Since Postmortem garnered critical acclaim and a record-breaking five awards for a first crime novel, the Scarpetta novels have often been imitated, but never bettered. Blow Fly saw the world famous medical examiner forced out of Virginia, the media harassing her at every turn, and the serial killer, Chandonne, determined to break the woman who put him behind bars. It also brought Benton Wesley back into her life, her lover and soulmate whose supposed death had left her bereft and alone. Now she is revitalised and determined to regain control of her professional life. She is called back to Virginia where she had been chief medical examiner to work on the investigation into the dark, lonely death of a 14-year- old girl. Scarpetta follows a trail too feint for the human eye to see but which eventually leads to a truth that may be more than she can bear.