2018 Book 313: PIECES OF HER by Karin Slaughter

Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter
ISBN: 9780062430274 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9780062430298 (ebook)
ISBN: 9781504780025 (audiobook)
ASIN: B074DTKCR3 (Kindle edition)
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: August 21, 2018

The #1 internationally bestselling author returns with a new novel in the vein of her New York Times bestsellers Pretty Girls and The Good Daughter—a story even more electrifying, provocative, and suspenseful than anything she’s written before.

What if the person you thought you knew best turns out to be someone you never knew at all . . . ?

Andrea Cooper knows everything about her mother, Laura. She knows she’s spent her whole life in the small beachside town of Belle Isle; she knows she’s never wanted anything more than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life. Because we all know our mothers, don’t we?

But all that changes when a trip to the mall explodes into violence and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura. Because it turns out that before Laura was Laura, she was someone completely different. For nearly thirty years she’s been hiding from her previous identity, lying low in the hope that no one would ever find her. But now she’s been exposed, and nothing will ever be the same again.

The police want answers and Laura’s innocence is on the line, but she won’t speak to anyone, including her own daughter. Andrea is on a desperate journey following the breadcrumb trail of her mother’s past. And if she can’t uncover the secrets hidden there, there may be no future for either one of them. . .

Andrea Cooper put her life on hold, okay it wasn’t much of a life when she received a phone call from her mother stating she had breast cancer. She returned to Georgia and helped out because that’s what you do. Now, she’s working at the 911-call center and living in the apartment above her mother’s garage. It isn’t much of a life, but Andrea’s making do. All of that changes in the blink of an eye when a teenage boy enters a restaurant one day intent on seeking revenge against his former girlfriend and her mother along with anyone else that gets in his way. The person that stops him isn’t Andrea, but Andrea’s mother Laura and she stops him by brutally murdering him in an effort to protect Andrea from being shot. Now Laura wants Andrea to not only leave her apartment but to leave Georgia and run. Why? Andrea isn’t sure, but what she does know is that her mother is hiding something big and Andrea is determined to find out what it is before it’s too late for them both.

Let me just say that I’ve read almost everything that Ms. Karin Slaughter has written and she’s one of my favorite authors. Needless to say when I was offered the opportunity to read her newest work, Pieces of Her I screamed YES! and am I glad I did. Pieces of Her is a taut suspense thriller that weaves Laura’s backstory from thirty years ago with Laura and Andrea’s present story. Ms. Slaughter provides just enough twists and turns that you’re not quite sure where the story is going and when you get there you’re pleasantly surprised to see where you are. Pieces of Her blends elements of domestic terrorism (no, I can’t tell you more…read the book), international intrigue, and suspense with family angst and drama. I thoroughly enjoyed the action, drama, characters, and settings. I found myself trying to figure out what would happen next as I was reading and, thankfully, I was wrong each time (I love when that happens; I personally don’t want to read a story that is that predictable). This story is much more than Andrea’s quest to find out who her mother is, it is a quest for the truth and a search for identity. Andrea is searching for who she is as well as who her mother is and where she came from. For those of you that have read anything by Ms. Slaughter in the past, I probably don’t need to tell you to grab a copy of Pieces of Her, but I will anyway. If you have never read anything by Ms. Slaughter, here’s your chance – go and get a copy of Pieces of Her to read, I only hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. I’m quite serious people, Pieces of Her is a must read book!

Disclaimer: I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss+. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the

Read an excerpt here.

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2017 Book 280: THE GOOD DAUGHTER by Karin Slaughter

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter
ISBN: 9780062430243 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9780062430267 (ebook)
ASIN: B01N7BJZEA (Kindle edition)
Publication date: August 8, 2017
Publisher: William Morrow

Two girls are forced into the woods at gunpoint. One runs for her life. One is left behind…

Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn’s happy small-town family life was torn apart by a terrifying attack on their family home. It left their mother dead. It left their father — Pikeville’s notorious defense attorney — devastated. And it left the family fractured beyond repair, consumed by secrets from that terrible night.

