1. What is The Scarpetta Factor? How did it become the title of this book?
Patricia’s Answer - There are multiple meanings. One is the proposed name of a new show on CNN, where Scarpetta is the Senior Forensic Analyst. Another meaning is one that Scarpetta disdains—the notion that she has some “special factor” that enables her to solve every crime.
2. As with its immediate predecessor in the Scarpetta series, this new novel brings personal relationships to the foreground, especially those between Scarpetta and her husband Benton Wesley as both of them struggle to deal with past events that continue to spill out all over their lives together (his decision to disappear as a “protected witness” for six years, leaving her thinking he was dead); and between Marino and Wesley (who can’t get past the detective’s assault on Scarpetta even though she has put the incident behind her). Was it a conscious decision on your part to have the past play such an important role in this story?
Patricia’s Answer- After twenty years of Scarpetta novels, what we really have here is a saga or an epic that is just as much about the cast of characters as it is about each independent tale of suspense and intrigue. Much like The Sopranos, we “tune in” to see what’s going on with the characters just as much as we do to enjoy the latest plot twist. I consciously decided when I was writing Scarpetta last year that this was the way the series would go: I would treat it like a long running drama that stars five people we are fascinated by—the lead, of course, being Scarpetta. I am especially excited by The Scarpetta Factor because it reveals deep secrets from a tortured past when Scarpetta thought she’d lost Benton forever. For the first time, readers will find out exactly what happened back then. They will also find out details about Lucy’s past that they haven’t known before. So in a sense, as the series moves forward, it is also moving backward because I want to give readers all sorts of details I’ve never shared before.
(Next book? Watch out. The reader will find out more rather shocking secrets!)
3. After quite some time as a forensic consultant in Florida, and then as a private forensic pathologist in Charleston, Scarpetta came full circle professionally in your last book by once again taking a job as a chief medical examiner—this time for the Northeastern District of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Because of their proximity to New York, she and Benton accepted an invitation to serve as visiting lecturers at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which included her offering pro bono consulting work for the NYPD and the New York Medical Examiner’s Office, and him consulting as a forensic psychologist at Bellevue. Now, in The Scarpetta Factor, we’re seeing hints that their life in Massachusetts—or at least Scarpetta’s job there—may be winding down. In discussing Scarpetta’s return to the Big Apple you recently said you predicted, long years ago, that she would end up in New York and that you had a funny feeling that one day she would be Chief M.E. there. Despite her disinterest, what are the odds that your “premonition” will come true? Is a permanent move to New York in the cards for Scarpetta and Wesley?
Patricia’s Answer - I think it is quite likely Scarpetta will end up full time in NYC, but not as the chief. However, her position at the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) will not preclude her getting involved in cases in other jurisdictions, because in the novel I’m just beginning to research, the reader is going to be in for quite a jolt when he or she discovers something about Scarpetta’s long ago professional past that will launch her into a rather stunning new direction.
Patricia’s Answer - Awareness. Both the public and politicians need to understand that psychiatric disorders are as real and debilitating as any “physical” illness, and we must find a way to protect those who suffer from them, and also protect the public. I don’t know that the system can ever be “fixed.” But we need to try harder. This revolving door of hospitalizing someone with a full blown psychosis, and then putting the person back out on the street three weeks later is extraordinarily tragic and dangerous.
Patricia’s Answer - RTCC does exist and I’ve visited it several times—doing the research. It’s an extraordinary way to track criminals through massive databanks and do it in real time. You’ll have to read the book to get the nuances. It’s much too much to explain here, but the NYPD has a computer system that I suspect is the envy of the world.
Patricia’s Answer - Let’s put it this way: Anything you read about in The Scarpetta Factor, whether it is the morgue or RTCC or the New York County D.A.’s Office or NYPD’s demolition range at Rodman’s Neck, I’m describing what I saw. I spent a lot of time visiting various facilities and having their equipment and procedures explained in detail. But no, I certainly didn’t “ride” with the bomb squad! That would be a little dangerous and completely against NYPD protocol. I did whatever was appropriate for the administration to allow—whether it was the NYC OCME, or NY FBI Field Office, or NYPD—and then wove the material into my story. I am always mindful when doing research that I’m writing fiction and am involved in the entertainment industry. My work should never interfere with the real work these professionals are doing or in any way compromise the privacy of the victims, their families, witnesses, etc. So to be honest, I’d love to brag and say I got all sorts of special secret access, but cannot. My access was always strictly monitored by the administration of any entity I spent time with, and I abided by their policies and will continue to do so.
