🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Patricia Cornwell
Patricia Cornwell is an American fiction crime writer. She was written thirty seven books, including fiction, non-fiction, and a children’s book. She has sold over 100 million copies of her books. She has written many series, including the Doctor Kay Scarpetta books about a female medical examiner for Virginia. Other series include the Andy Brazil and Judy Hammer series, the Win Garano series, and an Omnibus that refers to the Scarpetta novels. She has written a total of twenty four New York Times Best Sellers. She sold her first book Postmortem while she was working as a computer analyst at Virginia’s medical examination offices. Cornwell was born on June 9, 1956 in Miami. Her father left the family when she was just five years old.
All Book Series by Patricia Cornwell
Ruth, A Portrait: The Story of Ruth Bell Graham
Series opener · book 1 of 7 · published 1983
Food to Die For: Secrets From Kay Scarpetta's Kitchen
Book 3 of 7 · published 2001
Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed
Book 4 of 7 · published 2002
The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction
Single-title series · published 2002
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Patricia Cornwell?
Patricia Cornwell is an American fiction crime writer. She was written thirty seven books, including fiction, non-fiction, and a children's book. She has sold over 100 million copies of her books.
Which Patricia Cornwell series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Kay Scarpetta series, the earliest of Patricia Cornwell's multi-book series: it opens with Postmortem (1990) and runs to 30 books across 1990–2027, ending with Rapid and Fatal (2027). Patricia Cornwell's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Patricia Cornwell written?
Patricia Cornwell has 46 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1983 and 2027. 37 of them belong to 4 named series — the largest being the Kay Scarpetta series with 30 books — and 9 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Patricia Cornwell's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Patricia Cornwell's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Kay Scarpetta (1990–2027, 30 books), Andy Brazil/Judy Hammer (1996–2001, 3 books) and Winston Garano (2006–2008, 2 books), plus 1 more.
How are Patricia Cornwell's books organised into series?
This guide splits Patricia Cornwell's 46 books into 4 named series and 9 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Kay Scarpetta (30 books, 1990–2027); Andy Brazil/Judy Hammer (3 books, 1996–2001); Captain Chase (2 books, 2019–2020); Winston Garano (2 books, 2006–2008).