Starred review from June 1, 2009
Bestseller Slaughter brings together characters from her two series for the first time with electrifying results. Dr. Sara Linton, who lost her husband in 2007’s Beyond Reach
, has left rural Grant County for a new life in an underfunded Atlanta hospital. Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents Faith Mitchell and Will Trent, last seen in 2008’s Fractured
, happen to be in the hospital’s ER when a woman known only as “Anna” arrives. Anna was hit by a car after escaping from an unknown captor, whose underground torture chamber Will soon uncovers near the accident site, along with the body of a second woman he believes was held in the same bunker. When another woman is snatched, Faith and Will realize they’re chasing a sadistic serial killer. As the GBI agents try to connect the victims, Sara becomes more involved in the investigation, even as it dredges up painful memories from her past. Slaughter ups the emotional ante with every twist and turn in this disturbing thriller.
Starred review from July 15, 2009
In her latest thriller, "New York Times" best-selling author Slaughter brings together protagonists from her two series. Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents Will Trent and Faith Mitchell (introduced in "Fractured") collide with pediatrician and part-time coroner Sara Linton (last seen in "Faithless") when a torture victim appears in Linton's emergency room. Probing into the victim's personal life, the doctor and law enforcements agents must race time, battle bureaucracy, uncover myriad secrets, and enter the sadistic mind of a skilled perpetrator to solve the case. The reader will love revisiting familiar characters, even as the author pushes them to new limits. VERDICT This is a fast-paced read with a complex plot that contains enough twists to keep even the most veteran mystery reader guessing the identity of the culprit until the very end. Highly recommended as a high-octane summer read. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 3/1/09; originally titled "Genesis".Ed.]Colleen Harris, North Carolina State Univ. Lib., Raleigh
Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 15, 2009
Pediatrician and former Grant County, Georgia, coroner Sara Linton has seen plenty of disturbing sights since she began working in an Atlanta ER. But little could prepare her for the arrival of Annabruised, beaten, and battered within an inch of her life. In addition to severe surface injuries, Annas eleventh rib was brutally yanked from her frame. Sara is still reeling from the murder of her cop husband some three years before. As she monitors Anna, she becomes entangled in the pursuit of a beast who snatches up dark-haired beauties and slowly, over time, renders them deaf, dumb, and blind. Georgia State Bureau of Investigation special agents Faith Mitchell and Will Trent lead the investigation, though local law enforcement fights them every step of the way. Agents Mitchell and Trent have problems of their own. Single-mother Faith learns she is pregnant and diabetic; Will grapples with illiteracy. (Skeptical readers may question whether a real-life special agent lacking two of the three Rscould qualify for Agent Trents job.) As more women are abducted, all parties must set aside personal challenges and stay focused on the case. Best-seller Slaughter (Fractured, 2008, among many others) serves up flawed characters and grisly forensics in this suspenseful series entry.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)
September 28, 2009
Slaughter thrusts her series heroine, Dr. Sara Linton, into a serial killer case being investigated by the author's newer series protagonists, detectives Will Trent and Faith Mitchell of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Natalie Ross provides just the right vocal interpretations. For Faith, a tough cookie starting to crumble from the combined pressures of pregnancy and newly diagnosed diabetes, she shifts from harsh-voiced confrontations with balky suspects to softer, self-doubting inner monologues. Trent is given a thoughtful delivery that changes to a self-conscious croak in the presence of the lovely Dr. Linton. For the doctor, still mourning the death of her husband, Ross saves her most subtle characterization, bravery undercut by an unshakable sadness. Though very much a character-driven novel, there's no shortage of plot, and there, too, Ross handles the chills and thrills with appropriate pacing and drama. A Delacorte hardcover (Reviews, June 1).