Review of Sharp Force

My Review of Sharp Force by Patricia Cornwell is from the perspective of someone who read all the Kay Scarpetta books back in the 1990s but has not opened one since. What did I think of this latest installment in the Kay Scarpetta series and why did I read it? Let’s discuss.

Review of Sharp Force by Patricia Cornwell

This review will have Jen’s Quick Take and then my more detailed thoughts!

Jen’s Quick Take on Sharp Force

• A police procedural in the Kay Scarpetta series, which follows Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta as she solves cases connected to her work.
• This is book #29 in the series. Book one, Postmortem, came out in 1990.
• Sharp Force is told first person POV from Kay’s perspective. (There was controversy back in 2003 when Cornwell switched from first person POV to third in Blowfly, book twelve in the series. Many readers did NOT like the change.)
• Publication date October 7, 2025 by Grand Central Publishing.

More Thoughts on Sharp Force

It was interesting to go back to this series after over a decade. At the time Postmortem came out, there were far fewer women authors writing procedural mysteries (the other big names I can think of are Kathy Reichs and Linda Fairstein). This made Postmortem feel fresh and groundbreaking. Like Reichs and Fairstein, Cornwell knew her stuff: she’d been a reporter and also worked at the coroner’s office.

On the postive side, this book has a truly creepy premise involving a scary hologram that murder victims see before they die. Given that the book also takes place at Christmas-time, the contrast was nicely jarring.

To me, the overall vibe of Sharp Force seemed a bit frozen in the 1990s-early 2000s to me. The writing is brisk and efficient. Kay is a sharp, no-nonsense, judgmental person and at times I got tired of being in her head. I can see why, as mentioned above, Cornwell decided to try to switch to third person narration. I’d be interested to pick up one of those third person books to see what I think now.

If, like me, you’ve read the early books, you’ll notice many of the same characters. Scarpetta’s cop friend and partner, Pete Marino, is as politically incorrect as ever. Wesley Benton is the perfect hunky husband who adores the prickly, bossy Kay. Kay’s sister Dorothy is still a narcissist. And Kay’s niece Lucy is still grieving a loss I’d forgotten about. Lucy’s coping mechanism was the most chilling part of the book for me!

I’d love to see a book from Lucy’s point of view. Or maybe a spin-off series, or some way to revive what is a great premise.

Prime Video is adapting the Scarpetta books for a series, possibly airing in early 2026. I am curious to see how the books are updated!

Cornwell’s books have been adapted before: Hornet’s Nest (not part of the Scarpetta series) was made into a 2012 movie starring Sherrie Stringfeld from ER.