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Unnatural Exposure (novel)
Encyclopedia
Unnatural Exposure is a crime fiction
novel by Patricia Cornwell
. It is the eighth book in the Dr. Kay Scarpetta
series. The story is set in Richmond, Virginia
and Ireland
.
Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta
has a bloody puzzle on her hands: five headless, limbless cadavers in Ireland
, plus four similar victims in a landfill back home. Is a serial butcher loose in Virginia? That's what the panicked public thinks, thanks to a local TV reporter who got the leaked news from Scarpetta's rival, Investigator Percy Ring. But this is no run-of-the-mill serial killer. A shadowy figure has plans involving mutant smallpox
, mass murder, and messing with Scarpetta's mind by e-mailing her gory photos of the murder scenes, along with cryptic AOL chat-room messages. Central to the plot is the case of Janet Parker
, the last person known to have died of smallpox
, which she contracted in 1978 due to a lab accident in Birmingham
, England
, after the disease was eradicated in the wild. Cornwell makes the villain a junior employee of the lab at the time who was made a scapegoat
for the accident and whose career was blighted as a result. This provides the plot with a credible source for the virus and a motive for the central crime.
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 eighth 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. The story is set in 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...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Plot summary
VirginiaVirginia
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...
Chief Medical Examiner 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.-...
has a bloody puzzle on her hands: five headless, limbless cadavers in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, plus four similar victims in a landfill back home. Is a serial butcher loose in Virginia? That's what the panicked public thinks, thanks to a local TV reporter who got the leaked news from Scarpetta's rival, Investigator Percy Ring. But this is no run-of-the-mill serial killer. A shadowy figure has plans involving mutant smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, mass murder, and messing with Scarpetta's mind by e-mailing her gory photos of the murder scenes, along with cryptic AOL chat-room messages. Central to the plot is the case of Janet Parker
Janet Parker
Janet Parker was the last known person to die from smallpox. She was a medical photographer and worked in the Anatomy Department of the University of Birmingham Medical School. Parker died after being accidentally exposed to a strain of smallpox virus that was grown in a research laboratory, on...
, the last person known to have died of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, which she contracted in 1978 due to a lab accident in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, after the disease was eradicated in the wild. Cornwell makes the villain a junior employee of the lab at the time who was made a scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
for the accident and whose career was blighted as a result. This provides the plot with a credible source for the virus and a motive for the central crime.
Characters in Unnatural Exposure
- 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. - Benton Wesley - FBI Profiler. Head of the Child Abduction Serial Killer Unit.
- Lucy Farinelli - Kay's niece, an FBI agent. Technical expert attached to Engineering Research Facility (ERF) and Hostage Rescue Team (HRT).
- Pete Marino - Commander of the RichmondRichmond, VirginiaRichmond 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's homicide squad. - Keith Pleasants - Landfill worker who discovered unidentified vic. Constantly harassed by Inspector Percy Ring, who thinks he is the killer of the unidentified woman, which is untrue.
- Inspector Percy Ring - Nephew to the secretary of public safety in Virginia. Pretentious man who always jumps to conclusions with dubious allegations, just so he can solve his cases. His aim is to climb higher in the police hierarchy, with no real dedication to police work.
Victims
- Unnamed White Female - Aged sixty-five to eighty. Mother of Phyllis Crowder. She was decapitated low on the cervical spine, arms and legs severed. She had been dismembered by cutting straight through the strong bones of the humerusHumerusThe humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow....
and femurFemurThe femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
. Probably hit in the head that resulted in a basilar skull fracture. It was later discovered she was infected with a smallpox-like virus, before being killed, and she was just a 'copycat' killing to the five unidentified victims in Dublin, Ireland and the four unidentified victims in Virginia. - Lila Pruitt - White female. Found in bed at her home in Tangier Island. She was covered with pustules, gray and hard like pearls, her toothless mouth caved in, and dyed red hair wild. Also killed by a mutant smallpox virus.
- Unnamed Mother and Daughter - Killed by a mutant smallpox virus. Also lives in Tangier Island.
- Unnamed Male - Broke in to Phyllis Crowder's smallpox lab and killed by a shotgun at close range.
- Wingo - Kay's lab assistant. Killed by smallpox mutant when Phyllis Crowder delivered a smallpox contaminated facial spray to his house. He was HIV positive.
Other deaths
- Five Unidentified victims in Dublin, Ireland - Their spines were cut horizontally through the caudal aspect of the fifth cervical vertebralCervical vertebraeIn vertebrates, cervical vertebrae are those vertebrae immediately inferior to the skull.Thoracic vertebrae in all mammalian species are defined as those vertebrae that also carry a pair of ribs, and lie caudal to the cervical vertebrae. Further caudally follow the lumbar vertebrae, which also...
body. Arms and legs severed through the joints. Victims are a racial mix, estimated ages between eighteen and thirty-five. Heads and limbs were never found, and all were discovered in private landfills. - Four Unidentified victims in Virginia - Modus operandi of killer same as Dublin cases. Varied races.
- Dr Phyllis Crowder - EnglishEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
microbiologistMicrobiologyMicrobiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
at the Medical College of Virginia. She used to be a junior staff at the BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
labs which held the smallpox virus samples back in 1978. She was held responsible for the death of a scientist due to exposure to smallpox. She began plotting her revenge by splicing monkeypoxMonkeypoxMonkeypox also known as cockpox is an exotic infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. The disease was first identified in laboratory monkeys, hence its name, but in its natural state it seems to infect rodents more often than primates...
with smallpox, just so she can take her revenge. She died 21 days after she was arrested.