpetta series than in the past couple I have read. I have gotten out of order somewhere along the way, but aside from some minor annoyances with the whole Lucy/Berger relationship, I was very engaged. I especially liked that the story unfolded in just over 24 hours - I haven't noticed this in the other ones, but I suppose half of them could have been this way for all I remember now! Looking forward now to the book that was just released.
    • 5/5
      the latest in the scarpetta series. you know i read alot and i love to grab a scarpetta book for the escape and pure pleasure of the adventure. if i read anything for the pleasure it would be this series. i don't know why it sticks to you like it does but you're there and you endear most of the characters. just lovely.
    • 1/5
      Audiobook. Okay where's the Scarpetta I fell in love with a few years ago? Is this even the same author? It seemed so full of anger and bitterness seething through all of the characters. I miss the medical forensics from Kay doing autopsies. This seemed much more into psychology and technology. I got curious halfway through and read other reviews to see if it was just me feeling this way, but apparently a lot of people who've read the series get turned off by this one. I'm thinking it may need to be a few years before I forget how downhill the series went before I pick up the next one. Shame too, because I used to love these books.
    • 4/5
      Scarpetta investigates the murder of a jogger found in Central Park in New York City.The plot is well blended together is this book. Although I have been reading this series from the beginning and don't need most of the back story Cornwell does a good job of explaining back story for the new reader. It's very long though which is why it loses a star.
    • 3/5
      The Scarpetta Factor is Patricia Cornwell’s 17th Scarpetta novel. The Scarpetta novels have had a chequered history: they started out consistently good and then went downhill for a while. This one is quite an improvement on those of 5 or 6 years ago. While it’s a bit slow-moving in places, on the whole, it has something like the quality of the first novels. A lot of the subject matter is topical, the CSI bits are better than ever, and the characters have finally matured somewhat: they have gone from acting like self-indulgent and irritating juveniles to reasonably responsible adults, although Lucy could probably do with anger management classes. With regard to the plot, it helps if you can remember what happened around the time of Benton Wesley’s disappearance, but it’s not essential. I enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading the next Scarpetta, Port Mortuary.
    • 3/5
      This book ties up some issues from earlier novels. The Wolfman reappears into the life of Kay. Kay seems to be working nonstop as an analyst for CNN, a consultant for the New York Police Department, and a medical examiner in Massachusetts. In this novel many issues are introduced: financial scams, medical secrecy between doctor and patient, secrets kept by Lucy and Benton, and fraud. As earlier noted, many factors from prior novels are resolved in this novel such as Jean-Baptiste and Warner Agee, a colleague of Benton. I like the sense of hope of the end of the novel. All the characters are flawed and constantly making errors, but they are trying. As usual, Cornwell seems fixated on the Christmas season.
    • 1/5
      The 17th in the Kay Scarpetta series and her books are still disappointing me. They just seem so loose, and quickly written that I don't really enjoy reading them. I keep doing it to see if she makes a comeback! I started to read this one in book form, finally was able to push through and finish it via audio download from the library.Listened to: 04FEB10-11MAR11
    • 1/5
      I used to be a huge Cornwell and Scarpetta fan and the earlier books in the series easily held my interest. Sadly though, as the series has progressed it seems that each book becomes worse and worse in terms of excitement, plot and entertainment value. The Scarpetta factor has reached the bottom of the barrel for me. It was 500 pages of electronic gadgetry with the occasional thin line of a plot attached. To be honest, the only reason i finished this book was because it was a gift. Very disappointing.
    • 4/5
      A longer novel this time full of detail, new electronic gadgets and relationships more fully developed. Scarpetta is involved in a case involved her appearance on a CNN show. Benton has an old client who appears to be in the mix. Marino works through his guilt and Lucy spies on her companion. All this to woven together to provide a good read.
    • 3/5
      Disappointed!I've always enjoyed reading Pat Cornwell's Scarpetta novels, however I must say with deep regret that I was very disappointed with The Scarpetta Factor. In her earlier novels she took the time to develope the characters and create chilling plots, but this story is bland with repetitive themes and dull characters. With all that said, The Scarpetta Factor makes for a depressing read.
