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The Last Precinct (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Last Precinct is a crime novel
by America
n author Patricia Cornwell
, the eleventh in her Dr. Kay Scarpetta
series.
. Cornwell successfully obtained a preliminary injunction
against Sachs. The court ruled that his claims were baseless, and he was prevented from placing the stickers on his book. The court also shut his website down for false advertising and required booksellers to remove the stickers that were already on books.
Sachs left the country so that he could escape the injunction. He continues to charge that Cornwell plagiarized his work and used her influence to subvert justice.
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...
by America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
n author 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:...
, the eleventh in her 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
Following the death of Diane Bray and an apparent attack on Kay Scarpetta by Jean-Baptiste Chandonne in her own house at the end of Black Notice, The Last Precinct concentrates on discovering the full story behind Chandonne's killings. Kay Scarpetta is also under suspicion for the killing of Bray, due to their known rivalry and public confrontations. Torn between a desire to clear her name and the instinct of a wounded animal to turn against even its would-be rescuers, Kay sifts through the forensic evidence that seems to link Chandonne to past events in her life, up to and including the murder of her lover, Benton Wesley. A major new character is Jaime Berger, from the District Attorney's Office in New York, who believes Chandonne killed a woman in New York two years' before his arrival in Virginia. Kay must examine her own fears, misconceptions, and anything-but-altruistic motives to accept working with another competent woman.Characters in "The Last Precinct"
- Kay ScarpettaKay ScarpettaKay 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 - Anna Zenner - Psychiatrist
- Jaime Berger - Prosecutor
- Lucy Farinelli - Kay's niece and co-founder of the Last Precinct
- Pete Marino - Captain in the Richmond Police Department
Major themes
- The police investigation into Kay's secrets
- Kay's own investigation into the so-called Werewolf murderer, Jean-Baptiste Chandonne
Litigation surrounding The Last Precinct
Dr. Leslie Sachs, author of The Virginia Ghost Murders (1998), claimed to see similarities between his novel and Cornwell's novel The Last Precinct. In 2000 he sent letters to Cornwell's publisher, started a page on the World Wide Web, and placed stickers on his novel in order to claim that Cornwell was committing plagiarismPlagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
. Cornwell successfully obtained a preliminary injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
against Sachs. The court ruled that his claims were baseless, and he was prevented from placing the stickers on his book. The court also shut his website down for false advertising and required booksellers to remove the stickers that were already on books.
Sachs left the country so that he could escape the injunction. He continues to charge that Cornwell plagiarized his work and used her influence to subvert justice.