Postmortem
by Patricia Cornwell
★ Top 25 book of 1990 · #18 on Best Books of 1990
A killer is targeting Richmond, Virginia, and Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta is drawn into the hunt as victims pile up. Relying on forensic science and determination, she faces opposition from all sides, and someone wants her dead.
Best for: Readers who enjoy forensic-driven crime investigations led by a determined medical examiner.
Postmortem is #18 on BookWard's Best Books of 1990, out of 39 1990 books that cleared our data bar.
What Postmortem is about
Dr. Kay Scarpetta is the chief medical examiner of Virginia, and Richmond is in the grip of a killer who strangles his victims and leaves almost nothing behind. He cleans each scene, but the substance he uses glows under laser light, and that small detail gives Scarpetta somewhere to start. She works alongside detective Pete Marino and FBI profiler Benton Wesley, while looking after her ten-year-old niece Lucy and handling a tentative romance with the local Commonwealth's attorney.
The novel is gritty and procedural, built around the slow work of reading evidence. It also pays attention to what the job costs her, including the fear that comes when an investigator becomes a target. It was Patricia Cornwell's debut, the first Scarpetta book, and it won the 1991 Edgar Award for Best First Novel.
Postmortem on the Best Books of 1990
Postmortem came out in 1990. Of the 39 books first published in 1990 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #18 on our Best Books of 1990 list.
Why it made the list: 258 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.8 out of 5 (24 ratings). The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 1990 list
- The Sleepwalker Robert Lawrence Stine, #16
- Dawn V.C. Andrews, #17
- Stormy Surrender Patricia Wilson, #19
- Almost Heaven Judith McNaught, #20
See all Best Books of 1990 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1991.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 197 want to read it, 18 are reading it now and 43 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 3.8 out of 5 from 24 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 54 | 55% |
| Reader love | 18 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 69 | 20% |
Questions about Postmortem
When was Postmortem published?
Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell was first published in 1990.
Was Postmortem one of the best books of 1990?
Postmortem is #18 on BookWard's Best Books of 1990, out of 39 1990 books that cleared our data bar. 258 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.8 out of 5 (24 ratings).
Why is Postmortem on the Best Books of 1990 list?
258 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.8 out of 5 (24 ratings).
More of the best books of 1990
- Good Omens Terry Pratchett, #1
- Jurassic Park Michael Crichton, #2
- The Eye of the World Robert Jordan, #3
- The Witching Hour Anne Rice, #4
- Flow Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, #5
- The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien, #6
See the full Best Books of 1990, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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