Twenty-eight years later, and Charlie has followed in her father’s footsteps to become a lawyer herself — the ideal good daughter. But when violence comes to Pikeville again — and a shocking tragedy leaves the whole town traumatized — Charlie is plunged into a nightmare. Not only is she the first witness on the scene, but it’s a case that unleashes the terrible memories she’s spent so long trying to suppress. Because the shocking truth about the crime that destroyed her family nearly thirty years ago won’t stay buried forever…

Charlotte “Charlie” Quinn lived through one nightmare at the age of thirteen when her mother was killed in her front of her and her sister Samantha “Sam” and then her sister was shot in the head and left for dead. Now Charlie is living through a new tragedy as an almost witness to a school shooting followed by her father being brutally stabbed in his driveway in Karin Slaughter’s latest psychological thriller, The Good Daughter.

We are first introduced to Charlie and Sam Quinn as teenagers, twenty-eight years ago. Their home has been burned down and the family has been forced to relocate to a farmhouse outside of Pikeville, Georgia. All of their possessions were destroyed in the fire, so they are slowly rebuilding by purchasing items a local thrift store. Their mother, Gamma (Henrietta) is a nontraditional mother in most aspects but loved nonetheless. A home invasion with the intent of robbery and revenge quickly turns violent leaving Gamma dead, fifteen-year-old Sam severely wounded, and thirteen-year-old Charlie traumatized and brutalized. Fast forward twenty-eight years and both Sam and Charlie have become lawyers like their father Russell “Rusty” Quinn, with Sam specializing in patent law in New York City and Charlie having an independent practice in the same office as her father in Pikeville, Georgia. Sam is widowed and Charlie is married to her college sweetheart. After Charlie and Ben’s marriage suffers through a separation, Charlie has a one-night-stand that ends with a phone-swap the morning after at the local middle school and then a school shooting. If that tragedy wasn’t enough, later that day Rusty Quinn is found brutally stabbed in the driveway of his home. Sam returns home to Pikeville to be a support to Charlie and winds up handling the arraignment of the school shooter. Charlie’s one-night-stand man winds up having ties to her family’s past that she knew nothing about and that brings up memories she’d rather never remember. Is it possible that the events of twenty-eight years ago are linked to current events? Can the past ever be allowed to die?

I’ve said it before and it bears repeating, Ms. Slaughter is an amazing writer. I’ve read almost everything she’s written and nothing has ever disappointed me as a reader, including The Good Daughter. This was an incredible read! I loved the characters (especially Lenny/Lenore), the multiple storylines, the twists and turns, the small town setting, even the bad guys (okay, I didn’t really “Like” the bad guys, but they were an integral part of the story so without them, it just wouldn’t have worked). I particularly enjoyed the sibling struggle between Charlie and Sam. We are given glimpses into Sam’s emotional and physical recovery of the years and how she copes with her current disabilities. Charlie, on the other hand, has never truly been allowed to emotionally heal from the trauma of twenty-eight years ago and that is making a huge impact on her current life in a variety of destructive ways. In many ways, both Charlie and Sam can be seen as “The Good Daughter” but they view one another that way than see themselves that way. It isn’t until another tragedy strikes (no, I’m not telling you what it is…read the book!), that Charlie and Sam truly come together as a family and learn to deal with the past. Obviously, there’s a lot more going on in the story than just Charlie and Sam and their family drama, there’s psychological thrills, school shooting, murder, mayhem, police brutality, marital infidelity, small-town prejudice and bullying, school bullying, and more. For those of you that have read anything written by Karin Slaughter then you already know you’ll want to read The Good Daughter. If you haven’t read anything by Karin Slaughter but you enjoy reading well-written psychological thrillers, then put The Good Daughter on your TBR list. If you’re not quite sure about psychological thrillers but are looking for something a little bit different to read, grab yourself a copy of The Good Daughter to read. Seriously, this is a darn fine read and one I plowed through in one day despite an ever-increasing migraine and a bout of bronchitis (the ever-increasing migraine was probably caused by the constant coughing from the bronchitis, but this story kept my mind off my physical ills). I’m incredibly grateful to the publisher for affording me the opportunity to read a review copy of The Good Daughter. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Slaughter in the future (review or purchased copy).

Disclaimer: I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes via Edelweiss+. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Read an excerpt from The Good Daughter here.

