Scarpetta; Kay (Fictitious character), Women, Medical examiners (Law), Forensic pathologists 

Whenever a child is murdered, it is a particularly horrible crime. The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell begins with a brutal murder of a young girl, Emily Steiner, in North Carolina. The murder seems to be another in a series of kidnaps and murders that has stumped the FBI for years.

Kay Scarpetta, chief medical examiner for the commonwealth of Virginia, is also a consulting pathologist with the FBI's Behavioral Science department and she is asked to join the search for Emily's killer.

Complicating the case is the fact that Kay's own niece, Lucy, who has assisted Kay on cases back in Richmond, is now an intern with the FBI's computer engineering division. Lucy has been accused of a security violation that is causing more than ripples at the Bureau. Although the plot of this mystery novel is not quite up to the standards of other Cornwell efforts, the book does delve more into Kay Scarpetta's personal life. Her affection (and frustration) with her niece, Lucy; her complicated relationship with Capt. Pete Marino; a strained love affair with her FBI lover, Benton Wesley; and the developing personal relationship she has with the victim's mother.