Predator (Cornwell novel)

Last updated
Predator
Patricia Cornwell - Predator.jpg
US cover
Author Patricia Cornwell
Country United States
Language English
Series Kay Scarpetta Mysteries
Genre Crime novel
Publisher G. P. Putnam's Sons
Publication date
October 2005
Media typePrint (Hardcover, Paperback)
Pages416 (first edition, hardback)
ISBN 0-399-15283-0 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC 61200772
813/.54 22
LC Class PS3553.O692 P74 2005
Preceded by Trace  
Followed by Book of the Dead  

Predator is a crime fiction novel by Patricia Cornwell.

Contents

Plot introduction

Predator is the fourteenth book of the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series by author Patricia Cornwell.

Explanation of the novel's title

"PREDATOR" is an acronym for the Prefrontal Determinants of Aggressive-Type Overt Responsivity, a secret neuropsychological project to determine whether dangerous murderers have different brain patterns or functions from "ordinary" people.

Plot summary

Dr. Kay Scarpetta, now freelancing with the National Forensic Academy in Florida, takes charge of a case that stretches from steamy Florida to snowbound Massachusetts, one as unnerving as any she has ever faced. The teasing psychological clues lead Scarpetta and her team—Pete Marino, Benton Wesley, and Lucy Farinelli—to suspect that they are hunting someone with a cunning and malevolent mind whose secrets have kept them in the shadows, until now.

Characters in "Predator"

Major themes

Literary significance & criticism

Cornwell was considered courageous by some reviewers [1] for setting the characters of this novel at a major crossroads. All are on edge about their personal lives, relationships, and especially their long dependence upon and affection for each other. Mutual trusts have been eroded over previous books and the group lacks the cohesion it had earlier in the series.

The narrative style seen in previous books is also seen in Predator, with more than one character narrating. [2] This change in narrative style from the first-person narration of Kay herself is one first seen in Blow Fly. This device not only allows for more characters and their perspectives to come to the fore, but also marks a significant transformation in the way that the novels represent the criminal. Whereas previously the criminal's mind was never made available to the reader—thus intensifying their "otherness"—the later novels allow space to explore their point of view and uncover their motivations. [2]

Allusions/references to actual history, geography, and current science and technology

Set in Florida and Boston, Massachusetts.

A stolen Treo compromises the Institute's security and vexes Lucy considerably.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Cornwell</span> American crime writer (born 1956)

Patricia Cornwell is an American crime writer. She is known for her best-selling novels featuring medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, of which the first was inspired by a series of sensational murders in Richmond, Virginia, where most of the stories are set. The plots are notable for their emphasis on forensic science, which has influenced later TV treatments of police work. Cornwell has also initiated new research into the Jack the Ripper killings, incriminating the popular British artist Walter Sickert. Her books have sold more than 120 million copies.

Kay Scarpetta is a fictional character inspired by former Virginia Chief Medical Examiner Marcella Farinelli Fierro MD (retired). She is the protagonist in a series of crime novels written by Patricia Cornwell noted for its use of recent forensic technology in Scarpetta's investigations.

<i>Postmortem</i> (novel) 1990 crime fiction novel by Patricia Cornwell

Postmortem is a 1990 crime fiction novel by author Patricia Cornwell and her debut novel. The first book of the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series, it received the 1991 Edgar Award for Best First Novel.

<i>Trace</i> (novel) Crime fiction novel by Patricia Cornwell

Trace is a 2004 crime fiction novel by Patricia Cornwell. It is the thirteenth book of the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series.

<i>Body of Evidence</i> (novel) 1991 novel by Patricia Cornwell

Body of Evidence is a crime fiction novel by Patricia Cornwell. It is the second book in the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series.

<i>All That Remains</i> (novel) 1992 novel by Patricia Cornwell

All That Remains is a crime fiction novel by Patricia Cornwell. It is the third book of the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series.

<i>Cruel and Unusual</i> (novel) 1993 crime novel by Patricia Cornwell

Cruel and Unusual is a crime fiction novel by Patricia Cornwell. It is the fourth book in the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series.

<i>The Body Farm</i> (novel) Novel by Patricia Cornwell

The Body Farm is a crime fiction novel by Patricia Cornwell. It is the fifth book in the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series.

<i>From Potters Field</i> Novel by Patricia Cornwell

From Potter's Field is a crime fiction novel by Patricia Cornwell. It is the sixth book in the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series.

<i>Cause of Death</i> (novel) 1996 novel by Patricia Cornwell

Cause of Death is a crime fiction novel by Patricia Cornwell. It is the seventh book in the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series.

<i>Unnatural Exposure</i> 1997 novel by Patricia Cornwell

Unnatural Exposure is a crime fiction novel by Patricia Cornwell. It is the eighth book in the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series. The story is set in Richmond, Virginia and Ireland.

<i>The Last Precinct</i> (novel) 2000 novel by Patricia Cornwell

The Last Precinct is a crime novel by American author Patricia Cornwell, the eleventh in her Dr. Kay Scarpetta series.

<i>Blow Fly</i> (novel) 2003 novel by Patricia Cornwell

Blow Fly is a crime fiction novel by Patricia Cornwell.

<i>Black Notice</i> 1999 novel by Patricia Cornwell

Black Notice is a crime novel by American writer Patricia Cornwell. It is the tenth book of the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series.

<i>Point of Origin</i> (novel) 1998 novel by Patricia Cornwell

Point of Origin is a crime fiction novel by Patricia Cornwell. It is the ninth book in the Dr. Kay Scarpetta series.

<i>Scarpetta</i> (novel) Novel by Patricia Cornwell (2008)

Scarpetta is a novel by Patricia Cornwell. It was published in 2008 by G. P. Putnam's Sons. The book is a continuation of Cornwell's popular Kay Scarpetta series.

<i>Book of the Dead</i> (Cornwell novel)

Book of the Dead is a 2007 crime novel written by Patricia Cornwell. It is the fifteenth book in the popular Kay Scarpetta series and the fourth consecutive novel in the series to be written in third-person omniscient style, rather than Cornwell's traditional first-person narrative.

<i>Dust</i> (novel) 2013 crime novel by Patricia Cornwell

Dust is a 2013 crime novel written by crime author Patricia Cornwell, her 21st book by chronological order in the Kay Scarpetta series. It deals with the murder, of a young girl, which bears peculiar resemblance to numerous preceding deaths and puts the female protagonist, Dr Kay Scarpetta to stare in the face of what could possibly be a deep-seated, high-profile bureaucrat conspiracy and a plot which risks her own life at the mercy of a psychopathic serial killer.

Dr. Marcella Farinelli Fierro is a medical examiner and forensic pathologist. She was the former chief medical examiner of Virginia, appointed in 1994 and serving in this position until her retirement in 2008. She was the ninth woman certified in forensic pathology by the American Board of Pathology. Since retirement, Fierro has served as an educator, mentor, and adviser.

Kay Scarpetta is an upcoming American television series based on an adaption by Liz Sarnoff from the Patricia Cornwell novel of the same name, and is produced by Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis, who stars.

References