Which Scarpetta books will season 2 be based on? Here’s what you need to read

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Get ready for season two of Scarpetta! If you’re a fan of the show – starring Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis – and want to prepare, here are the Patricia Cornwell books you should read first. The first season follows forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta as she solves murders, with the story unfolding across two different time periods.

The Prime Video drama has a lot of options for storylines, given that there are 29 novels in the Scarpetta series to draw from.

Season one of the show was based on Postmortem and Autopsy, the first and 25th books in the series.

With a second season of Scarpetta confirmed, viewers and book readers alike are likely wondering which novels to read next to get ready for it.

According to a recent interview with The Los Angeles Times featuring Nicole Kidman and Rosy McEwen, the second season of the show will be based on two books: Cruel and Unusual from 1993 and The Body Farm from 1994.

What to Read Next

Although the full story for season two hasn’t been revealed yet, here’s what we know about Cruel and Unusual: When Ronnie Joe Waddell, a convicted murderer, is executed in Virginia, his autopsy seems like a standard case for Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta.

Even after Waddell was executed, the killings didn’t stop. People connected to him, including someone on Scarpetta’s team, started turning up dead.

When important files vanish, Dr. Scarpetta is accused of being incompetent. Suddenly caught in a dangerous political game and betrayed by people she thought she could trust, she has to prove her innocence and protect herself from deadly accusations – and real threats to her life.

Desperate to save her job, Scarpetta begins to investigate the violent crimes committed by Waddell, a path that could expose long-buried secrets within the state government. Discovering the truth might save her, but it could also bring about a harsh and unexpected reckoning.

The novel The Body Farm is set in Black Mountain, North Carolina, a quiet town where serious crimes are rare. The residents aren’t accustomed to needing to lock their doors, as violent incidents are uncommon.

Violent death can happen anywhere, and when the body of an eleven-year-old girl is found, the community is devastated. Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a leading medical examiner with experience in similar cases, is brought in to investigate. What initially seems like a straightforward case turns out to be more complicated than expected, until Scarpetta gains a crucial insight while working at the Body Farm, a unique research facility focused on decomposition and forensic science.

Critics gave the first season of Scarpetta mixed to positive reviews, resulting in a 63% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Okay, so Digital Spy gave the show three stars, which feels fair. They didn’t think it was Nicole Kidman’s best performance ever, but definitely a big step up from some of her recent work like ‘Holland’ or ‘The Perfect Couple.’ They said the same about Bobby Cannavale and Simon Baker – solid as always. But they really praised Rosy McEwen, saying she perfectly captured that cool, detached vibe of the younger Scarpetta, almost like a younger version of Kidman herself!

Despite a lot of similar crime shows and books already out there, Scarpetta stands out thanks to the powerful performances of Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis, who really bring the story to life. Cornwell was a pioneer in this genre, and their dynamic keeps it fresh.

Scarpetta season one is on Prime Video now.

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2026-03-17 13:49