Cause of Death

On this last day of the deadliest year Virginia has seen since the Civil War—New Year's Eve. Dr. Kay Scarpetta delves into the obscure depths of a ship graveyard in order to retrieve the remarkably human remains of investigative writer Ted Eddings. What kind of tale was Eddings searching for under the frigid Elizabeth River? And why, before the police were called, did someone telephone Scarpetta to report the death? She quickly learns that Eddings' murder is just the tip of a much larger iceberg — a complex scheme that will put every bit of her criminal and forensic training to the test. The true test for Scarpetts will not be counting the increasing number of corpses but rather keeping herself and the people she cares about from becoming the next victims.