1st installment of the Scarpetta Series. On Saturdays, and under the cover of night, in Richmond, a human monster strikes leaving a gruesome trail of stranglings that has paralyzed the city. Medical examiner Kay Scarpetta suspects the worst: a deliberate campaign by a brilliant serial killer whose signature offers precious few clues. With an unerring eye, she calls on the latest forensic advances to unmask the madman; but this investigation will test Kay like no other, because it is being sabotaged by someone who wants her dead.