Karin Slaughter

Author Bio:

Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular and acclaimed storytellers. Published in 36 languages, with more than 35 million copies sold across the globe, her sixteen novels include the Grant County and Will Trent books, as well as the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and the instant New York Times bestselling novel Pretty Girls. A native of Georgia, Karin currently lives in Atlanta. Her Will Trent series, Grant County series, and standalone novel Cop Town are all in development for film and television.

Catch Up With Our Author On:

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Tour Participants:

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This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Karin Slaughter and William Morrow. There will be five (5) winners of one (1) print edition of The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter! This giveaway is open to US residents only. The giveaway begins on August 1 and runs through September 3, 2017.

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2017 Book 255: LAST BREATH by Karin Slaughter

Last Breath by Karin Slaughter
ISBN: 9780062792365 (paperback)
ISBN: 9789402753530 (ebook)
ASIN: B06XNJDDKL (Kindle edition)
Publication date: July 10, 2017
Publisher: Witness Impulse

Protecting someone always comes at a cost.

At the age of thirteen, Charlie Quinn’s childhood came to an abrupt and devastating end. Two men, with a grudge against her lawyer father, broke into her home—and after that shocking night, Charlie’s world was never the same.

Now a lawyer herself, Charlie has made it her mission to defend those with no one else to turn to. So when Flora Faulkner, a motherless teen, begs for help, Charlie is reminded of her own past, and is powerless to say no.

But honor-student Flora is in far deeper trouble than Charlie could ever have anticipated. Soon she must ask herself: How far should she go to protect her client? And can she truly believe everything she is being told?

Razor-sharp and lightning-fast, this electrifying story from the #1 international bestselling author will leave you breathless. And be sure to read Karin Slaughter’s extraordinary new novel The Good Daughter—available August 8, 2017.

Charlotte “Charlie” Quinn is a twenty-something struggling lawyer. She and her husband have agreed that they want a family but feel that it’s best to wait until they have more of their debt paid down — student loans, car loans, etc. before thinking of starting a family. The only problem with that is Charlie may be pregnant now. Rather than focus on her possible pregnancy, she turns her attention to what initially seems like a slam-dunk case for emancipation by a Girl Scout and supposedly straight-A honor student, Florabama “Flora” Faulkner. The only problem with that is Charlie is taking everything Flora says at face value without doing any due diligence. When her client is arrested and others begin to poke and prod into Flora’s life, what is uncovered is definitely more than Charlie was counting on. The question soon becomes just how far is too far when it comes to protecting a client?

Last Breath by Karin Slaughter is a quick read and one that has just as many twists and turns as her full-length reads. This might be a short read but it packs a powerful punch. Charlie Quinn is missing her mother and comes across a teenage girl that also lost a mother and in need of legal counsel. Is it possible that Charlie is too focused on the similarities between herself and Flora to notice the problems with Flora’s story? Is it possible that Charlie is being played by this teenager or is there something more sinister at work? No, I’m not going to tell you the answer to any of those questions, read the book! If you enjoy well-crafted mysteries, then you’ll definitely want to grab a copy of Last Breath to read. I’ve read and enjoyed everything Ms. Slaughter has written, including Last Breath, and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next with Charlie Quinn in The Good Daughter.

Book Details:

Genre: Thriller, Suspense
Published by: William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins
Publication Date: July 11th 2017
Number of Pages: 48
ISBN: 0062742159 (ISBN13: 9780062742155)
Series: Good Daughter 0.5
Purchase Links: Amazon  | Barnes & Noble  | Goodreads 

Karin Slaughter

Author Bio:

Catch Up With Our Author On:

Website , Goodreads , Twitter , & Facebook !

Tour Participants:

Giveaway:

This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Karin Slaughter and William Morrow. There will be 3 winners of one (1) ebook copy of Last Breath by Karin Slaughter! The giveaway begins on July 24 and runs through August 8, 2017.

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2016 Book 335: THE KEPT WOMAN by Karin Slaughter

The Kept Woman (Will Trent #8) by Karin Slaughter
ISBN: 9780062430212 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9780062430236 (eBook)
ISBN: 9781504733175 (audiobook)
ASIN: B019WVPSUO (Kindle edition)
Publication date: September 20, 2016
Publisher: William Morrow

Husbands and wives. Mothers and daughters. The past and the future.

