"I went into journalism and they put me into the police beat, I had no interest in crime, and I immediately got snakebit by it. It just intrigued ... and when I decided to try writing a crime novel, the one question that I couldn't answer is what happens when the body is whisked away to this secret place. The first thing I wanted to do was to go to a medical examiner's office and start asking questions."
Patricia Cornwell's novels have been translated into thirty-six languages in more than 120 countries and have won numerous prestigious awards.
She is widely known for her popular book series featuring medical examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta. The novels includes a lot of forensic science detail. Flesh and Blood is her 22nd Scarpetta novel, and involves the pursuit of a serial sniper who leaves no incriminating evidence except fragments of copper.
Patricia Cornwell has written fiction and non-fiction, including a definitive book about Jack the Ripper. She is a licensed helicopter pilot and scuba diver, and actively researches the cutting-edge forensic technologies that inform her work. Patricia Cornwell lives and works in Boston.
Patricia Cornwell talks to Nine to Noon’s Kathryn Ryan.
Photo: Patricia Cornwell by Patrick Ecclesine.
