The Scarpetta Factor is the 17th novel in Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series. In this book, Dr. Kay Scarpetta is working pro bono for New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner during the week before Christmas. Her increased visibility leads to a series of dramatic and unsettling events.
Scarpetta is asked about a sensational case on live television, receives a startling call from a former psychiatric patient of her husband Benton Wesley, and finds a suspicious package at her apartment, possibly a bomb. She becomes embroiled in a deadly plot involving a famous actor accused of a sex crime and the disappearance of a beautiful millionaire connected to her niece Lucy.
Scarpetta's CNN producer wants her to launch a TV show called The Scarpetta Factor, but she fears that her growing fame will create the illusion that she has a "special factor," a mythical ability to solve all her cases.
It's a gripping thriller that delves into themes of fame, danger, and the complexities of forensic investigation