    • 1/5
      As with the last Patricia Cornwall book Irea, this was very disappointing. I found excruciatingly long technical descriptions when I was anxious to get on with the story. With a total of 562 pages, this could have been edited to eliminate at least 100 pages without taking away from the story. The basic premise kept me reading, but I would find myself exhausted by the amount of flat detail and put it down to be picked up again.Basically, two women have been kidnapped and tortured to death, and Scarpetta, Benton, Marino and Lucy are trying to see if the murders are linked. Enter shock talkshow host Carley Crispin who stoops to lows to get her inaccurate information, literally skewering Scarpetta on the air. Then there is Lucy's girlfriend DA Berger who is agonizing throughout the book without revealing what Lucy has done to cause this.Enough. The things that caused me to rate this as one star were the unnecessarily tedious descriptive passages and the very disappointing ending. It seemed like all of a sudden this huge volume came to an abrupt halt with contrived situations.Sorry. As an author myself, I know this type of review hurts, but it is my honest opinion. Give me back the Scarpetta novels that had me racing to the the bookstore when a new one came out. Keep it moving faster and let the situations have a ring of reality again. With Benton and Scarpetta married now, I would like them not to be so antagonistic with each other.
    • 4/5
      Another excellent read from Patricia Cornwell. A killer comes back to haunt Benton Wesley via threats on Kays life. A web of evil including a psychiatric patient of Bentons, a news reporter, an actor and Bentons old enemy Warner Agee who was instrumental in causing Wesleys 'lost years' all combine to make this an intriguing case with all the favourite characters included.Personal problems in the lives of the main players add to and complement the main story. A quick read which is excellent for keeping the attention of the reader.
    • 3/5
      Once again it's Kay and Lucy and Benton against the bad guys. Guess who wins?
    • 2/5
      I have read nearly all of the Kay Scarpetta books. I have loved them for years. This one was hugely disappointing. I kept waiting for it to get interesting and really grab me. It never happened. Because I love the Scarpetta books, I forced myself to finish it. This is the first one I have ever "forced" myself to finish. The characters seemed quite dull, compared to previous stories, and the plot never really solidified to me...and I was definitely left wondering what happened to one of the characters. Perhaps it was an attempt at leaving things open ended for another Scarpetta novel, but it really just seemed unfinished. I was definitely disappointed with this one.
    • 4/5
      A very good Kay Scarpetta novel! I found the previous one a little substandard for this series which I have thoroughly enjoyed, so I am glad to have enjoyed this one so much.
    • 1/5
      I think Patricia Cornwell phoned this one in. It's time to put an end to this series. She's run out of good plots (actually I think she ran out a few books ago, but this is a new low).
    • 3/5
      Having not read the Scarpetta books in a while, I found a lot of complicated history to catch up on before I could truly enjoy the Scarpetta character again.
    • 4/5
      Just finished reading "The Scarpetta Factor." I wish that I wasn't so cheap. I get almost all my books from the library and they only let you keep one two weeks if somebody else is waiting for it. So I checked this one out three times over the course of a couple months to finish this book.There is not a whole lot of action in Patricia Cornwell's books but there is lots of tension. She really takes you into the heads of the characters as they try to solve the various murders that come to light. It's just incredible really. I put off reading her for so long because I thought she was just a chick book author. Well my loss, and I've got a big backlog to read.The book is about Doctor Kay Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner, and her posse of assistant district attorneys, detectives, friends, and relatives who chase after evildoers.
    • 2/5
      I have to say this is the first Kay Scarpetta book that I really didn't enjoy. It was a chore just to pick it up and keep reading (and its a LONG book so it took a while). The character of Lucy annoys me and this book didn't help (she's even more annoying); I'm not happy with Marino's character anymore or Benton......I'm wondering if this might be the last of the Scarpetta books for me. I have to say...even Kay annoyed me in this book. Really didn't enjoy this book at all.
    • 1/5
      This is my last Patricia Cornwell book. I stopped reading her books a couple of books ago because I was fed up with her psycho perverted wolfman character. He's back in this book. On top of that, Kay and Benton are bland and boring, Marino whines constantly and a huge part of the book is devoted to Lucy and her troubles. Lucy maybe be brilliant but she is an unlikeable character who is surly and emotionless.
    • 4/5
      Just finished The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell and I have to say it was the best one I have read by her in a long time. Same old familiar cast of characters (Berger, Marino, Scarpetta, Lucy, Benton), lots of layers to the mystery, great forensic detective work, personality clashes, tensions, fun new gadgets, ghosts from the past, and just the right dash of the grisly and macabre. A perfect mix.The plot elements include a missing rich woman, Hanna Starr, and a jogger who was murdered in Central Park, last seen being helped out of a NY yellow taxi. The jogger has an unusual watch on, and even Lucy, the computer whiz, can find no record of the manufacturer. Also, Scarpetta thinks she has been dead for days, yet the dead woman sent a text to her mom and was recently seen going into her apartment. Add to the mix a weird psych patient of Benton's and Scarpetta's missing cell phone...Definitely recommended!
    • 1/5
      Cornwell will continue to sell these books but she has lost her edge. Hundreds of pages to get to two filled with action. I no longer care about these characters and am done. Forever stalked and forever misunderstood. Is there nothing else in your writing arsenal Ms. Cornwell?