Secrets bind them. And secrets can destroy them.

The author of the acclaimed standalone Pretty Girls returns with this long-awaited new novel in her bestselling Will Trent series—an electrifying, emotionally complex thriller that plunges the Georgia detective into the darkest depths of a case that just might destroy him.

With the discovery of a murder at an abandoned construction site, Will Trent and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are brought in on a case that becomes much more dangerous when the dead man is identified as an ex-cop.

Studying the body, Sara Linton—the GBI’s newest medical examiner and Will’s lover—realizes that the extensive blood loss didn’t belong to the corpse. Sure enough, bloody footprints leading away from the scene indicate there is another victim—a woman—who has vanished…and who will die soon if she isn’t found.

Will is already compromised, because the site belongs to the city’s most popular citizen: a wealthy, powerful, and politically connected athlete protected by the world’s most expensive lawyers—a man who’s already gotten away with rape, despite Will’s exhaustive efforts to put him away.

But the worst is yet to come. Evidence soon links Will’s troubled past to the case . . . and the consequences will tear through his life with the force of a tornado, wreaking havoc for Will and everyone around him, including his colleagues, family, friends—and even the suspects he pursues.

Relentlessly suspenseful and furiously paced, peopled with conflicted, fallible characters who leap from the page, The Kept Woman is a searing novel of love, loss, and redemption. A seamless blend of twisty police procedural and ingenious psychological thriller, it marks Karin Slaughter’s triumphant return to her most popular series, sure to please new and diehard fans alike.

Will Trent is an agent for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). He finally is in a relationship with a good woman, has a good relationship with his GBI partner, and is dealing with the strange supervisory/surrogate-mother deal with his boss. The only problem Will continues to have is his estranged wife, Angie Polaski…well, that and a rape case that seemed to disintegrate before his eyes in Karin Slaughter’s latest, The Kept Woman.

Will Trent has overcome many obstacles in his life. He was abused as a child and foster-child. He married at a young age to a woman that was and continues to be a bully and emotionally abusive towards him and everyone else. He has a good career and has learned to cope with his untreated dyslexia. He has a stable relationship with a mature and loving woman, Sara Linton. The only major obstacles to his happiness are finding and divorcing his estranged wife and getting the rape charges to stick against a prominent and wealthy Atlanta professional athlete. Just when Will doesn’t think his life could get any better, or worse, he’s called to a crime scene with a dead retired police officer and evidence that his estranged wife has been seriously injured, if not murdered, at the same location. Now Will, his GBI partner Faith Mitchell, his lover and newly-hired GBI pathologist Sara Linton, and his boss, Amanda Wagner, must all work around the clock to uncover why the retired police officer was murdered and where is Angie. Will they be able to find her before it’s too late or is this just another game that Angie’s playing to mess with Will’s head?

I found The Kept Woman to be a rather fast-paced and engrossing read. The only reason I put this book down was due to rapidly worsening migraine headache. Ms. Slaughter has the ability to pull me into each of stories from the first page and keep my attention to the last line on the last page. Did I like The Kept Woman? YES! This story has a lot of dark themes: physical child abuse, sexual child abuse, child prostitution, drug abuse, prostitution, rape, incest, marital abuse, dirty police officers, and murder. Added into this mix is the elite world of professional athletes and their ability to get anything covered up with the right amount of money. There are plenty of bad guys in this story, Angie Polaski, a group of professional athletes, some bad/dirty police officers, and everyone professionally associated with the professional athletes and cover-ups of their misdeeds. The Kept Woman provides stories within stories within stories and they all seemed to be tied to events in the past, some over 30 years in the making. I could go on and on about this book but I’ll simply end with Read This Book! Seriously, if you enjoy reading mystery thrillers or psychological thrillers then this is definitely a book you’ll want to read. Although this is the eighth book (tenth if you count the novellas) in the Will Trent series, it is possible to read this book and not feel as if you’ve missed out on the backstory and at the same time make you want to go back and read all of the previous books. I look forward to the next installment in this series, but while I’m waiting I’ll just have to reread the entire Will Trent series. (Yes, this series is just that good.)

