All the Time in the World

This book was my introduction to Patricia Cornwell and her character, Kay Scarpetta; also my introduction to the concept of a "body farm", a forensic testing facility that puts cadavers in various environments over long periods to determine their effects on the corpse (the point being to be able to determine cause and time of death despite extensive decomposition.)

Let's just say I was sufficiently compelled by the writing and interested enough in the characters to go back and read the previous books, and then continued with the series for several more, until the point at which Scarpetta's life drama became more important than the mysteries - then I quit. I can recommend pretty much everything from #1, Postmortem, through about #9, Point of Origin. (Some might suggest that the drama got obnoxious at an earlier point, but that's just about where I knocked off.) There are an additional 9 Scarpetta books beyond that - if you like her stuff, go for it. She has also started at least two other series featuring different characters, but I have found that once an author has hit on a successful franchise, subsequent series will follow virtually the same path - and life's too short (IMHO.)