Sue Turnbull from the University of Wollongong has reviewed Patricia Cornwell’s memoir, True Crime, for The Conversation (27 May 2026).

According to Turnbull, there is a “detailed account” Cornwell’s childhood, including the time Patsy Daniels spent in foster care.

After Patsy’s mother was abandoned by her father, she took her children to the home of evangelist Billy Graham in South Florida.

Turnbull writes:

“Arriving at their gate, the distressed family are taken in and assisted by Graham’s wife Ruth, who shuffles the mother into psychiatric treatment and the children into care. This is disastrous for Patsy, who is subjected to cruel and unusual forms of psychological torture by their foster mother. It’s a tough read.

But Cornwell doesn’t shy away from the tough stuff. On the contrary, she seems determined to make sure we know the worst of it.”

Turnbull says that while Cornwell’s childhood experiences are well detailed, the 2nd half is “sketchy” because she covers 40 years.

Turnbull concludes:

“Weighed in the balance, True Crime is a lopsided book: part misery memoir, part confessional. It is the story of a friendless child who created fictional companions and worlds of her own in order to survive and grew up to do it for a living. Scarpetta, her most successful creation, has served Patsy Daniels well.”