The Kept Woman

The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter is a very highly recommended mystery/police procedural.

Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is back. After failing to get a conviction in the case of basketball superstar Marcus Rippy, who was acquitted of rape charges, Will is now investigating the murder of Dale Harding at a construction site with his partner Faith Mitchell. His lover and GBI medical examiner Dr. Sara Linton is also on the case, as is Amanda Wagner, the GBI deputy director. Harding was a despicable man, but he used to be a detective with the Atlanta PD. There is a whole lot more blood on the scene than could have possibly been Harding's. It is also not his blood type and evidence points to it coming from a woman, so show more potentially there is a witness or more than one murder happened.

When a Glock found at the scene is discovered to be registered to Angie Polaski, the search is on for Angie - or for her body. She and Will are still married... but it's complicated and they rarely see each other unless Angie wants something. In any event, suddenly Will's past is thrust into the case, and Angie's past is closely tied to Will's. To further complicate matters, the building is the future home of the All Star, a nightclub owned by basketball star Marcus Rippy. Construction was suspended for Rippy's rape trial, but now it is due to start again in a couple weeks.

Slaughter does an excellent job presenting the complicated investigation as the clues are discovered and leads are checked out. Part way through The Kept Woman, the action shifts to a week earlier which provides an insight into information the investigators aren't privy to yet. This really ratchets up the tension and makes the pace feel even more frantic. Will's personal demons seemed to be coming to the surface as he is conflicted over Angie's presence in his life, however marginal, versus his love for Sara.

Incredible writing, realistic, complicated characters, incredible tension, and a fast pace make reading The Kept Woman addictive. There are plenty of twists to surprise you, and questions for which you will be desperate to find answers. While it is a police procedural, it also is a psychological thriller that explores choices and consequences as well as the lasting effect of psychological damage experienced as a child.

Although The Kept Woman it is part of a series, you can read this on its own and follow the plot just fine.

Disclosure: My advanced reading copy was courtesy of the publisher for review purposes. show less

The first (and only) novel I had read by Karin Slaughter was “Blindsighted” with my book club a few months back. It was a riveting, but an incredibly twisted book that had me calling my mom every night to keep me company on the walk home from work. As much as I couldn’t put the book down, I was a little nervous to begin reading “The Kept Woman.

“The Kept Woman” completely surpassed my expectations. In some ways, it wasn’t as graphically disturbing as “Blindsighted,” but Slaughter still threw curve ball after twisted and disturbing curve ball. Beginning at the scene of a cop’s brutal murder in an abandoned club owned by a mega talent agency, the main detective Will Trent discovers that his estranged wife is involved show more and presumed dead… while his new girlfriend and medical examiner Sara is standing right next to him.

Will’s past as an orphan plays a major part in his actions and responses, forcing him to deal with his inability to communicate with Sara or let go of his ex, Angie. Discovering that Angie had a daughter added to her humanity and softened her character, but her love for her daughter seemed a little exaggerated particularly when she clearly had no concept of love or family. While the characters’ own love triangle was interesting and connected them to the case on a deeper level, it was the entangled talent agency with their slew of celebrity athletes that really moved this story forward. The athletes’ relationships and perverse sense of entitlement that allowed them to think they could get away with anything was very relevant and realistic in today’s world.

In the spirit of not spilling any spoilers, this novel had me gasping at the cruel and sick turns until the very end. Any fan of psychological thrillers needs to read this novel. My only disappointment is with myself because I didn’t realize that it was a series. It’s hard to find a great series and despite having skipped ahead to “The Kept Woman,” I’m ready to go back and start from the beginning of the Will Trent Series. show less

This book was a solid 5 star read for me. I loved the Sara Linton series written by Karin Slaughter and the only thing better is Sara with Will Trent. They are the most unlikely couple that just seem to work, albeit working hard at it, despite all their differences.

