Indelible

When the book starts off, pediatrician and part-time medical examiner Sara Linton stops by the police station in her small Georgia town. She's dropping off an autopsy report, but she's also hoping to check in with police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, her ex-husband and current lover. While talking to Jeffrey, two young men rush into the police station and start shooting, killing several officers, wounding others, and taking everyone else hostage. Sara realizes almost immediately that this is more than a random act of violence. These killers are targeting Jeffrey.

We then switch the narrative to 1991 where we meet Sara and Jeffrey at the beginning of their relationship. Jeffrey decides to stop by Sylacauga, a tiny town in Alabama, where he show more grew up. The reader knows what is happening in the past will have some sort of bearing on the future, but it remains unclear for the majority of the book.

I thought the author did a great job of taking the reader between the present and the past in a successful way. The trip back to 1991 shows fans of this series how far Jeffrey has come from the small town troublemaker he was in his early days. I'm currently revisiting his series in audio and it's been a great series to reread. show less

The shift has just started at the police station in Heartsdale, Georgia and a grade-school class is having a tour when two armed men arrive with bloodshed in mind. They manage to wound Chief Jeffrey Tolliver and capture several hostages including Tolliver’s ex-wife, Sara Linton. One of the men recognizes her even though she doesn’t recall him. He’s from somewhere in her shared past with Jeffrey and Sara must remember, must find an angle and stop the situation before it’s too late.

I generally prefer to read an author’s books in order but with Karin Slaughter that just isn’t happening. A few years ago I snagged an ARC copy of one of her Will Trent series and blew through those like a hurricane. I was hooked. Like any junkie I show more started to peck around for another fix and found her Grant County series. The two share many characters but Police Chief Jeffrey Tolliver is out of the picture by the time the Will Trent series comes around. To be honest, the things I had read about Jeffrey in the later books made me a little hesitant to delve into the beginning books. What I didn’t know about Indelible is that it’s all Jeffrey, all the time. It’s Jeffrey’s back history and it was a good way to get to know the man. I guess my reticence was due to the fact that we had not been introduced properly because as I read I began to gain an appreciation. I should have trusted Slaughter better. I really love her characterizations, particularly her men and particularly when she has the time to spend fleshing them out.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Indelible and I managed to blaze through it in one sitting. I definitely enjoyed it better than A Faint Cold Fear. Maybe it’s an anomaly in the Grant County series but I hope not. I have three others on the TBR to read, but I’m trying to pace myself. The newest Slaughter arrives in July and who knows how long it will take her to write the next. I’ll need something to hold me through! show less

Indelible
4 Stars

A brutal attack on the Heartsdale police station leaves several officers dead, the Chief of Police, Jeffrey Tolliver, critically wounded and his ex-wife and town coroner, Dr. Sara Linton, taken hostage along with several children. As events unfold in Grant County, it soon becomes clear that they are inextricably linked to Sara and Jeffrey’s past and a crime they investigated in Jeffrey’s hometown of Sylacauga, Alabama. A crime that may have a lasting effect on their future …

Series note: This is the fourth installment in Slaughter’s Grant County series and it is necessary to read the first book for the backstory to Sara and Jeffrey’s current relationship.

The plot is comprised of three separate threads that show more come together to form a cohesive whole. 2/3s of the book are told via flashback and while the transitions between past and present are clear, the connections between the two time periods are not always obvious.

The mysteries are pretty straightforward and it is quite easy to figure out the culprits and their motivations. The focus, therefore, is on the characters and their development rather than the actual crimes.

Slaughter’s characters are definitely not of the warm and fuzzy variety. They are all deeply flawed and psychologically damaged, which makes it virtually impossible to like them as people. That said, it is precisely these very human characteristics that makes them so compelling and the stories surrounding them grab you by the throat and don’t let go.

In sum, Indelible is a fascinating character study that contributes significantly to fleshing out Sara and Jeffrey both as individuals and as a couple, and provides insight into their actions in previous books. It will be interesting to see what happens with them next. show less

Indelible starts off with a bang as a group of armed men storm a police station, kill a couple of people and take hostages. Instead of a story that is a seige and negotiation, much of the story is told in the form of flashback in a trip back home for Chief of Police Jeffrey Toliver and his ex-wife Sara as he introduced her to his family and the people he grew up with. The initial flashbacks were jarring becuase they completely removed the reader from the action. The flashback uncovered a sordid tale of statutory rape, homosexuality, suicide and murder. in the end, there are very few redeemable characters left in the novel. On the positive side, the long flashbacks directly relate to what is happening in the present, but also rob it of show more mystery and drama. What's left is a solid read, but nothing spectacular.
Carl Alves - author of Two For Eternity show less

Indelible is the 4th book in the Grant County series by Karin Slaughter and my favorite so far.

Sara Linton, the town's pediatrician and part-time ME, is at the police station dropping off an autopsy report. While there, she stops to talk to Jeffrey Tolliver, the Chief of Police - as well as her ex-husband and current lover. While there, 2 young men enter the station and begin shooting the police officers, including Jeffrey. This begins a tense hostage situation.

The hostage storyline alternates with the story of the early days of Jeffrey and Sara's romance. After dating for 3 months, Jeffrey has taken Sara to his hometown of Sylacauga, AL where she learns about Jeffrey's past. The reader (and Sara) sees Jeffrey grow from the small town show more troublemaker to the man he is today and that is what makes him so interesting.

The author does a great job in bringing the 2 storylines together. The hostage situation is tense and scary - the hometown story is frustrating, sad and enlightening. I've been listening to these books on unabridged audio books and the narrator, Kathleen Early, is wonderful in her portrayal of the various characters and sets the tone with her reading. (reviews of the abridged version indicate that the narration is lacking). I will definitely be continuing with the remaining 2 books in this series.

Rating: 4.5 show less

OK, now we're cooking. I have been liking the Grant County series, but I felt like this one was the first in which Slaughter really hit her groove. The dual story line of past and present really worked and helped to better establish the main characters. This one has the police department taken over by masked gunmen. It's still a bit over the top bloody for my tastes, but a really good story well told.

Fourth in Karin Slaughter's Grant County series, INDELIBLE is two stories. Both are about Jeffrey Tolliver, chief of Grant County police, and Sara Linton, pediatrician and Grant County coroner. A little more than halfway through the book you’ll learn that one other person is common to both stories as well.

Sara is visiting Jeffrey at the police station when two armed men suddenly appear and hold hostage everyone there. No one knows why.

Now cut to another story 10 years ago. Sara and Jeffrey had not been seeing each other for long. They decided to vacation together in Florida, but on the way Jeffrey decided to stop by the town where he grew up. And what a nightmare that turned out to be!

Both stories are told at the same time in show more alternating chapters. Both stories are tense and make this a true mystery/thriller. My only criticism is that, in one of the stories, in three instances, someone gives a full confession. That felt a little contrived to me, although I guess you could say that all fiction is contrived. show less