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher via Edelweiss. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Review of PRETTY GIRLS by Karin Slaughter

Now Available in Paperback

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
ISBN: 9780062429070 (paperback)
ISBN: 9780062430878 (large print)
ISBN: 9780062429063 (ebook)
ASIN: B00VES8D6K (Kindle version)
Publication Date: April 26, 2016 (paperback edition)
Publisher: William Morrow

#1 internationally bestselling author Karin Slaughter returns with a sophisticated and chilling psychological thriller of dangerous secrets, cold vengeance, and unexpected absolution, in which two estranged sisters must come together to find truth about two harrowing tragedies, twenty years apart, that devastate their lives.

Sisters. Strangers. Survivors.

More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire. Lydia, a single mother, dates an ex-con and struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss—a devastating wound that’s cruelly ripped open when Claire’s husband is killed.

The disappearance of a teenage girl and the murder of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: what could connect them? Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago . . . and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it.

Powerful, poignant, and utterly gripping, packed with indelible characters and unforgettable twists, Pretty Girls is a masterful thriller from one of the finest suspense writers working today.

Claire Scott is the perfect wife and is married to the perfect husband. At least she thought she was married to the perfect husband until he was murdered and she finds he was keeping plenty of secrets from her. Lydia Delgado is far from perfect, but she has turned her life around and continues to struggle to do the best for herself and her daughter. These two sisters come together to search for the truth in Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter.

Claire Scott and Lydia Delgado are sisters that have already lived through one tragedy. Their oldest sister, Julia, disappeared twenty-four years ago and that disappearance ripped their family apart. Lydia was already on her way to becoming a wild child, experimenting with drugs before succumbing to addiction. Claire was the quiet, perfect child that grew into the quiet, unassuming, perfect adult. Claire’s life is torn apart when her husband is killed at the hands of a mugger. Just when she thinks things can’t get any worse, she arrives back at her home after her husband’s funeral to find out there was a burglary attempt. While trying to find documentation on the valuables in the home, she uncovers some truly nasty porn on her husband’s computer. Shocked and shamed, she does the only thing she can think of and turns it over to the police. But the local police chief tells her it is only a “snuff” film and not a very good one at that. Claire doesn’t quite believe him and turns to her sister Lydia for assistance. What they discover leads them to believe these “films” are linked to current and possibly past abductions/disappearances. Why is the FBI involved in a local murder case? What exactly was Paul Scott involved in before he was murdered? Can Claire and Lydia find out the truth before it is too late?

I found Pretty Girls to be a fast-paced and engrossing read. The story is just as much about the abduction/disappearance of Julia and how a family survives without closure, as it is the present murder of Claire’s husband and the current abduction/disappearances. Ms. Slaughter has crafted a hauntingly beautiful story about family, secrets, betrayal, and survival. The characters are realistic and well-developed. The storylines (and there are stories within stories within stories presented) are wholly believable. There are good guys, not-so-good guys, and really bad guys, and times when it is difficult to determine who the really bad guys are from the not-so-good guys (much like life). Claire is presented as “perfect,” but she is just as flawed as Lydia. I liked that they were able to overcome their past and come together as sisters in the present. Obviously, there’s a lot more going on in this story, and no I’m not going to reveal everything (buy the book!). Just in case you can’t tell, I thoroughly enjoyed Pretty Girls and can highly recommend this to anyone that enjoys reading suspense-thrillers. If you’ve never read anything by Ms. Slaughter, Pretty Girls is an excellent place to start.

Read an excerpt from Pretty Girls here.

Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher via Edelweiss and a print copy via BookSparks PR. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This review originally posted on 12/25/2015 as part of a BookSparks PR blog tour.

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2015 Book 388: PRETTY GIRLS by Karin Slaughter

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
ISBN: 9780062429056 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9780062430878 (HarperLuxe)
ISBN: 9780062429063 (ebook)
ASIN: B00VES8D6K (Kindle version)
Publication Date: September 29, 2015
Publisher: William Morrow

#1 internationally bestselling author Karin Slaughter returns with a sophisticated and chilling psychological thriller of dangerous secrets, cold vengeance, and unexpected absolution, in which two estranged sisters must come together to find truth about two harrowing tragedies, twenty years apart, that devastate their lives.

