What is the first novel where the fictional character Dr Kay Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner, first appears?

Kay Scarpetta is a fictional character inspired by former Virginia Chief Medical Examiner Marcella Farinelli Fierro MD. Dr Scarpetta is the protagonist in a series of crime novels written by Patricia Cornwell. Cornwell is noted for the way she has Scarpetta use recent forensic technology in her investigations. "Postmortem" (1990) is a crime fiction novel by Cornwell and is her debut novel. It is the first book of the Dr Scarpetta series, it received the 1991 Edgar Award for Best First Novel.

The novel "Postmortem" opens as Dr Kay Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Virginia, receives an early-morning call from Sergeant Pete Marino, a homicide detective at the Richmond Police Department with whom Scarpetta has a tense working relationship. She meets him at the scene of a woman's gruesome strangling, the latest in a string of unsolved murders in Richmond. The doctor is now tasked with helping to find the heinous murder.

Patricia Cornwell (b. Patricia Carroll Daniels; June 1956), an American crime writer, is known for her best-selling novels featuring medical examiner Kay Scarpetta. The first was inspired by a series of sensational murders in Richmond, Virginia, where most of the stories are set. The plots are notable for their strong emphasis on forensic science. Lately, Cornwell has initiated new research into the Jack the Ripper killings, incriminating the popular British artist Walter Sickert. Her books have sold more than 100 million copies.