Just when you think Patricia Cornwell has written her last book about crime-solving medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, she pens another one. The bestselling author has sold a staggering 100 million books, and in her latest novel, Sharp Force — the 29th installment in the Scarpetta series — the character is once again on the trail of a serial killer. And this time around, the victims are in Northern Virginia.
Your new book finds your longtime protagonist Kay Scarpetta running around Northern Virginia.
It’s a cool part of the world. The traffic is paralyzing, to say the least, but there’s so many fascinating places in Northern Virginia.
Is that why you decided on NoVA for much of the book’s setting?
I tried to imagine, where would [Scarpetta] be? Because when I wrote the last one, she was living in Massachusetts. And I thought, ‘You know, I think it’s time she goes back to Virginia.’ That’s where it all started, but I didn’t want to move her back to Richmond. And Northern Virginia made more sense because I was doing research with the Secret Service and … there’s just so much that’s up there in terms of having a very big stage. And Alexandria, particularly Old Town, is just charming and beautiful.
Did you spend a lot of time in the area doing research?
Whenever I go up that way, especially to Washington, I explore so that I can see some of these places through Scarpetta’s eyes.
Why did you choose Old Town as a setting for the book?
Old Town in particular is fun. It’s fun to walk around there. It’s fun to imagine Scarpetta having a headquarters. Of course, her headquarters is completely fabricated. There is no medical examiner’s office in Alexandria.
What motivates you to continue writing about Scarpetta?
I don’t ever get tired of her. I’m not saying it’s easy to come up with original stories every time, because it isn’t. It’s hard. … But in terms of dealing with her, I appreciate her point of view. I think that we have the same sensibilities. She’s a nice character to spend time with because she’s a decent person and she’s very, very smart. I’m always fascinated to see what she’s going do with a situation.
What do you miss about living in Virginia now that you’ve moved to Boston?
I miss a lot of things about Virginia. … I just think Virginia is really an amazing place to be. There’s really not much that you can’t get there. You can go from the biggest military installations to the biggest law enforcement installations to the quiet mountains to the coal mines to Luray Caverns to the beach.
Amazon has been filming a series based on Scarpetta. What is the status? [Nicole Kidman plays Kay Scarpetta and Jamie Lee Curtis is Scarpetta’s older sister, Dorothy.]
Amazon will be releasing it at some point in the first few months of next year. The writers’ room is already assembling for Season 2. [Kidman and Curtis] are really something together, I will tell you that. I think people are going to have a lot of fun with it.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Feature image of Patricia Cornwell courtesy Patrick Ecclesine
This story originally ran in our October issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
