True Crime
A Memoir - the jaw-dropping and moving story of the godmother of forensic crime and creator of Scarpetta
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True Crime
Narrated by:
Patricia Cornwell
Buy Now for £18.89
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Narrated by:
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Patricia Cornwell
'Patricia Cornwell's memoir is a personal page turner, filled with mysteries and tragedies like her fiction, but these characters are real' JAMIE LEE CURTIS
The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author Patricia Cornwell finally tells the story that rivals all of the works that precede it: her own.
Patricia Cornwell is best known for her international bestselling thriller series about forensic pathologist Dr Kay Scarpetta. Every story comes from somewhere, and Scarpetta's began when Patricia Cornwell embedded herself in a morgue.
In this achingly honest memoir, Cornwell excavates her own life, detailing her traumatic childhood being raised by neglectful parents, her father abandoning the young family on Christmas day, her mother being institutionalised twice, an abusive foster family, and developing a parental relationship with evangelist Billy Graham's wife Ruth. Cornwell depicts a harrowing hospitalisation and near-death car accident. She unflinchingly shares overcoming obstacles that later gave her the ambition to become an award-winning police reporter. From there it was research in a medical examiner's office that would turn into a full-time job. She would become a forensic expert and worldwide publishing phenomenon.
Cornwell leaves no stone unturned in this deeply candid account of her life, offering inspiring insight into what made her into the international sensation she is today.
'A memoir with all the thrills and twists - not to mention a bit of blood and terror - of one of Cornwell's thrillers' VAL MCDERMID
'Cornwell brings a deft hand and her well-honed storytelling skills to the circumstances of her own fascinating life' DAVID BALDACCI
'The story behind the storyteller is captivating, thrilling, heartbreaking and truly inspiring' CHRIS WHITAKER
'Unflinching, unfiltered, fearless. True Crime is a fascinating, insightful page-turner. I loved it' ANDREA MARA©2026 Cornwell Entertainment, Inc (P)2026 Hachette Book Group USA
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Critic reviews
A memoir with all the thrills and twists - not to mention a bit of blood and terror - of one of Cornwell's thrillers (Val McDermid)
Cornwell brings a deft hand and her well-honed storytelling skills to the circumstances of her own fascinating life (David Baldacci)
I've long been a fan of Patricia Cornwell, and the story behind the storyteller is captivating, thrilling, heartbreaking and truly inspiring. I can't recommend True Crime highly enough (Chris Whitaker)
Patricia Cornwell has logged more hours in morgues than any crime writer I can think of. How she came to create the indelible character of Dr. Kay Scarpetta is only part of a surprising, whirlwind story (Carl Hiaasen)
Let's start, and end, with this: Patricia Cornwell's autobiography, True Crime, could be the best book she's ever written. And I've read them all! (James Patterson)
Patricia Cornwell's memoir is a personal page turner, filled with mysteries and tragedies like her fiction, but these characters are real (Jamie Lee Curtis)
Sometimes a true crime doesn't look conventional, but in Patricia Cornwell's life, the crime was true enough. Childhood abandonment and neglect forged a resilience and perception of humanity clearly evident across her bestselling novels. A remarkable, enthralling, and riveting story of her life (Dan Ackroyd)
Patricia Cornwell's True Crime is absolutely riveting and beautifully written, revealing the origin story of someone with unparalleled tenacity - never quitting, even when facing tremendous adversity. Her memoir underscores the sentiment that only enormous pressure creates a diamond - which is exactly what Patricia is (Billie Jean King)
An unflinching, unfiltered, fearless glimpse into the world of Patricia Cornwell - it's a privilege to have this behind the scenes look at one of the world's most successful crime writers. She paved the way for a whole new generation of authors and is inspiring and awesome in the true meaning of those words. True Crime is, to no-one's surprise, a fascinating, insightful page-turner. I loved it (Andrea Mara)
Our favourite medical examiner turns her forensic skills on herself - this is Scarpetta's autopsy of Patricia Cornwell's life. Add True Crime to Cornwell's stack of great, vivid reads - secrets are unpeeled and dissected - compelling storytelling with no shortage of twists and surprises (Lesly Stahl)
This literary memoir is as good as it gets, with more action and drama than many novels
This is a story only Patricia Cornwell could possibly tell, about the greatest Cornwall character of them all: Herself (Mike Lupica)
I went into this book expecting insight into crime writing, forensic science, and the woman behind Kay Scarpetta. What I found instead was something far more intimate; a portrait of a deeply driven, emotionally complex woman trying to make sense of ambition, identity, loneliness, success, and the ghosts that shape us long before we understand them ourselves.
What stayed with me most was not the fame or achievement, but the emotional undercurrent beneath it all. The hunger to prove oneself. The cost of carrying brilliance. The loneliness that can exist even inside extraordinary success.
This memoir feels raw, intelligent, obsessive at times, vulnerable at others, and unapologetically human. Patricia Cornwell does not write to make herself easy to love; she writes to tell the truth as she experienced it, and I respected that deeply.
I found myself listening less for the public figure and more for the woman underneath the armour.
For readers who love memoirs that are psychologically layered, emotionally revealing, and rich in human complexity, this is absolutely worth the listen.
Some memoirs tell a story. Others quietly expose the emotional architecture of an entire life. This one does both.
The Woman Beneath the Legend
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really enjoyable
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Boring
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I’m halfway through and honestly, will probably wind it on a few hours and hope it gets better. We are still in school after several hours, it feels like just relentless tales of not that interesting childhood misery.
It would have benefited so much from a ruthless editor. I wonder if Ms Cornwell kept editorial control herself which might explain why this feels needlessly self indulgent, and, quite frankly, boring.
Would have benefited from a good editor
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