Sharp Force
The nail-biting new Scarpetta thriller for 2025
Published on 7. October 2025
Book
Hardback
400 pages
978-1-4087-2259-6 (ISBN)
Description
SCARPETTA, A BRAND NEW ORIGINAL SERIES, IS NOW ON PRIME VIDEO
NO ONE IS SAFE FROM THE SERIAL KILLER. NOT EVEN SCARPETTA...
During the early hours of Christmas morning, chief medical examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta receives a chilling call. The Phantom Slasher has struck again.
The serial killer has terrorized Northern Virginia for months. His pattern is to stalk with a sophisticated technology that enables him to invade his victims' homes and watch their every move. They wake up to a ghost-like hologram before being murdered in their beds.
Scarpetta is summoned to Mercy Island, the site of a notorious psychiatric hospital where two people have been brutalized, one of them from Scarpetta's past. It soon becomes apparent that she could be next . . .
DON'T MISS TRUE CRIME, PATRICIA CORNWELL'S JAW-DROPPING MEMOIR - AVAILABLE NOW
'In Sharp Force Cornwell is at the very top of her game and Scarpetta is as finely wrought as ever. The research is impeccable as always . . . You are in the hands of a master storyteller. Sit back and prepare to be thrilled' DAVID BALDACCI
'Compelling, grisly and dark, another incredible thriller' THE SUN
'This is vintage Cornwell' THE FINANCIAL TIMES
'Masterfully plotted and utterly addictive' WOMAN'S OWN
NO ONE IS SAFE FROM THE SERIAL KILLER. NOT EVEN SCARPETTA...
During the early hours of Christmas morning, chief medical examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta receives a chilling call. The Phantom Slasher has struck again.
The serial killer has terrorized Northern Virginia for months. His pattern is to stalk with a sophisticated technology that enables him to invade his victims' homes and watch their every move. They wake up to a ghost-like hologram before being murdered in their beds.
Scarpetta is summoned to Mercy Island, the site of a notorious psychiatric hospital where two people have been brutalized, one of them from Scarpetta's past. It soon becomes apparent that she could be next . . .
DON'T MISS TRUE CRIME, PATRICIA CORNWELL'S JAW-DROPPING MEMOIR - AVAILABLE NOW
'In Sharp Force Cornwell is at the very top of her game and Scarpetta is as finely wrought as ever. The research is impeccable as always . . . You are in the hands of a master storyteller. Sit back and prepare to be thrilled' DAVID BALDACCI
'Compelling, grisly and dark, another incredible thriller' THE SUN
'This is vintage Cornwell' THE FINANCIAL TIMES
'Masterfully plotted and utterly addictive' WOMAN'S OWN
Reviews / Votes
PRAISE FOR UNNATURAL DEATH * - * A chilling, thrilling, macabre masterpiece. Unnatural Death is Patricia Cornwell at her mesmerising finest. The best just got better -- CHRIS WHITAKER Sinister, surprising and utterly unputdownable. Cornwell at her brilliant best -- M. J. ARLIDGE Classic Cornwell with an up-to-the-minute twenty-first-century plot - an intoxicating blend that proves Scarpetta is still queen of the autopsy and Cornwell is still queen of crime fiction. An utterly thrilling roller coaster ride -- ANDREA MARA An especially good entry in the series * BOOKLIST * PRAISE FOR PATRICIA CORNWELL * - * One of the best crime writers writing today * GUARDIAN * Astonishing . . . Thirty years on, there's still no other crime writer like her * SUNDAY TIMES * The top gun in this field * DAILY TELEGRAPH * America's most stimulating and chilling writer of crime fiction * THE TIMES * Forget the pretenders. Cornwell reigns * MIRROR * A pioneer of the genre of forensic psychological thriller * BBC * The Agatha Christie of the DNA age * EXPRESS * The queen of the forensic thriller * MAIL ON SUNDAY * Cutting-edge * SUN * When it comes to forensic sciences, nobody can touch Cornwell * NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW * Slick, fast-paced and brilliant * HEAT * PRAISE FOR PATRICIA CORNWELL -- - Thirty years on, there's still no other crime writer like her * SUNDAY TIMES * One of the best crime writers writing today * GUARDIAN * Cornwell really is in a league of her own * HEAT * One of the all-time greats of this genre * SUN * Forget the pretenders. Cornwell reigns * MIRROR * The top gun in this field * DAILY TELEGRAPH * America's most stimulating and chilling writer of crime fiction * THE TIMES * The Agatha Christie of the DNA age * EXPRESS * The queen of the forensic thriller * MAIL ON SUNDAY * In Sharp Force Cornwell is at the very top of her game and Scarpetta is as finely wrought as ever. The research is as impeccable as always . . . You are in the hands of a master storyteller. Sit back and prepare to be thrilled -- DAVID BALDACCI Compelling, grisly and dark, another incredible thriller * THE SUN * This is vintage Cornwell * FINANCIAL TIMES * A masterfully plotted and utterly addictive crime thriller * WOMAN'S OWN * With Cornwell's signature forensic detail and intense pacing, this latest instalment is a must read * YOURS MAGAZINE * A brisk, kaleidoscopic thriller * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY * Expert pacing and psychologically nuanced and complex characters * LIBRARY JOURNAL * Slick, ghoulish, and a reliable stocking-filler for crime fiction lovers * SYDNEY MORNING HERALD *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 243 mm
Width: 167 mm
Thickness: 40 mm
Weight
616 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4087-2259-6 (9781408722596)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2025
Sphere
€10.99
Available for download
Person
In 1990, Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, while working at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. An auspicious debut, it went on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity Awards, as well as the French Prix du Roman d'Aventures - the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. Growing into an international phenomenon, the Scarpetta series won Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development.
Today, Cornwell's novels and iconic characters are known around the world. Beyond the Scarpetta series, Cornwell has written the definitive nonfiction account of Jack the Ripper's identity, cookbooks, a children's book, a biography of Ruth Graham, and three other fictional series based on the characters Win Garano, Andy Brazil, and Captain Callie Chase. Cornwell continues exploring the latest space-age technologies and threats relevant to contemporary life. Her interests range from the morgue to artificial intelligence and include visits to Interpol, the Pentagon, the U.S. Secret Service and NASA.
Cornwell was born in Miami. She grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston.
Today, Cornwell's novels and iconic characters are known around the world. Beyond the Scarpetta series, Cornwell has written the definitive nonfiction account of Jack the Ripper's identity, cookbooks, a children's book, a biography of Ruth Graham, and three other fictional series based on the characters Win Garano, Andy Brazil, and Captain Callie Chase. Cornwell continues exploring the latest space-age technologies and threats relevant to contemporary life. Her interests range from the morgue to artificial intelligence and include visits to Interpol, the Pentagon, the U.S. Secret Service and NASA.
Cornwell was born in Miami. She grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston.