Review: Port Mortuary, Patricia Cornwell ***

Bestselling crime writer Patricia Cornwell celebrates her 20th anniversary in the business the best way she knows – by writing another thriller. Cornwell's central character, Dr Kay Scarpetta, has been working for the armed forces at the title's location, a military airbase where bodies are received from the battlefield.

There she has learned the art of virtual autopsy, a groundbreaking procedure which could revolutionise forensic science.

Her six-month stint comes to a close after a young scientist is found dead, apparently from a heart condition, close to her home.

The 3D radiology scans – which utilise her new skills – reveal details about internal injuries, and Scarpetta soon realises she is dealing with murder.

Unlike previous novels of late, Port Mortuary unfolds through Scarpetta's own eyes as Cornwell returns to writing in the first person. It's an interesting technique as the reader gets the inside scoop into Scarpetta's mind in the race against time to discover who and what happened before time runs out.

While it works in some ways, with avid fans able to imagine being inside a working mortuary, at times it is a distraction as you attempt to keep up with Scarpetta's rambling self-analysis and constant paranoia.

Though not as fast paced or action-packed as some of her other books, Cornwell proves that she still deserves her crown as the queen of crime fiction

Little Brown, 18.99