Sisters. Strangers. Survivors.

More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire. Lydia, a single mother, dates an ex-con and struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss—a devastating wound that’s cruelly ripped open when Claire’s husband is killed.

The disappearance of a teenage girl and the murder of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: what could connect them? Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago . . . and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it.

Powerful, poignant, and utterly gripping, packed with indelible characters and unforgettable twists, Pretty Girls is a masterful thriller from one of the finest suspense writers working today.

Read an excerpt from Pretty Girls here .

Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher via Edelweiss and a print copy via BookSparks PR. I was not paid, required, or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Buy the Book

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Book 151: UNSEEN Review

Unseen by Karin Slaughter
ISBN: 9780345539472 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9780345539489 (ebook)
ASIN: B00AXIZ3HE (Kindle edition)
Publication date: July 2, 2013
Publisher: Delacorte Press

Karin Slaughter’s New York Times bestselling novels are utterly riveting and masterfully drawn. Her latest thriller, Unseen, pits detectives, lovers, and enemies against one another in an unforgettable standoff between righteous courage and deepest evil.

Bill Black is a scary guy: a tall ex-con who rides to work on a Harley and trails an air of violence wherever he goes. In Macon, Georgia, Bill has caught the eye of a wiry little drug dealer and his cunning girlfriend. They think Bill might be a useful ally. They don’t know that Bill is actually a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent named Will Trent. Or that he is fighting his own demons, undercover and cut off from the support of Sara Linton—the woman he loves, who cannot be told of the risk Will is taking.

Sara herself has come to Macon because of a cop shooting: Her stepson, Jared, has been gunned down in his own home. Sara holds Lena, Jared’s wife, responsible: Lena, a detective, has been a magnet for trouble all her life, and Jared’s attack is not the first time someone Sara loved got caught in the crossfire. Furious, Sara finds herself involved in the same case that Will is working without even knowing it, and soon danger is swirling around both of them.

In a novel of fierce intensity, shifting allegiances, and shocking twists, two investigations collide with a conspiracy straddling both sides of the law. Karin Slaughter’s latest is both an electrifying thriller and a piercing study of human nature: what happens when good people face the unseen evils in their lives.

Unseen provides a fascinating glimpse of the interaction between characters from both the Will Trent and the Grant County series by Ms. Slaughter. Sara Linton is still in a romantic relationship with Will Trent and living in Atlanta. Lena Adams is now a detective in Macon and has married Sara’s stepson, Jared Long. After a home invasion and attempts on both Lena and Jared’s lives, Jared is critically injured and in the ICU at Macon General Hospital. Both Darnell, Jared’s mother, and Sara presume Lena must be to blame. Darnell is relying on Sara for emotional support during this trying time, and Sara is wishing she can rely on Will but he’s on an undercover assignment and unavailable. Sara’s past, present and possible future collide as Jared recuperates, Lena suffers in silence, and Will attempts to uncover a growing menace from a new drug dealer, Big Whitey.

Ms. Slaughter incorporates major and menacing drug dealers, child abduction/prostitution/pornography, corrupt police officers, and much more in a taut story that pulled me in from the first page to the very last. Unseen provides bad guys that are willing to kill anyone, including police officers, to send a message of fear and intimidation. Lena suffers silently presuming her investigation and recent drug bust may have resulted in a retaliatory strike against her and her husband. She’s also depressed and somewhat guilty that her recent miscarriage may have been punishment for her past. Will is tormented over the idea that he can’t be readily available to support Sara in this crisis situation but he’s a little closer to the situation than anyone can know as he plays a corrupt ex-con trying to catch the bad guys. Unseen reveals that life isn’t black and white and the law isn’t static, sometimes both stray into the gray areas in order for true justice to be done and for the innocents to be protected and the corrupt to be punished. If you enjoy thrillers, then you’ll definitely want to read Unseen.

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Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of this book free for review purposes from the publisher via Edelweiss and NetGalley. I was not paid, required or otherwise obligated to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Buy the Book