True Crime, Patricia Cornwell
True Crime, Patricia Cornwell
2 Rating(s)
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
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True Crime
A Memoir

Bestseller

Author: Patricia Cornwell

Narrator: Patricia Cornwell

Unabridged: 15 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/05/2026

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

#1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell finally tells the story that rivals all of the works that precede it: her own. Patricia Cornwell is best known for her international bestselling thriller series about forensic pathologist Dr. Kay Scarpetta. Every story comes from somewhere, and Scarpetta's began when Patricia Cornwell embedded herself in a morgue.

In this achingly honest memoir, Cornwell excavates her own life, detailing her traumatic childhood being raised by neglectful parents, her father abandoning the young family on Christmas day, her mother being institutionalized twice, an abusive foster family, and developing a parental relationship with evangelist Billy Graham’s wife Ruth. Cornwell depicts a harrowing hospitalization and near-death car accident. She unflinchingly shares overcoming obstacles that later gave her the ambition to become an award-winning police reporter. From there it was research in a medical examiner’s office that would turn into a full-time job. She would become a forensic expert and worldwide publishing phenomenon. Cornwell leaves no stone unturned in this deeply candid account of her life, offering inspiring insight into what made her into the international sensation she is today.

About Patricia Cornwell

Patricia Cornwell is a Miami born, contemporary crime novelist. Her books usually feature the heroine Dr. Kay Scarpetta, who is a medical examiner. After a way sad childhood, Cornwall graduated from Davidson College with a degree in English. She wrote a biography of a family friend entitled, “A Time for Remembering”, then renamed “Ruth, A Portrait: The Story of Ruth Bell Graham” in 1983. After working in a Virginia medical examiners for six years, she wrote the first installment of her “Scarpetta” series entitled “Postmortem”. Her six year job was valuable in including a lot of forensic science details in her “Scarpetta” series. Her novels are considered to have influenced the creation of the TV series on forensics such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Cold Case. In the same vein Cornwell made a brief appearance on the Criminal Minds episode “True Genius”, as herself.


Reviews

Goodreads review by James on May 13, 2026

As a committed fan of Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta series, I couldn't not read her memoir, even if I'm not a big fan of reading about a celebrity's early years and formation. It gives you a stronger sense of her background, reasons for writing, and the drama she unfortunately dealt with, but I also......more

Goodreads review by Brenda on May 10, 2026

I gave True Crime 5 stars not because it was polished or easy to sit with, but because it felt startlingly human. This isn’t simply a memoir about crime writing or forensic science. It’s about what happens when brilliance, obsession, loneliness, ambition, and unresolved wounds all live inside the sam......more

Goodreads review by Sasha on May 07, 2026

I hesitate to write a review at all. I have been reading the Kay Scarpetta books since the 90s and I was looking forward to this memoir. The story is heavily focused on her childhood, teen and college years. There is a big focus on her close relationship with Ruth Graham, which I'm still confused ab......more

Goodreads review by Kim on April 24, 2026

I’ve been looking forward to this memoir ever since it was announced. I read my first Scarpetta novel back in high school in the ’90s, and Patricia Cornwell has been a favorite author of mine ever since. This one took me a while to get through. It was much heavier and more emotional than I expected.......more

Goodreads review by Shelleyrae on May 16, 2026

Patricia Cornwell is best known as the author of the internationally bestselling thriller series featuring forensic pathologist Dr Kay Scarpetta, which began with Postmortem, first published in 1990 to great acclaim, and continues with the 29th instalment, Sharp Force, released in 2025. I must confes......more