A mysterious footprint is found at the crime scene. Nothing unusual about that. Except this print may or may not have been left by … Bigfoot. Patricia Cornwell’s latest novel Unnatural Death features all sorts of serious stuff about artificial intelligence, military technology and the influence of Russia on US affairs – as well as the welcome return of her heroine, the forensic pathologist Dr Kay Scarpetta – but it’s the sasquatch subplot I keep coming back to. It’s bonkers – at one point, we’re not sure if the creature is helping the investigators – but entertaining. “We are fast approaching an age where it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not and I try to play with those things in Unnatural Death,” says Cornwell. Even over a video call from her home in Boston, her eyes shine a brilliant blue. Funny and energetic, she is great company.
Cornwell is interested in science and technology, which she pours into her books – in this one, it includes devices that are “downright spooky. You can turn the sky overhead into a speaker … so it sounds like a tornado is coming in, but there’s nothing there.” Another new bit of military tech – though to describe it would be a spoiler – is something the Russian government is developing, which Cornwell read about (she always does a lot of research). In her books, she says, where technological developments are concerned: “Everything I tell you about is real.”
