Black Notice

“As in the nine Scarpettas past here it’s not the novel’s events, startling as they are, that propel the story so much as the deep-hearted responses of Kay, as real a hero as any in thriller fiction, to the ‘evil’—her word—that threatens…A thunderhead of disquietude hangs over this compulsively readable novel…but to Cornwell’s considerable credit, the unease arises ultimately not from the steady potential for violence but from a more profound horror: the vulnerability of a good woman like Kay to a world beset by the corrupt, the cruel, the demonic.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A brilliantly paced adventure.” —Kirkus Reviews

“This novel focuses on the features that made Cornwell’s earliest novels so interesting—the slow unraveling of a mystery using Scarpetta’s skill and intelligence…and fans of her work should enjoy it immensely. Recommended for public libraries and popular reading collections.” —Library Journal

“Reader Kate Reading…gives her usually low-key characterization of the usually low-key Scarpetta just the right edge as flashes of despair threaten to overtake her controlled life. Although Reading thoroughly becomes Scarpetta through her expert narration, she has other strengths as well. Her interpretation of each minor character—some appearing only once or twice—breathes life into individuals who, in the hands of a less competent reader, would otherwise blend and vanish from memory.” —Library Journal (audio review)

“When it comes to the forensic sciences, nobody can touch Cornwell.” —New York Times Book Review, praise for the author