The Kay Scarpetta is a Crime Fiction / Forensic Thriller series by Patricia Cornwell, made up of 29 books published between 1990 and 2025. It begins with Postmortem (1990), and is best read in publication order. The most recent entry is Sharp Force (2025), spanning 35 years of storytelling.
Kay Scarpetta series: frequently asked questions
What order should I read the Kay Scarpetta series?
Start with Postmortem (1990), the first book in the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell. Follow the books in publication order for the best reading experience.
How many books are in the Kay Scarpetta series?
There are 29 books in the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell, published between 1990 and 2025.
What is the first book in the Kay Scarpetta series?
The first book in the Kay Scarpetta series is Postmortem, published in 1990 by Patricia Cornwell.
What is the latest book in the Kay Scarpetta series?
The most recent book in the Kay Scarpetta series is Sharp Force (2025) by Patricia Cornwell.
About the Kay Scarpetta series
Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta novels essentially invented the modern forensic thriller. Dr Kay Scarpetta is a brilliant, meticulous medical examiner whose autopsies and lab work crack cases that baffle the police — even as the killers she hunts repeatedly target her and the people she loves.
When the series launched in 1990 it was revolutionary: the science of death investigation, rendered with authority and cold precision, became the engine of the plot. Scarpetta's tangled circle — her tech-genius niece Lucy and investigator Pete Marino — gives the procedural its emotional charge.
Scarpetta's personal life develops continuously, so read in publication order from "Postmortem," which swept the major crime-writing awards. The early-to-mid run is widely regarded as the strongest.