Postmortem cover

Postmortem

Kay Scarpetta • Book 1

by Patricia Daniels Cornwell, Patricia Cornwell

Narrated by Kate Reading

4.20 ABR Score (260.2K ratings)
★ 4.03 Goodreads (259.9K) ★ 4.57 Audible (297)
15h 12m Released 2023 Mystery

Why Listen to This Audiobook?

This 1990 novel invented the forensic thriller genre — and Kate Reading delivers it like she was born to narrate an ice-cold medical examiner.

  • Great if you want: procedural crime fiction with a sharp, uncompromising protagonist
  • Listening experience: relentlessly paced with mounting dread and crisp investigative detail
  • Narration: Reading's clinical precision perfectly mirrors Scarpetta's no-nonsense voice
  • Skip if: graphic forensic detail makes you squeamish

Listen to Postmortem on Audible →

About This Audiobook

A serial killer is moving through Richmond, Virginia, strangling women in their homes, and leaving almost nothing for investigators to work with. Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta applies the forensic science of 1990 with a rigor unusual for the era, finding trace evidence that points toward someone with resources and sophistication. As she presses the investigation, she discovers that someone inside the process is working against her. Patricia Cornwell's debut novel essentially created the modern forensic thriller and still reads as urgently as anything in the genre.

Kate Reading delivers Scarpetta with the intelligence and controlled tension that made the character iconic. The novel's procedural detail comes through without turning technical, and Reading captures the particular quality of a woman operating at the top of her field while being systematically undermined by institutional forces. At over fifteen hours, Postmortem's award-winning narrative earns every minute of that investment.