Description
Hornet’s Nest by Patricia Cornwell is the first novel in the Andy Brazil series, a crime thriller set within the day-to-day realities of a busy police department. The story takes place in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Deputy Police Chief Virginia West is under pressure as a disturbing series of murders unsettles the city. Several visiting businessmen have been killed, their bodies left in a bizarre state that has both investigators and the public on edge. At the same time, West is ordered by her superior, Police Chief Judy Hammer, to allow a rookie newspaper reporter, Andy Brazil, to accompany officers on patrol in an effort to improve relations between the police and the community. The arrangement quickly proves frustrating as Brazil’s inexperience creates complications during active police work. As tensions grow within the department—among officers, dispatchers, and city officials—West and her colleagues attempt to track down the killer responsible for the escalating violence.
Combining elements of police procedure, newsroom observation, and city politics, Hornet’s Nest introduces the central characters and institutional conflicts that shape Cornwell’s series about crime, policing, and media involvement in criminal investigations.