In this story, Angie Polaski, Will's estranged wife and lifelong survivor pal, appears to have been murdered. When the GBI are asked to investigate a retired cop killing, all the blood, gun left behind as well as the contents of a purse lead to Angie. Of course there is no body, so Will goes a little crazy in his search for either a living or dead Angie. This causes problems between him and Sara as well as his boss at the GBI. The story starts there and does a flashback show more section of where the problems Angie encounters started. Then of course, everything ties together and races to a satisfying conclusion. If you have not read any of the Will Trent series, you may be a little lost, but will still enjoy the story. I do not want to give away any of the story, but suffice it so say, we finally get Angie's story. She was always in the periphery of Will's life, now we know more about her past and how she got to where she is. Another reviewer described this story as "a raw, gritty, emotional monster of a read" and I couldn't agree more. It will stir your emotions both good and bad as there are some tough storylines here that need to be out in the open. This story grabbed me from the beginning and did not end until it came to an unexpected yet great ending. A must read for fans of thriller and suspense. show less

"With the discovery of a murder at an abandoned construction site, Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is brought in on a case that becomes much more dangerous when the dead man is identified as an ex-cop."
The world of Will Trent is skillfully created by Ms. Slaughter and each character is carefully connected to the other characters. Make no mistake! Each sentence means something. Each scene means something. The breadcrumbs are scattered around for the reader to discover . . . or not. Just when I thought I couldn't dislike the character of Angie any more, she tops her worst behavior by a mile. Genius storytelling.

The Kept Woman is the 8th book in the Will Trent series by the never-disappointing Karin Slaughter.

As this book begins, Will Trent, Special Agent of the Georgia FBI, has been dating Sara Linton, a doctor and widow of a police officer, for eighteen months. But he is still technically married to Angie Polaski, who has been “flitting in and out of Will’s life like a mosquito since he was eleven years old.” To Will, Angie has been like an older sister, a twisted lover, and a hateful wife. As for Angie, she both loves Will and hates him, and doesn't want to let him go. At the very least, she wants to be the one who decides. And above all, she does not want him to feel what he does for Sara Linton. As Angie reflects on Will's role in show more her life and the threat to it that Sara posed:

“Angie would go away. She would have a little fun, then a little more fun, then a little too much fun, which would necessitate her going back to Will so that she could recharge. Or hide out. Or whatever she needed to do in order to reset herself. That was what Will was for. He was her safe harbor. She had never anticipated that a fucking red-headed dinghy would drop anchor in her calm waters.”

In this book, Sara, the “red-headed dinghy,” officially joined the GBI as a medical examiner two weeks before. She is now Will’s colleague as well as his lover. Will, Sara, and Will’s partner Faith all report to Deputy Director Amanda Wagner, who has ties to each of them that transcend the job.

When the story begins, they are called to a crime scene in an abandoned Atlanta nightclub owned by a prominent sports figure, Marcus Rippy. Will had just spent the last seven months trying to get Rippy convicted of rape, to no avail. Faith asks Will, “What’s a dead ex-cop doing inside Marcus Rippy’s club less than two weeks after he walks on a rape charge?” None of them believe in coincidences.

Discussion: As in her other books, Slaughter seamlessly integrates into her story commentary on sexual abuse, child abuse, battered women, gender relationships, and the outlook for the impoverished, with a fierce compassion that insists you don’t look away from what happens outside of the perhaps sheltered lives of the readers of her books.

In this story, Slaughter also tackles the phenomenon of highly paid, very powerful sports figures who can get away with a great deal of misbehavior (including toward women) because of their financial “value” to a team and the city in which the team plays. With their very expensive lawyers and cadre of paid-off politicians and enforcement officers, sports figures don’t have much to worry about from accusations of misconduct by young women of little resources, especially if the woman was anything less than a saint.

