Postmortem: the book that revolutionized the police genre.

Postmortem, the first book in the series starring Dr. Kay Scarpetta, an expert in forensic medicine who faces the most difficult and chilling cases. It was published in 1990 and was the literary debut of Patricia Cornwell, an American journalist and writer who was inspired by her own experience as a crime reporter and assistant in the Virginia medical examiner's office. With this book, Cornwell not only launched her career as a novelist, but she also revolutionized the detective genre, introducing elements of science, technology and medicine that gave a touch of realism and rigor to her stories.

The plot of Postmortem focuses on a series of murders of women that take place in Richmond, Virginia, and that seem to be the work of the same criminal. The murderer always acts on Saturdays, at dawn, and leaves very few clues at the crime scenes. Dr. Kay Scarpetta, head of the city's Forensic Medicine department, is in charge of examining the bodies and looking for evidence that can help identify and capture the culprit. However, her job will not be easy, as she will have to deal with pressure from the media, hostility from some of her colleagues, and the threat of the killer targeting her.

Postmortem is a novel that captures you from the first page and keeps you in suspense until the end. Cornwell creates an atmosphere of tension and intrigue that makes you feel as if you are inside the investigation, accompanying Scarpetta in her analysis, her hypotheses, and her discoveries. The author also manages to create complex and believable characters, with their strengths and weaknesses, their conflicts and their emotions. She especially highlights the figure of Scarpetta, an intelligent, brave and professional woman, who has made her way in a world dominated by men and who has become a reference for many readers.

It is, without a doubt, an essential book for lovers of the police genre, and the beginning of a saga that has 19 more titles, all of them starring the unforgettable Kay Scarpetta. If you want to immerse yourself in the universe of Patricia Cornwell, don't hesitate and start with Postmortem, the book that changed the way of writing and reading about crime.

• Free Download: All Books