Patricia Cornwell, Red Mist shows the ugly and depraved side of the human psyche.
Inside the Cover
Kay Scarpetta receives an invitation from an inmate of the Georgia Prison for Women. Kay, against the advice of her husband and others, is determined to meet this woman who may have the answers to the murder of Jack Fielding and her attempted murder.
Her journey to Georgia does not go as planned. Scarpetta rented a car but ended up driving broken down van, which may not make it to her destination. Why the mix-up? Her hotel reservation has also been mysteriously cancelled.
Tara Grimm is the Warden of the prison and seems know more about Kay’s visit to the prison including her emails. Why?
The woman Kay is going to meet is Kathleen Lawler. She has been in and out of prison since her first incarceration 30- years earlier for seducing a twelve-year old boy with whom she had a love child. She is now on death row. A move that Grimm felt was necessary to protect Kathleen from another inmate; this inmate is charged for the brutal slaying of a family nine years earlier and is scheduled to be executed.
During the conversation with Kathleen, Kay hears more than what she bargained for; she becomes privy to botched up executions and mysterious deaths of inmates who reside on death row. Kay learns that an inmate, Lola Daggette, is on death row and is awaiting execution for the killing a well respected Jordan family. She is the same inmate that may be a threat to Kathleen. Kay leans more about the circumstances surrounding the birth of Kathleen’s daughter and serial killer Dawn Kincaid. During this conversation, Kathleen alludes to another baby. It was said in passing, but it stuck inside Kay’s memory to be retrieved for a later time.
Kay does find out more information about Fielding, who was shot in the head by his illegitimate daughter and love child Dawn Kincaid. She also learns more about his odd and self-destructive behavior. Jack almost destroyed Kay’s lab and betrayed her trust. As Kay gets up to leave, Kathleen flicks her note that may or may not have been captured on camera. Even if it was, Kay is not stopped by the guards or the warden when she leaves the prison. The note is from Jamie Berger, Lucy’s lover and New York District Attorney. How does she know Kay is in Savannah?
Jamie Berger has moved to Savannah and has enlisted the aid of Kay’s investigator, Pete Marino. The why is slowly revealed during the evening of dinner and conversation at Jamie’s home. Kay learns that Pete has been thinking of going private; Jamie has left her post with the New York District Office and has changed sides. She is in Savannah to advocate for Lola Daggette who Jamie believes has been wrongly accused for killing the Jordan family. The only evidence against Lola is the bloody clothes she was seen washing in her shower at the half-way home she was staying at.
Kay finally sees that her trip to Savannah was orchestrated by Jamie and Pete who wanted Kay to help find the realer killer and help Jamie exonerate Lola Daggette. She also learns that her car and hotel reservations were cancelled by Pete and Jamie all part of their scheme.
During the investigation of finding the real killer of the Jordan family, Kathleen mysteriously chokes to death in her cell. This is the same way that Barrie Lou Rivers died. She was on death row and was scheduled to be executed but choked to death on a tuna fish sandwich, the same way her customers died. And then Jamie Berger dies mysteriously.
Someone is using a toxin to kill unsuspecting people who all seem to be connected to the Jordan family, and is setting up Kay Scarpetta to take the fall. Will she be next? Kay and her team race against the clock to find a serial killer before another one dies.
Other Books by Patricia Cornwell
Patricia Cornwell’s books have been translated into thirty-six languages and have been sold across fifty countries. She is an international best-selling Author.
The Scarpetta Factor Scarpetta The Front Black Notice Point of Origin At Risk Predator The Body Farm
Zebeen A. Panju - Writing is my passion. I also love reading, and thus have combined the two and write book reviews as part of my repertoire. I have been ...
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