La brillante y mordaz doctora Kay Scarpetta se ha establecido en Charleston, donde ha establecido un moderno laboratorio forense en el que trabaja su equipo con su sobrina Lucy Farenelli, Rose y Pete Marino. En esta ocasión, Scarpetta viaja a Italia para investigar la sangrienta muerte de Drew Martin, un joven y famoso tenista cuyo cuerpo ha sido hallado mutilado en el venerable centro histórico de Roma. El asesino es un hombre apodado Sandman por el macabro residuo encontrado en la escena del crimen.

Of all the books I've read by Patricia Cornwell I have to say this was my least favorite so far. What a job getting though each chapter. I still don't think I fully understood everything as it was jumping around so much it was hard to keep track of who was doing what and what was actually happening. ( )

"Book of the Dead" is the book that gets the series somewhat back on track. Scarpetta and Benton deal with Benton's "death."

I have probably all the preceding books two or more times, have read the following books at least once, but I have never read "Book of the Dead." ( )

Not my favorite author. This book reads to me like a made-for-TV movie. The murders would seem to be a backdrop for the soapopera of Kay Scarpetta's life. I've got two other books of hers that I haven't read yet. In all likelihood I'm going to give them to someone who enjoys her writing. ( )

The distant style of writing that Cornwall started a few books ago is beginning to soften a little- the voice still not where I’d like it to be though. The characters of Lucy and Kay are much more likeable than the last book, which is good. The story jumps a little but the essence of the story is interesting. ( )