Patricia Cornwell

===Scarpetta series===
{{main|Kay Scarpetta}}
The Scarpetta novels include a great deal of detail on [[forensic science]]. The initial resolution to the mystery is found in the forensic investigation of the murder victim's corpse, although Scarpetta does considerably more field investigation and confrontation with suspects than real-life medical examiners.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/kay-scarpetta/|title=Kay Scarpetta|date=September 20, 2016|website=Book Series in Order|access-date=June 28, 2019}}</ref> The novels generally climax with action scenes in which Scarpetta and her associates confront, or are confronted by, the killer or killers, usually concluding with the death of the killer. The novels are considered to have influenced the development of popular [[TV series]] on forensics, both fictional, such as ''[[CSI: Crime Scene Investigation]]'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/flesh-and-blood-a-fascina_b_6145366|title=Flesh and Blood: A Fascinating Talk With Patricia Cornwell|last1=Rubinstein|first1=Mark|date=November 12, 2014|website=HuffPost|language=en|access-date=June 28, 2019}}</ref> and documentaries, such as ''[[Cold Case Files]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/best-selling-crime-novelist-patricia-cornwell-is-born|title=Best-selling crime novelist Patricia Cornwell is born|website=HISTORY|language=en|access-date=June 28, 2019}}</ref>

Other significant themes in the Scarpetta novels include health, individual safety and security, food, family, and the emerging sexual self-discovery of Scarpetta's niece. Often, conflicts and secret manipulations by Scarpetta's colleagues and staff are involved in the story-line and make the murder cases more complex. Although scenes from the novels take place in a variety of locations around the United States and (less commonly) internationally, they center around the city of [[Richmond, Virginia]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.howtoread.me/kay-scarpetta-reading-order/|title=Kay Scarpetta Reading Order: How to read Patricia Cornwell books?|date=September 27, 2017|website=How To Read Me|language=en-US|access-date=June 28, 2019}}</ref>

There are two marked style shifts in the Scarpetta novels. Starting from ''The Last Precinct'' (2000), the style changes from [[past tense]] to [[present tense]]. Starting from ''Blow Fly'' (2003), the style changes from a [[First-person narrative|first person]] to a [[Third-person narrative|third person]], omniscient, narrator. Events are even narrated from the viewpoint of the murderers. Before ''Blow Fly'' the events are seen through Scarpetta's eyes only, and other points of view only appear in letters that Scarpetta reads.

Cornwell shifted back to a first-person perspective in the Scarpetta novel ''Port Mortuary'' (2010).