Cruel & Unusual

About “Cruel & Unusual”

On a cold December night in Virginia, convicted murderer Ronnie Joe Waddell is executed in the electric chair. Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the state's chief medical examiner, is already waiting for his body for an autopsy. Shortly after, the body of thirteen-year-old Eddie Heath is found in a disturbing position. At first, the two events seem unrelated, but Scarpetta and police lieutenant Pete Marino notice a disturbing similarity in how the victims were arranged. More murders follow, with few clues—old bloodstains, fragments of feather, and a bloody fingerprint that points to an impossible suspect. Scarpetta must uncover the truth with the help of her niece Lucy, Lieutenant Marino, and FBI agent Benton Wesley, all while facing an enemy who wants her ruined. Cruel and Unusual is a 1993 novel by Patricia D. Cornwell.