Slaughter also turns a sympathetic eye to the team wives, with a perceptive assessment of their situations:

“She was thin. Too thin, but maybe that came with the territory. The other wives on the team were always cleansing or dieting or going to spinning classes or plastic surgeons to get things sucked and filled and pinned back up so they could compete with the groupies who swarmed their husbands. They need not have bothered. Their husbands were not attracted to the groupies because they were hotter than their wives. They were attracted the them because they were groupies.

It was a hell of a lot more fun to be with somebody who thought you were perfect than it was to be with a woman who wouldn’t put up with your shit.”

Sometimes, being the wife of a sports player also coincided with being battered, and there wasn't much hope of escape:

“The most life-threatening time for a battered woman was when she tried to leave her abuser. The only thing that shifted the odds was having another man around to protect her.”

Either way, the woman was not her own person; she was a kept woman, hence the title of this book.

One passage is worth quoting to show the layered ways Slaughter portrays the abuse of women and children, and her outrage and sadness over the continued existence of these problems. Will and his partner Faith are discussing how Angie “took care of” kids when Angie was in the police force:

“Will said, ‘Angie worked vice. The young ones - she kind of took them under her wing.’

Faith: ‘And gave them pills to sell?’

Will rubbed his jaw. ‘Angie knows what it’s like to be stuck in that kind of situation with no one looking out for you.’

‘You’ve lost me,’ Faith said. ‘I don’t see the compassionate side of turning a ten-year-old into a drug mule.’

‘Which is worse: selling Oxy or selling sex?’

‘Those are the only two choices?’

‘For kids like that, stuck in the system, changing schools and foster homes five times a year, never knowing where they’re gonna sleep from one night to the next?’ He sounded emphatic. ‘Yeah, those are the choices.’”

Will should know; he had been in that system himself, as had Angie, which is one reason why he has stuck by her so steadfastly. Sara loves him for it, but is terrified at the same time; when Angie is in trouble, will he stick with Sara? Or can he not resist the pull Angie has exerted over him their whole lives?

Evaluation: Slaughter is not only an ardent and tireless advocate for the underclasses, but an excellent writer of thrillers. Her stories are consistently engaging and often gripping. Her characters are multi-faceted and her knowledge of the justice system is exceptional.

Can this be read as a standalone? Probably, but it would be more rewarding to read her books in sequence so you can pick up all the nuances of the evolving relationships.

The Will Trent Series in Order:

Triptych - 2006
Fractured - 2008
Undone - 2009
Broken - 2010
Fallen - 2011
Snatched - 2012
Criminal - 2012
Unseen - 2013
The Kept Woman - 2016 show less

I've only read two of Karin Slaughter's books, Blindsighted and now, The Kept Woman. I really do need to read them all! The book starts and you have to hang on for dear life because there are no slow spots to go and get a snack! While I'm sure I would have enjoyed this book even more if I had read the Will Trent books in order, this book does just fine as a stand alone. Will and his partner Faith are called out to a construction site where they find the body of a murdered retired cop. The construction site belongs to a high profile athlete who recently walked away from rape charges and there are bloody footprints leading away from the murder scene that could belong to someone from Will's past. And... you're off and running as fast as show more you can to keep up! Good luck! Recommended! show less

One of my all-time favorite series. If a book has Will Trent in it, I am there. He is so beautifully broken.
If you thought you've seen Will come undone before, you ain't seen nothing yet, as they say! Wow.
Most of Will's baggage comes from his long, dysfunctional relationship with his wife, Angie Polaski. While Angie has been here and there throughout the series, this is a full-on, Angie-centric novel. She is not my favorite character in Slaughter's books, in fact, she's a ways down the list but learning a great deal of her backstory gave me more of an appreciation for her. And I do think being in Angie's headspace for awhile knocked some of the shine off Sara Linton.
This novel has the pace of a bullet and I was tearing through pages show more trying to keep up. Karin Slaughter is a grand puppet master and she knows well how to pull on the string of tension. She excels at keeping you on your toes for a sustained period of time. You come away from her books a bit tousled and dazed. I'm sure I'll be digesting this one for awhile. show less