Patricia Cornwell Books in Order
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 books.
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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
- Postmortem, 1990
- Body of Evidence, 1991
- All That Remains, 1992
- Cruel and Unusual, 1993
- The Body Farm, 1994
- From Potter’s Field, 1995
- Cause of Death, 1996
- Unnatural Exposure, 1997
- Point of Origin, 1998
- Black Notice, 1999
- The Last Precinct, 2000
- Blow Fly, 2003
- Trace, 2004
- Predator, 2005
- Book of the Dead, 2007
- Scarpetta, 2008
- The Scarpetta Factor, 2009
- Port Mortuary, 2010
- Red Mist, 2011
- The Bone Bed, 2012
- Dust, 2013
- Flesh and Blood, 2014
- Depraved Heart, 2015
- Chaos, 2016
- Autopsy, 2021
- Livid, 2022
- Unnatural Death, 2023
- Identity Unkown, 2024
- Sharp Force, 2025
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
- Hornet’s Nest, 1996
- Southern Cross, 1998
- Isle of Dogs, 2001
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
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
Picture Books
- Life’s Little Fable, 1999
Anthologies
Non-Fiction Books
- A Time for Remembering, 1985
- Ruth, A Portrait, 1997
- Scarpetta’s Winter Table, 1998
- Food To Die For, 2002
- Portrait Of A Killer, 2002
- Chasing the Ripper, 2014
- Ripper, 2017
- True Crime, 2026
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
Admiring the time and energy you put into your blog and in depth information you provide. I love Patricia Cornwell’s books, they’re some of the best. Keep it up.
I have been reading her books for years. I love how she has developed her characters and to see how they grow and evolve through the years. Waiting on #29 in October!!
I started reading your books not long after you started writing them. Had a great number of them when I was working in a volunteer library and I donated them. Now I think I’m going to start collecting them again. You are one heck of a writer.
I leave Cornwell’s books, only to return hungry and thirsty!
I have enjoyed all of the Scarpetta series, when will the next be out?
I’ve read almost all the books I love Scarpetta even tho I class my self as a male chauvinist but I believe if a person can do a job they should be aloud to do it weather there female or male and love reading about female who show they are capable to do the job better then a male
That’s why I’d like to know what happened to Virginia West
In the hornets nest series I thought her, Hammer and Andy made a great team but in Isle of dogs isn’t there and there is no mention of what happened to her???
Kay, you are flawed, thus real and relatable thank God! This is why women of all ages ( 69 and master’s plus 60 hours retired teacher, now defense attorney3 years of law school and backgrounds identify with you and believe in you. Your vulnerability comes through in your manuscripts and endears you to the audience….the bond of trust and respect is established leaving us wanting more! I started your Kay Scarpetta books after I retired teaching, after I took my last treatment fighting leukemia, after my father died, after my mother entered dementia, after my family exploded and I was literally on the run from my my my family who were in pursuit of my money….money won in a large lawsuit from an awful accident I was in that permanently disabled me right before my father’s death!
I was in a program called, Safe Quarters, being protected from my youngest sister and brother and I bought the audio version of Last Precinct.” I had a brand new car and I sat outside the facility in the heat of summer, runnng my car air conditioning, and read your box on my car radio. Guys, most homeless would come by the car to visit me, some getting in and listening for awhile, all wondering what I was doing in a place like that! In the four and one half months I was there I read six of your books on audio and spent a whole lot of money on gas! But I developed a love for you YOU and Kay!
That was the summer of 1998 and this is 2021 and I have read all of your books and still adore you and your writing! I, too was abused physically by a psychopathic brother… the brother mentioned above that caught up with me. He beat the crap out of me, stole the money I had on me ( about $3o,000 … not all of it) and left me on the side of the road on the L.I.E. in NY. Today, I am permanently disabled suffering balance and hearing loss from that beating on top of my other medical problems. My brother and youngest sister concocted a wild story about me and spread it all over the place after I left. They continue to live their lies…. FYI
Keep writing, Queen of Writing!
I love your KayScarpetta series. I haven’t read them in order. I don’t think you have to. They are each stand on their own but I was looking at the list of your books in order to see if I missed any. I did and was happy to know there were more books for me to read. I didn’t know you wrote other series I can’t wait to read those too to see if I like them. My friend and I are not totally convinced about your identity of Jack the Ripper but it was gutsy of you & maybe you are right.
I think you’re the most gifted writer. Just bought your new Kay Scarpetta series. Autopsy. Can’t wait to start reading. Please don’t ever stop writing.
The best and only books I read are kay scarpetta novels!!!!! Please don’t ever stop writing them Patricia! You are truly the most gifted writer ever!
Can I subscribe to this website?
Your books a great to read.