Patricia Cornwell Books in Order - Series Guide

Patricia Cornwell is an American crime writer best known for the long-running Kay Scarpetta series of forensic thrillers, widely credited with establishing forensic science as a mainstream genre in crime fiction. Her debut novel Postmortem was the first bona fide forensic thriller, and the first book ever to win the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, and John Creasey awards in a single year, along with France’s Prix du Roman d’Aventures. She later received the CWA Gold Dagger, the RBA Prize for Crime Writing, and France’s Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Her books have sold over 120 million copies worldwide. In 2024, Kay Scarpetta became an Amazon streaming series.

This page lists all Patricia Cornwell books in order, including the Kay Scarpetta novels, the Andy Brazil, Winston Garano, and Captain Chase series, standalone novels, and non-fiction works, organized primarily by publication order.

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Table of Contents

Kay Scarpetta Series (Books in Order)

The Kay Scarpetta series follows Dr. Kay Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Virginia, as she uses cutting-edge forensic science to investigate homicides, often while facing institutional resistance, personal danger, and a recurring cast of allies and adversaries, which also include her niece Lucy and detective Pete Marino. The series launched the forensic thriller genre and directly influenced the wave of forensic procedurals on television that followed.

Reading Order

Andy Brazil Series (Books in Order)

The Andy Brazil series follows young reporter-turned-volunteer cop Andy Brazil in Charlotte, North Carolina, who works alongside Police Superintendent Judy Hammer and deputy chief Virginia West as they deal with corruption, crime, and the political realities of policing a major American city. It is lighter in tone than the Scarpetta novels, with a sharper satirical edge.

Reading Order

Winston Garano Series (Books in Order)

The Winston Garano series follows Massachusetts state investigator Win Garano who is assigned directly to the district attorney’s office and is pulled into politically sensitive cases that quickly escalate far beyond their surface appearance. It is tighter and more conspiratorial in feel than Patricia Cornwell’s other series, with a strong Boston setting.

Reading Order

At Risk, 2006
The Front, 2008

Captain Chase Series (Books in Order)

The Captain Chase series follows Captain Calli Chase, a NASA pilot, quantum physicist, and cybercrime investigator, as she confronts threats involving top-secret space missions, advanced technology, and national security conspiracies. It is Patricia Cornwell’s most forward-looking series, that combines near-future science with espionage thriller plotting.

Reading Order

Quantum, 2019
Spin, 2021

Picture Books

Life’s Little Fable, 1999

Anthologies

The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction, 2002
Suspense Magazine December 2010, 2010

Non-Fiction Books

Patricia Cornwell Biography

Patricia Cornwell is an American crime author whose work includes forensic thrillers, police procedurals and true crime non-fiction books. She is the creator of the Kay Scarpetta series and has also written the Andy Brazil, Winston Garano and Captain Chase novels, along with books on Jack the Ripper and other real-world cases.
Official website: patriciacornwell.com

Born in Miami, Florida, in 1956, Patricia Cornwell grew up in North Carolina and studied at King College and Davidson College, from where she graduated with a degree in English in 1979. She began her career as a reporter for The Charlotte Observer, winning a North Carolina Press Association award for investigative reporting before moving to Richmond, Virginia.

In 1981, she began working on the biography of Ruth Bell Graham, wife of the famous evangelist Billy Graham, who took Patricia in when her mother became sick.

Next, she worked for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia as a technical writer and computer analyst and volunteered with the local police department, experience that led directly to the creation of Dr. Kay Scarpetta and the forensic focus of her novels. Postmortem, published in 1990, launched the Kay Scarpetta series and became the first novel ever to win the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity and John Creasey awards in the same year.

Patricia Cornwell has also written the Andy Brazil/Judy Hammer novels set in North Carolina and Virginia, the Winston Garano books, the near-future Captain Chase thrillers and several non-fiction works on Jack the Ripper and true crime. Her books have sold more than 120 million copies in dozens of languages, and she lives in Massachusetts while continuing to write.

Patricia Cornwell Book Adaptations

At Risk – adapted into the television film Patricia Cornwell’s At Risk (2010)
The Front – adapted into the Lifetime television movie and sequel Patricia Cornwell’s The Front (2010)
The Kay Scarpetta series – adapted into the crime-thriller TV series Scarpetta (March 2026)

Patricia Cornwell Awards and Honors

Postmortem is the only novel to win the Edgar, John Creasey, Anthony, Macavity, and French Prix du Roman d’Aventures in the same year.

A Time For Remembering – ECPA Gold Medallion Book Award for Biography/Autobiography (1985)
Postmortem – Major debut-novel awrds: Edgar Award for Best First Novel, John Creasey Memorial Award, Anthony Award for Best First Novel and Macavity Award for Best First Novel (1991)
Postmortem – Prix du Roman d’Aventures (France) (1992)
Cruel and Unusual – CWA Gold Dagger Award (1993)
Golden Plate Award, American Academy of Achievement, recognising her success as a bestselling crime novelist. (1995)
Kay Scarpetta character – Sherlock Award for Best Detective (1999)
Book of the Dead – Galaxy British Book Awards / British Book Awards – Crime Thriller of the Year (Books Direct Crime Thriller of the Year) for Book of the Dead; Cornwell was the first American author to receive this award (2008)
Red Mist – RBA Prize for Crime Writing at €125,000 (2011)
Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) from the French Ministry of Culture, recognising her contribution to the arts – 2011

Edited by

Marika

Founder of Mystery Sequels, a reference site focused on listing mystery and thriller books in the correct reading order. I maintain and update the site’s bibliographies as new titles are released, ensuring accuracy and consistency across author and series pages.