Unnatural Exposure is the eighth book in the Kay Scarpetta series. There are currently 25 books in the series, so it is a major undertaking if you plan on reading them all. I started this series several years ago along with the Stephanie Plum and Women's Murder Club series because I can't resist a good murder mystery, but I have never felt compelled to sit down and read them all straight through. You can read one or two books a year from these series and easily pick up where you left off. There is some character development and personal relationships evolve, but each case or story is independent. I read them in order, but I don't think it is completely necessary.
In this installment Kay, Virginia's Chief Medical Examiner, is investigating some cases that appear to be connected to five serial murders that took place in Ireland several years ago. When an additional body turns up with similar, but several strikingly different characteristics, she believes they are now dealing with a copycat.
In addition, the most recent body is covered with what appears to be a smallpox like infection. After further investigation, it isn't quite smallpox, but a variation of the disease that we do not have a vaccination for. When the copycat killer stats contacting Kay directly via email and eventually in a chat room, Kay is determined to lure the perpetrator into making a mistake that allows the FBI to trace the connection and find the killer.
Kay's niece Lucy, who works as an IT expert for the FBI, is once again instrumental in solving the case. I always find these books amusing because of the archaic computer technology, which was state of the art at the time. In this case the book was published in 1997, which isn't THAT long ago in my opinion, but light years away in terms of technological advancements. AOL with a dial up connection, pagers, and car phones, are just a few of the high tech gadgets mentioned in this book. I remember when these things were a big deal, but kids today wouldn't have the first clue as to what she is talking about. My son even refers to when I was growing up as "the olden days," because in his eyes we lived in the stone age compared to kids today.
Overall, this was another excellent addition to the series. If you enjoy murder mysteries, I would recommend giving this series a try. Just be aware that they are somewhat graphic and may not be for everyone.
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