I could not help but compare CRIMINAL to the work of Thomas Harris (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs), bringing readers a suspenseful and brutal story of a serial killer that spans decades.
The story straddles two time periods. The first, present day, is just a few weeks after the conclusion of Karin Slaughter's FALLEN. The story starts with Will Trent actually allowing himself to be happy in his work and his relationship with Sarah, even though his past still weighs on him. Never has his past caught up with him so much as when a college student goes missing and Amanda purposefully, and ineffectively, tries to keep Will as far away from the case as possible. Little does he know that this case is linked to another from nearly forty years ago.
Slaughter pulls back another layer of Will Trent's complex character and brings readers back in time to where it all began. 1974. The summer Will was born. Atlanta, Georgia. Amanda and Evelyn take on their very first case together, despite the sexual harassment and upper management interference within the Atlanta Police Department. Dead girls, horrifically abused prior to their deaths, and no easy leads.
In addition to the intertwined characters of past and present, readers learn about Will's parents and that Amanda's involvement in his career was no accident.
I thought Slaughter's flashbacks to the 70s were a brilliant way to build this story, and bring these characters full circle. My heart literally pounded at certain points in the book, but I would be lying if I said CRIMINAL didn't give me nightmares. (I'm a little afraid of you now, Karin!) Some of the details of the crimes, sexual content, and graphic drug use were too much for me. If I weren't listening to the audio, I'm afraid I would have skipped over passages of the book. My comparison to Thomas Harris was not just writing style, or character-building, but it was also the twisted minds of their respective criminals. I read Harris back in high school, back when I had a stomach for slasher movies, roller coasters, and suspense novels like this one. I am stronger now than I thought, and found myself completely wrapped up in CRIMINAL.
Not only did I obsessively listen to this audiobook throughout the weekend, I thought this book was more interesting and even more thrilling than FALLEN. I still have some catching up to do on the Will Trent series, but for any fans of Karin Slaughter, thrillers, or psychological suspense, don't miss this one.
A Note On The Audio: Kathleen Early narrated the audio for CRIMINAL by AudioGO. At first, I found her voice to be a bit too dreamy and ill-fitting for a horror/suspense novel like this one; however, as the minutes and hours pressed on, I grew used to her voice and really appreciated her matter-of-fact tone when she described some of the more horrific scenes.
I had the pleasure of meeting Karin Slaughter at the Random House Power Reader Breakfast during BEA (Book Expo America) Week. She was one of the coolest people I met that week, and had a great time chatting with her.
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| Author Karin Slaughter and Alison of Alison's Book Marks |
Many thanks to AudioGO for being so patient with my technical difficulties last week! We did it!
Book Extras:
Karin Slaughter website
Random House book page (excerpts, readers guide, trailer video, etc.)
Add CRIMINAL to Goodreads
About the AudioBook:
About the Book:
Karin Slaughter is the #1 internationally bestselling author of several novels, including the Grant County series. A long-time resident of Atlanta, she splits her time between the kitchen and the living room.
Visit the other blogs on the CRIMINAL Audio Tour:
Monday, July 9: Literate Housewife (http://literatehousewife.com/)
Tuesday, July 10: Teresa’s Reading Corner (http://teresasreadingcorner.com/)
Thursday, July 12: Book Addict Reviews (http://bookaddictreviews.blogspot.com/)
Friday, July 13: In Real Life (http://www.erin-faye.com/)
Monday, July 16: Geeky Blogger’s Book Blog (http://www.geekybloggersbookblog.com/)
Tuesday, July 17: You’ve GOTTA Read This! (http://sandynawrot.blogspot.com/)
Wednesday, July 18: Alison’s Book Marks (http://www.alisonsbookmarks.com/)
Thursday, July 19: Jen’s Book Thoughts (http://www.jensbookthoughts.com/)
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