Patricia’s Answer - Computer technology—absolutely. We live in a cyberworld, and that includes the crimes being committed in a way that seems impossible to counter. As one NYPD character in the new book says, “people are no longer accountable.” Criminals are anonymous. So Scarpetta not only has to know the usual tricks of her forensic trade, but she now must track criminals who seemingly leave no trail unless you know how to track them through the Internet and by other very savvy, innovative means.
Patricia’s Answer - DNA is not a panacea and not even always the gold standard. Its use depends on the case and the circumstances. It is easy for people to think that DNA is the only evidence needed to solve a crime. This is absolutely untrue and a very dangerous assumption. I explore this in great detail in the novel.
1. 9. You also make reference to the FBI’s billion dollar Next Generation Identification (NGI) system, now under development, which will, among other things, expand the Bureau’s current fingerprint-based system to include things like palm prints, iris patterns and facial imaging. Some critics have raised serious concerns over this trend toward biometrics. They say the database that is currently being used by the FBI—the one earmarked for expansion—is exempt from the Privacy Requirement that records be accurate. As a result, what we’ll be doing is “giving the federal government access to an extraordinary amount of information linked to biometric identifiers that is becoming increasingly inaccurate.” There are also privacy advocates who see this as a step toward a police state as well as a potential “gold mine of personal data waiting to be plundered by cyber criminals.” They point to the problematic situation where people could become victims of biometric identify theft. Do you think these sorts of concerns are reasonable or are they overblown? Do the benefits of this kind of expanded biometric database outweigh the dangers?
Patricia’s Answer - The biggest problem is that the public believes what it sees in shows like CSI, as opposed to simply enjoying the dramas as entertainment. Then certain concepts are carried into the courtroom or even to the crime scene, and victims and juries begin to have unrealistic expectations--or they're just flat-out misinformed. The reason this has happened is simple. When people fell in love with Star Trek, they could look out their window at jets flying by and know the USS Enterprise wasn’t commercial air travel or the Air Force. Forensic science, on the other hand, is not accessible to most people and is abstract; therefore the average person has no standard by which to judge these fictional depictions and can't know if they are true or false.
Nothing you read in my books is science fiction. It’s all within the realm of possibility or is something I actually saw or experienced. For example, when I describe a Total Containment Vessel (the NYPD bomb truck), it’s exactly what I was shown. When I describe NYPD’s “Two Truck” and even their mascot boxer Mac, I’ve been in there and met Mac.
Patricia’s Answer -Let’s put it this way––I’m extremely aware of how this terrible economy has impacted public services like the police, the medical examiners, the crime labs, etc. When budgets are severely cut, we begin to diminish the ability of these experts to take care of us and create huge hardships for people who serve us for very little compensation or “perks” to begin with. You add the economic hardships to unrealistic expectations the public has, and it only makes the problems worse.
12. Last year you made a deal with Lifetime to adapt two novels from your bestselling Win Garano series — At Risk and The Front — into movies. The movie stars Andie MacDowell as district attorney Monique Lamont, Daniel Sunjata as Massachusetts state investigator Winston Garano, Diahann Carroll as Garano’s grandmother, Nana, Annabeth Gish as Garano’s co-worker, Sykes, and Ashley Williams as Stump, another co-worker of Garano. We know you have been on the set recently, what’s your initial reaction to what you have seen so far?
Patricia’s Answer -AWESOME!! The audience is going to go crazy when they see these films next spring on Lifetime! The producers (Stan Brooks, Jim Head) are fabulous and so are the scripts and the cast. I couldn’t possibly have said no. Every piece is exactly right—and that’s not been true in the past.
13. We understand you make a cameo appearance in the Lifetime movies. Can you give us any clues about your debut acting role?
Patricia’s Answer -Nope. It’s a secret. I was given several choices of roles for the cameo, and I chose the one I wanted. I bet no one will guess it. But don’t blink. I’m not on camera long in either film, but I play the same character in each. My partner Staci has a role, too, and she’s not telling, either.
