Cause of Death is a crime fiction

Crime fiction

Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...

 novel by Patricia Cornwell

Patricia Cornwell

Patricia Cornwell is a contemporary American crime writer. She is widely known for writing a popular series of novels featuring the heroine Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a medical examiner.-Early life:...

. It is the seventh book in the Dr. Kay Scarpetta

Kay Scarpetta

Kay Scarpetta is a fictional character and protagonist in a series of crime novels written by Patricia Cornwell. The character is based on former Virginia Chief Medical Examiner Marcella Fierro, MD. The series is noted for the use of recent forensic technology in Scarpetta's investigations.-...

 series.

Plot summary

New Year's Eve and the final murder scene of Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

's bloodiest year takes Scarpetta thirty feet below the Elizabeth River's icy surface. Dr. Scarpetta receives a phone call reporting the death of investigative reporter Ted Eddings, who was found dead in diving gear amongst the Navy's mothball fleet. Was Eddings probing the frigid depths of the inactive shipyard for a story, or simply diving for sunken trinkets—and why did Scarpetta receive the phone call reporting the death before the police were notified? The case leads Scarpetta, her niece Lucy, and police captain Pete Marino into a terrorist plot that threatens thousands of lives.

Characters in "Cause of Death"

• Kay Scarpetta
  Kay Scarpetta
  Kay Scarpetta is a fictional character and protagonist in a series of crime novels written by Patricia Cornwell. The character is based on former Virginia Chief Medical Examiner Marcella Fierro, MD. The series is noted for the use of recent forensic technology in Scarpetta's investigations.-...
  
  - Chief Medical Examiner
• Lucy Farinelli - Kay's niece
• Pete Marino - Police Captain in the Richmond
  Richmond, Virginia
  Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
  
   Police Department.
• Benton Wesley - Kay's love interest, despite being married. FBI profiler. He was the unit chief of the Bureau's Criminal Investigative Analysis Program (CIAP).
• Dr. Phillip Mant - Forensic pathologist and Kay's deputy chief for the Tidewater District
  Tidewater region of Virginia
  The Tidewater region of Virginia is the eastern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia formally known as Hampton Roads. The term tidewater may be correctly applied to all portions of any area, including Virginia, where the water level is affected by the tides...
  
  .
• Captain Green - Naval Investigative Service. Described by Kay as "typical of weak people with power or rank. He had done his best to scare me off, and when that had accomplished nothing he had decided we would be friends.

Victims

• Ted Eddings - Thirty-two years old, brown hair, blue eyes. An award-winning investigative reporter for the Associated Press
  Associated Press
  The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
  
  . Kay referred to him as "never been shy or passive during professional encounters" and finds him quite confident and charming. His body was found in the Elizabeth River
  Elizabeth River (Virginia)
  The Elizabeth River is a tidal estuary forming an arm of Hampton Roads harbor at the southern end of Chesapeake Bay in southeast Virginia in the United States. It is located along the southern side of the mouth of the James River, between the cities of Portsmouth and Norfolk...
  
  , tethered to a compressor which pumps surface breathing air down to him. He was killed by breathing in cyanide gas through the compressor.
• Danny Webster - Dr. Mant's morgue assistant. He "was in his early twenties and still lived with his family. "Lithe and graceful, he looked like a young Cherokee
  Cherokee
  The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
  
   with a brilliant grin." He was found on Libby Hill Park, Richmond, Virginia
  Richmond, Virginia
  Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
  
  , in a secluded area called Sugar Bottom, half on his back, half on his side in an awkward tangle of arms and legs. A large puddle of blood was beneath his head. He was killed by a single gunshot to the head, using a special type of ammunition called a Black Talon
  Black Talon
  Black Talon is a type of ammunition that was introduced by Winchester Ammunition in 1991 primarily for law enforcement and self-defense. This hollow-point ammunition became known for its bullet's unique construction and sharp petal shape after expansion following impact with tissue or other wet media...
  
  .

Other Deaths

• Joel Hand - Leader of the New Zionists. He fell into the water used to cool the nuclear assemblies in the power station. Unable to swim, he swallowed a huge amount of radioactive water, which led to multiple organ failure.

External links

• Publication history and critical reaction.