I've not read any previous Kay Scarpetta series books, and it seems awfully apparent that that is to my detriment. Meaning, I think this series may need to be read in order because there is a lot of past information that the reader needs catching up on, and unfortunately I think the author dragged it out way way too long. There is also dialog that totally frustrated me: someone would ask a question and it would not get answered straightaway. (Ran out of room).