Autopsy is the 25th installment of the Kay Scarpetta novels. It came out in 2021, and it was the last book I read that year. I didn’t review it then, and I had to reread it to review it now, because I’d forgotten so much of it.

Forensic pathologist Scarpetta has returned to a former position, Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia. Her husband, Benton Wesley, is now a forensic psychologist with the Secret Service. Readers who have ever worked for an incompetent boss will sympathize with Scarpetta, whose predecessor was a former student of hers (and a poor one at that) and is now her superior.

In the course of the novel, Kay conducts three autopsies (two carried out under her direction by two astronauts in space in a secret orbiting laboratory) and revisits one done during her absence (that was ruled an accidental death but she suspects was actually a murder). The deaths are all connected, and the plot is complex and multi-layered.

To make matters worse, early on, Kay is almost killed when she tastes a wine that was gifted to her by the Secretary General of Interpol, with whom she had a meeting months ago.

Other beloved characters in the series also figure prominently in the book. Pete Marino, Kay’s former police officer/investigative partner, and his wife, who is Kay’s sister Dorothy, have also moved nearby. Kay hires Marino as a consultant to assist her with her investigations, and they fall back into their comfortable collaborative work relationship.

Dorothy’s daughter, Lucy, lives in Kay’s guesthouse. Lucy is a computer genius, a master of all things technological, and works in some capacity for the government, but I can’t figure out for which agency, maybe the Secret Service, like Benton. Sadly, Lucy’s partner Janet and their son Desi died during the Covid-19 pandemic, and Lucy spends hours on the computer consulting an AI entity with Janet’s image.

There’s a lot going on in this book — corporate espionage, experiments in space, an annoying television reporter who keeps hounding Kay, the murder from months ago that Kay’s boss does not want her to investigate, and by Chapters 37 and 38, Kay mistrusts her own abilities as an investigator. Is she on the wrong track? What is she missing?

As in many of Cornwell’s books, the action covers only a few days. Kay’s work is exhausting. It’s interesting to see how Kay conducts her investigations.

Cornwell has independently studied forensics in depth. She actually worked at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia for 6 years, first as a technical writer and then as a computer analyst. Her experience and detailed research make the work that Kay, Benton, Marino, and Lucy do seem true to life.

I’m a little disappointed with the ending, because two of the murders were perpetrated by a character whom I did not notice in the book. I feel a little cheated. However, Autopsy was still a worthwhile read, even the second time through. Someday I’m going to go back and reread the entire series from beginning to end.