Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Cause of Death

  • Dr Kay Scarpetta, Book 7
  • By: Patricia Cornwell
  • Narrated by: C. J. Critt
  • Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (139 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Cause of Death cover art

Cause of Death

By: Patricia Cornwell
Narrated by: C. J. Critt
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Deadeye cover art
Undercurrents cover art
The Shadow Hunter cover art
A Long Time Dead cover art
The Lincoln Lawyer: Booktrack Edition cover art
Open Season cover art
Iron Lake cover art
Say It With Poison, Mitchell and Markby Village, Book 1 cover art
Buried cover art
14 cover art
The Black Echo: Special Edition cover art
Relic cover art
Devil's Teardrop cover art
MatchUp cover art

Summary

New Year's Eve, and the final murder scene of Virginia's bloodiest year takes Scarpetta 30 feet below the Elizabeth River's icy surface. A diver is dead.

Ted Eddings, an investigative reporter who was a favourite at the Medical Examiner's office. Was Eddings probing the frigid depths for a story or simply diving for sunken trinkets? And why did Scarpetta receive a phone call reporting the death before the police were notified?

©1996 Patricia Daniels Cornwell (P)2002 Recorded Books Inc

Critic reviews

"America’s most stimulating and chilling writer of crime fiction." ( The Times)
"Patricia Cornwell is one of the best crime writers writing today. She is precise, she is careful, above all, she is original." ( Guardian)
"Few writers match Patricia Cornwell when it comes to writing crime." ( Daily Express)

What listeners say about Cause of Death

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    73
  • 4 Stars
    28
  • 3 Stars
    21
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    7
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    60
  • 4 Stars
    25
  • 3 Stars
    22
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    7
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    68
  • 4 Stars
    23
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story, but issues with sound in the last chapter

A typical Kay Scarpetta story, easy listening and enjoyable. However, right at the crux the audio is not great which spoils the ending a bit.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Awful narration, worse than Lorelei King.

I thought that Lorelei King's narration was bad. This was excruciating, it feels forced and unnatural. I never thought that I'd want Lorelei to narrate these books but I do, come back (nearly) all is forgiven. There must be better voice actors out there, I know there are.

I love the Scarpette series but this is mediocre compared to the others. I found it slow and lacking in any suspense.

Unfortunately the quality of this recording isn't very good either, it cuts out on multiple occasions so you miss some of the narrative.

Question: Why aren't 'The Body Farm' and 'From Potter's Field' available? You have to miss two of the books, it doesn't seem logical.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not the best Scarpetta story

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The storyline needed to be stronger. I was a little bit bored

What will your next listen be?

The Handmaid's Tale

What three words best describe C. J. Critt’s voice?

Fits Scarpetta well

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not really, I won't be listening to it again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

good story, weird narration!

As usual, a good yarn, even though the phrase 'my niece`' is somewhat overworked. The narration was very strange, as if an timer had gone wrong with the delivery. Stilted is the word that comes to mind. Personally, I will avoid any book read by this person. Odd stresses put on words and the worst Scots accent ever!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

very poor

I was very disappointed with the lame storyline, very unusual for Ms Cornwell. Narrator made Lucy sound like a little girl!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Kay was a bit flat

Enjoyable however lacking in the storyline I prefer more drama and more time in the morgue. Cornwall has definitely written better.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Awful

I've only read a couple of Scarpetta books and was really disappointed in this. its like she had a few spare hours over Christmas and cobbled a story out of a heap of boring research. No plot, no character development.Very disappointing I'm not sure I'll buy another one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Gripping, on edge of seat , slow start then picks up speed and don't stop till the end!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Leap of Faith Required

I think a cult who captured a decommissioned navy submarine and barricaded a nuclear facility with the intention of selling everything to a terrorist org would have had to face much more firepower than just an FBI hostage negotiator and a state level medical examiner. CJ Critt has always been a hit or miss for me. Here it was a miss. She did better with humorous/comical content than content with a serious, melancholic tone.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not worth the Time.

Dated and unbelievable. A great deal of superfluous padding but its nog s total waste as there's a good recipe for lasagne!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!