Truth is as riveting as fiction in Patricia Cornwell’s stunning memoir, ‘True Crime.’

On this episode of Fully Booked, No. 1 New York Times bestselling crime novelist Patricia Cornwell joins us to discuss True Crime: A Memoir (Grand Central Publishing, May 5), a literary memoir Kirkus calls “as good as it gets, with more action and drama than many novels.”

“With her blockbuster series featuring forensic medical examiner Kay Scarpetta finally making its way to the screen this spring in a series starring Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis, Cornwell’s 43rd book tells the story behind it all,” Kirkus writes in a starred review. “There are plenty of boldface names in this excellent account of hard-won success, with candor about the failures as well as the wins.”

Born in Miami, Cornwell grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston. She sold her first crime novel, Postmortem, while working at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) in Richmond, Virginia. It became the first book ever to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity awards in a single year, and it launched the Scarpetta series, an international phenomenon with 29 books and counting. Cornwell has written the definitive account of Jack the Ripper’s true identity, two cookbooks, a children’s book, and a biography of Ruth Graham.

In a scintillating conversation, Cornwell says she surprised herself in deciding to write a memoir after turning in the 29th Scarpetta book five months early. We discuss a traumatic childhood memory of her mother’s psychotic break, and the life-changing kindness of Ruth Graham, who helped Cornwell’s family get back on their feet. She reflects on her early years of writing: from weathering many rejections to the stunning success of Postmortem. We talk about her years working as a journalist and in the OCME, as well as the importance of basing her fiction in fact. We touch on the challenges of adapting the Scarpetta series for the screen, the impacts of AI, in law enforcement and storytelling, and much more.

At the end of the interview, Cornwell recommends to listeners a classic novel she loves (she has a signed first edition on her bookshelf). Follow @kirkus_reviews on Instagram, DM us the title of that novel (along with your email and location), and you’ll be entered in a drawing to receive a $100 Visa gift card, courtesy of Kirkus.

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Fully Booked is produced by Jessica Lockhart and Megan Labrise.