Faithless

Faithless is the fifth book in the Grant County series by Karin Slaughter. And in every book, Slaughter has hooked me at page one. At the conclusion of the novel, I'm not ready to be done. To me, this is evidence of a truly great suspense novel.

Jeffrey and Sara literally stumble across a strange protrusion in the ground at the onset of this novel. That protrusion is some kind of pipe. What they find at the other end of that pipe is a box containing the murdered body of a young woman. As Jeffrey and Lena go to work investigating this murder, they discover a strange cult-like farm, and all the people on this farm become suspects. And if that isn't enough, Tessa, Sara's sister, has started attending church with these people. Meanwhile, show more Lena grapples with her unhealthy relationship to Ethan when her ex comes back into town.

Somehow Slaughter always manages to broach her topics in such a way that makes me question my own beliefs. I may not come out CHANGING my beliefs, but I look at them a little more closely and question how much they are based on knowledge and how much on sheer passion. I love that about her writing.

Slaughter's character development is just outstanding. In this book as in others she has a tendancy to tease you with stereotypes...to get you looking in the wrong direction. "Ha! Caught you falling into that one!" And then turns the whole plot on its head so you realize how hard you fell into the trap of the stereotype. Lev Ward and Cole Connelly are examples of this. And of course Lena is a constant example of this.

This was a definite page-turner for me. show less

Faithless (Grant County, #5) by Karin Slaughter

Jeffrey and Sara stumble upon a horrific scene, a woman was buried alive and murdered in a heinous way. Lena aides in the investigations as they search for answers to this horrific crime.

The three are each facing their own personal issues while working vigorously in their fields and personal lives. Adding to the already intense thriller, secrets will be revealed and lives will be changed.

The story moves at a steady pace, with attention to detail, true to life events, and well developed (complex) characters. I was engrossed from the start and found this hard to put down.

Overall I found Faithless enjoyable and recommend to those who enjoy crime/thriller/suspense. I look forward to reading the show more final book in the series. Karin Slaughter is truly the Queen of Crime and one of my favorite Authors. show less

Medical examiner Sara Linton has had an uneasy relationship with her ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, for years. In spite of their differences, Sara and Jeffrey have never stopped loving one another. Now, the two are taking tentative steps towards a reconciliation, but obstacles still remain. Lena Adams is a detective who works under Jeffrey's supervision, and she is one messed up woman. Although Lena is a good cop, much to her secret shame, she is also a human punching bag for her abusive and cruel boyfriend. Lena's personal problems have a way of interfering with her work, and Jeffrey is losing patience with her. Jeffrey, Sara, and Lena do not have the luxury of concentrating on themselves for very long. Much to his shock, show more Jeffrey literally stumbles on the grave of a young woman named Abby who may have been buried alive. His investigation brings him into contact with a strange family of religious fanatics who are harboring dark secrets.

I applaud Karin Slaughter for not tying up all of the loose ends neatly; she leaves some plot lines unresolved, perhaps in preparation for the next installment in the series. Although "Faithless" is not a first-rate mystery, the lead characters are so charismatic that we are willing to stick with them in order to find out how they resolve their problems. show less

Karin Slaughter writes some of the most powerful and heart-stopping Crime Thrillers out there. This one had me in tears near the end. I'm always hooked from the start and intrigued by the different characters. It amazes me how she weaves the story. One minute I'm furious with a character and the next minute I'm pulling for their happiness! Not many authors can change my mind when I've decided a character is the pits. Slaughter did. She also gives new meaning to the word "villain." These aren't your run of the mill killers...they true psychopaths, complex and twisted and dark. Which is why I need a few weeks between her books. Faithless is one of the best books in her series with lots of twists and turns. I'm still so "stunned" by the show more last few scenes that all I can say is..."Wow."

As I've said before, these are not for the faint of heart. The violence is brutal and graphic, but not gratuitous. The characters and intricate plot are fabulous, making for an exciting read that will keep the pages turning! show less

To me, the story Faithless reads like a Jeffery Deaver novel as it is quite macabre and could have played out in many different ways. It is about the perfect crime until it comes apart due to random events. Unfortunately I have fallen off the Karin Slaughter bandwagon. While the stories aren't half bad, I still haven't taken a liking to any of her characters. There is too much psychodrama going on with all the main characters so the books read like half harlequin romance and half crime fiction. Lena is a hot mess, Sara is a hot mess, and Jeffrey has glimmers of almost being a halfway normal human but with little prodding quickly turns into is a hot mess. And this book in particular left a lot on the table, the crimes could have gone show more much deeper and been much more involved and interesting if she had worked at it; if she had worked in A LOT less drama and a bit more conniving.

I will continue to read Slaughter books, but mainly for the regional content. The southern cracker stuff can be quite amusing; "seedy-ass rednecks" to use her words. Like when the shyster lawyer Buddy Conford mentions that... "My daddy used to scare us when we’d go visit his mama at the cemetery. There was this preacher buried two plots over with a wire coming out of the dirt and going up to a telephone poll. Daddy told us they had a phone inside the coffin so he could call them in case he wasn’t really dead." He chuckled. "One time, my mama brought a bell, one’a them bicycle bells, and we were all just standing around Granny’s plot, trying to look solemn. She rang that bell and I liked to shit in my pants." show less

"A walk in the woods takes a sinister turn for police chief Jeffrey Tolliver and medical examiner Sara Linton when they stumble across the body of a young girl. Incarcerated in the ground, all the initial evidence indicates that she has, quite literally, been scared to death."
The author never fails to deliver on the horror of death and the false faces everyone provides in order to hide their own evil secrets. I am a staunch reader of horror and thriller type mysteries. I have learned that when I read Ms. Slaughter's work, I am going to be pulled into death and misery to an extent that you can viscerally feel the pain through her description of each scene.

Faithless by Karin Slaughter is the 5th book in her series about medical examiner Sara Linton and her ex-husband (now boyfriend), police chief Jeffrey Tolliver. One evening as they are out walking in the woods they stumble upon a pipe sticking out of the ground, dig down to discover a coffin containing a recently deceased young woman who had been buried alive. This discovery soon leads them to a strange evangelical family that appear to be concealing many secrets. Meanwhile, secondary character, Detective Lena Adams is finding that this case is helping her re-think her own abusive relationship.

The mystery portion of the book is excellent with plenty of twists and turns to be figured out along the way. For me, the personal lives of the show more characters is becoming a little tiresome. I want some resolution to Sara’s and Jeffrey’s relationship and most of all, I want Lena to finally move forward to a better life. I will qualify this to say that all characters seem to make some important decisions by the end of the book, so hopefully in the next book they can finally sort themselves out.

In Faithless, Slaughter continues her combination of police procedures with the grim forensic details that give these books a stark reality. At over 500 pages, she also brings up issues of abortion, domestic abuse, forgiveness and revenge. While I would heartily suggest that no one should ever move to the high risk area of Grant County, I look forward to reading more about the crimes that appear all too often in this small corner of Georgia. show less