Kay Scarpetta is Patricia Cornwall's main character. She's a forensic pathologist (who's bit of a smarty pants) who, in this series of books has been based in Richmond VA, Charleston NC and now Watertown MA.

In this book she's brought into a case in New York where it looks like a "little person" with OCD has been killed by her boyfriend (who is little too). The question is did he do it or was someone else involved?

The criticisms I've had of Cornwall's recent books tend to focus on the fact that Scarpetta and her team are beyond "brilliantly intelligent" and have morals so impeccable that the characters become irritating to know.

There is less of this now. Sure they're still a little to moral (they've never said anything unkind to anyone, despite being investigators of some of the most horrific things) but you're a lot less inclined to want to slap them for their moral certainty by the end of the book.

The book probably shouldn't attract any new readers to Cornwall, but is good enough to suggest that Cornwall's readers, who I suspect have been leaving her of late, return for at least this book and the book that follows this one in the series.