Fallen

I started and finished this latest offering in Slaughter's Georgia series within 36 hours, all the while telling myself that I really should slow down a bit as there won't be another book in the series for quite some time. (I'm hoping there will be more, as I've grown quite attached to Will, Sara and Faith, and even to Amanda!). Slaughter is one of those crime novelists (Elizabeth George is another) whose writing, in my view, has improved with time. Sure, it's not great literature, but it doesn't set out to be. However, Slaughter creates sympathetic and believable characters, a good sense of place and plots that hang together well with just the right amount of suspense and not too many totally implausible twists. She is definitely one of my favourite modern crime writers. This novel will appeal much more to readers who have already come to know its central characters than to those wanting a jumping off point for exploring a new author.

Postscript: I'm adding to this review two days after originally writing it, because I find myself still thinking about the characters from time to time. I find lots of modern crime fiction disposable: something to read once and (hopefully) enjoy. I don't tend to re-read modern crime fiction novels because (a) something new always comes along and (b)the writing is very often not good enough to bother, even if the story was compelling at the time. To realise that Karin Slaughter's characters have stayed with me after I've finished reading the novel indicates to me that she really is a good writer, not just a good story-teller. At some point, this will definitely be worth a re-read. ( )

Latest in the Will Trent series focusing on his partner Faith. Subtext continues his relationship with Dr. Sara Linton. Involves kidnapping, and long kept family secrets. ( )

The beginning seemed like a train wreck that wouldn't stop but about half way through it got better and better. I really enjoyed it by the end! Good book! ( )

Fallen by Karin Slaughter is a thrilling suspense novel about murder, corruption, the search for truth, and the personal conflict encountered as alliances become dichotomous. Those are the experiences of Faith Mitchell, a Georgia Bureau of Investigations cop whose own family falls victim to a deadly hostage-taking. With a plot loaded in suspense and twists, suspense fans will delight in Slaughter’s exceptional prose, for which she is well known. As an avid Slaughter fan myself, I highly recommend Fallen to those looking for an exciting, fast-paced, and intricately woven drama with a heavy helping of thrills.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of Fallen through the Amazon VINE Program, for review. ( )

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/05/fallen-georgia-series-3-by-karin-slaughter....

First of all, if you love crime fiction and mystery, and haven’t discovered Karin Slaughter’s books, that’s ok, you don’t have to start at the “beginning”. You could pick up Fallen and, well, fall into the addictive stories that she creates. Fallen is the author’s 10th novel and easily one of the best (they’re all excellent if that tells you anything.) Fallen is Faith and Will’s book (although Sara Linton gets a big part in this one too), and begins with Faith going to her mother’s house (ex vice cop Evelyn) to pick up her baby daughter, and finding a house of horrors, starting with a bloody handprint on the door. One young man is dead, another is being held hostage, and her mother is missing. What follows is one of the most suspenseful, twisting crime stories out there.

Will Trent and Faith Mitchell are partners in the Georgia Bureau of investigation. Of course, with this being Faith’s mother that’s been kidnapped, it’s a little bit of a conflict of interest that Faith investigate, so it falls to Will and his ballbuster of boss Amanda Wagner (who is very close with Faith’s mother). Long suspected of corruption before her retirement, it seems that the likely reason that Evelyn Mitchell was kidnapped was for a pile of money, thought to be in her possession. It’s not that simple though, and it doesn’t help that the young men involved in the kidnapping are members of some very dangerous gangs. The focus of the book is on Evelyn’s kidnapping, but we also (finally) get a little forward momentum going with the undeniable attraction between Will Trent and Sara Linton. Will Trent’s got some roadblocks though, the biggest one in the form of his cruel and abusive wife, Angie Trent, who disappears regularly, sometimes years at a time. She’s horrid, and I was keen to see Will stand up to her after so long. There’s a long, winding, heartbreaking story behind their relationship, and it’s not a happy one, but you’ll (sort of) understand more about Will, and like him even more. Like I said, you don’t have to have read previous novels to start here, but I would recommend starting with Blindsighted and working your way through. You will absolutely fall in love with these characters and their stories, and Karin Slaughter is, hands down, one of the best crime novelists out there right now. I can barely put her books down for a minute (seriously, things like laundry, etc, get abandoned as soon as I pick up one of her books), and she’s a master at creating suspense so palpable, you’ll feel your own heart speed up along with that of her characters. Fallen is superb, and absolutely not to be missed! ( )