Unnatural Exposure

"How do you know you've got the flu? That it's not something else?"

"I don't have a rash. Is that what you want to hear?"

There was a long silence. Then he said, "What if you get one?"

"Then I'm probably going to die, Benton." I coughed again. "You'll probably never touch me again. And I'd never want you to see me again, if it goes its course. It's easier to worry about stalkers, serial killers, people you can blow away with a gun. But the invisible ones are who I've always feared. They take you on a sunny day in a public place. They slide in with your lemonade. I've been vaccinated for hepatitis B. But that's just one killer in a huge population. What about tuberculosis and HIV, and Hanta and Ebola? What about this? God." I took a deep breath. "It started with a torso and I did not know." (pp. 260-261)

Kay Scarpetta finds herself doing an autopsy on a torso that many people believe is part of a serial killer's trail. However, when she discovers the torso and another dead body both have a rash that hasn't been seen in years, Kay becomes very nervous and knows that this killer is out for revenge. Unnatural Exposure by Patricia Cornwell is the eighth book in the Scarpetta Series. The title describes a crime that Kay must solve before the world is exposed to a deadly disease of which she and others have unknowingly already been exposed. All the favorite characters are in this book, the familiar tensions and twists continue to be a part of the plot, and the conclusion comes suddenly as it often does in this series. Still, I very much enjoyed Unnatural Exposure and will continue reading from this series at my leisurely pace.