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Cruel and Unusual
- The Scarpetta Series, Book 4
- Narrated by: Lorelei King
- Series: Scarpetta, Book 4
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Thriller & Suspense
Non-member price: $49.17
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good slow with errors
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Dublin, Ireland and Richmond, Virginia: separated by thousands of miles - linked by murder. Five dismembered, beheaded bodies were found in Ireland five years ago - now four have been discovered in the States. But the tenth corpse in Virginia is different. A copy-cat killing. Ghoulish, perhaps, but not unusual. Then abject terror grips Scarpetta and her colleagues when the next body is found with a clear and horrifying message: the killer is armed with the most lethal weapon on earth - smallpox.
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narrator
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Scarpetta Saves The Day!
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In Richmond, Virginia, young lovers are dying. So far, four couples in the area have disappeared, only to be found months later as mutilated corpses. When the daughter of the president's newest drug czar vanishes along with her boyfriend, Dr Kay Scarpetta knows time is short. Following a macabre trail of evidence that ties the present homicides to a grisly crime in the past, Kay must draw upon her own personal resources to track down a murderer who is as skilled at eliminating clues as Kay is at finding them.
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- By Anonymous User on 20-05-2018
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Ho hum unfortunately
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Leaving behind her forensic pathology practice in South Carolina, Kay Scarpetta takes up an assignment in New York City, where the NYPD has asked her to examine an injured patient in a psychiatric ward. The handcuffed and chained patient, Oscar Bane, has specifically asked for her, and he begins to talk. He says his injuries were sustained in the course of a murder... that he did not commit.
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Keeps you guessing
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Red Mist
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Determined to find out what happened to her former deputy chief, Jack Fielding, murdered six months earlier, Kay Scarpetta travels to the Georgia Prison for Women, where an inmate has information not only on Fielding, but also on a string of grisly killings. The murder of an Atlanta family years ago, a young woman on death row, and the inexplicable deaths of homeless people as far away as California seem unrelated.
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The Scarpetta Factor
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It is the week before Christmas. The effects of the credit crunch have prompted Dr Kay Scarpetta to offer her services pro bono to New York City’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. But in no time at all, her increased visibility precipitates a string of dramatic and unsettling events. She is asked live on the air about the sensational case of Hannah Starr, who has vanished and is presumed dead.
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always entertaining
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Kay Scarpetta has been training at the Dover Port Mortuary, mastering the art of ‘virtual autopsy’ - a groundbreaking procedure that could soon revolutionise forensic science. And it is not too long before these new skills urgently need to be put into practice. A young man drops dead, apparently from a heart condition, eerily close to Scarpetta’s home.
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Great story
- By Rosemary on 04-04-2015
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The Bone Bed
- Scarpetta, Book 20
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In Alberta, Canada, an eminent paleontologist disappears from a dinosaur dig site, and at the Cambridge Forensic Center, Kay Scarpetta receives a grisly communication that gives her a dreadful reason to suspect this may become her next case. Then, with shocking speed, events begin to unfold.
A body recovered from Boston Harbor reveals bizarre trace evidence hinting of a link to other unsolved cases that seem to have nothing in common. Who is behind all this? And whom can Scarpetta trust?
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Patricia Cornwell series FANTASTIC
- By Margot Edwards on 17-06-2018
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Flesh and Blood
- By: Patricia Cornwell
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It's a sunny morning in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also Dr. Kay Scarpetta's birthday. She's about to head to Miami for a vacation with Benton Wesley, her FBI profiler husband, when she notices seven pennies on a wall behind their home. Is this a kids' game? And if so, why are all of the coins dated 1981 and so shiny they could be newly minted? Her cellphone rings, and Detective Pete Marino tells her there's been a homicide five minutes away. A high school music teacher has been shot with uncanny precision as he unloaded groceries from his car. Yet no one has heard or seen a thing.
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Disappointed
- By Anonymous User on 27-10-2019
Publisher's Summary
When convicted killer Ronnie Joe Waddell is executed in Virginia’s electric chair, he becomes what should be a routine postmortem case for Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta. But after Waddell’s execution the murders continue, as everyone connected to him begins to die – including members of Scarpetta’s staff.
Then, when crucial records disappear from her files, Scarpetta comes under fire for incompetence. Caught in a web of political intrigue and betrayed by those she trusted, Scarpetta must fight to free herself from murderous insinuations and threats to her own life.
To save her career, Scarpetta soon finds herself retracing Waddell’s bloody footprints, following a trail that might lead to long-hidden secrets deep within the state government. Either the truth will set her free…or unleash upon her a punishment both cruel and unusual.
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What listeners say about Cruel and Unusual
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- BigEars
- 09-02-2015
Thoroughly enjoyable
The twist in the plot keep up the momentum. The language flows easily and depicts a realistic picture. Very good
1 person found this helpful
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Overall

- Resham D
- 07-04-2013
Patricia Cornwell does it again
All I can say is that this is book is an excellent read, and Lorelei King makes the whole story come alive to the point that its like having a movie in your head. Will definitely be looking for more.
5 people found this helpful
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Overall
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Performance
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- Julie R.
- 16-07-2017
easy story to follow
its was a great listen, not too much techical computer terminology with lucy in the story so i could understand what had been done in the storyline.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall
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Performance
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Story

- Stella Clarkson
- 27-02-2015
Ultimately unsatisfying
If you could sum up Cruel and Unusual in three words, what would they be?
engaging, intriguing, disappointing
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
Some fascinating twists.
The main story wasn't as fascinating as the twists.
Have you listened to any of Lorelei King’s other performances? How does this one compare?
Yes. She is the voice of Scarpetta. I am not sure this book would be as good without her.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
There should/could have been, but there wasn't.
3 people found this helpful
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Performance
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Story

- Reginald pelle
- 20-02-2015
Good!
Although the narrator was in excellent form, Kay Scarpetta, to me, is terrific in her work; but awfully dull, in her social life.
2 people found this helpful
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Performance
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Story

- Peter
- 12-04-2020
Brilliant
As with all Patricia cornwell books it had everything and did not disappoint
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Performance
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Story

- Angus
- 25-11-2019
Cruel and Unusual
A riveting storyline. Never a dull moment full of twists and turns and there was a great lineup of characters. terrific read.
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Performance
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Story

- S.A.M
- 10-05-2019
OK
It was rather dull. I guess I am not a fan. I will try again with another
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- Lara and dave
- 30-04-2017
griping and thrilling
a grate series
intresting and enjoyable
you get inviled with the people
the whole series are well worth it
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