Karin Slaughter Spotlight
A couple of years ago, I read my first Karin Slaughter book that was a standalone and loved it. After finishing it and posting my glowing review, everyone told me I needed to read Pretty Girls. I got a copy and it sat on my shelf for way too long before I could finally make the time to read it and I had become obsessed with this woman's way of telling a story. Her stories are violent, gritty, emotionally charged, and dangerously addictive. The closer that a crime fiction novel is to reality and the horrors that can happen int his world, the more likely I am to love them. Well, I love Karin Slaughter.
Well, then my friend Cindy who is my book-bestie and can be ferociously bossy was like "I'm reading the Grant County series by Karin Slaughter...have you read it?" Now, I had read three of her standalone novels at this point and thought...fine. It's a six book series and between my monthly TBR and some hopeful R&R time, I can probably squeeze them in to have them done by end of summer. One book a month maybe was the plan. I finished all six in a month. That is why I am offering a well-detailed look into the amazing talent of my favorite author - Karin Slaughter. I think her writing is fantastic, her stories are brilliant crime fiction, and the characters are some of the best I have (and you will) ever read throughout my entire reading catalog. I'll start with the standalone and then progress into the two series that Karin has blessed this world with.
Pretty Girls (2015)
Pretty Girls is one of the most compelling and emotionally terrifying novels I have ever read. If you are looking for violent and gritty and something that will tug at your heart strings all while providing you with wallops of twists and turns, this is the one for you. This is the story of two sisters who are kind of reunited under unfortunate circumstances. Claire and Lydia's older sister Julia went missing twenty years ago. Now, another girl has gone missing and the cases are eerily similar and Claire is convinced they are related. What happens next is a shocking and twisty novel that is one of my top 5 books that I have ever read. It was immersive and brilliantly written, the characters are realistic and brooding, and the story just took me in so many places that no other novel has yet to. Now, I'll be completely transparent here; for as much as I loved this story, I wanted to know more about the night that Julia disappeared. What I was left with was a sensational tale about loss, violence, and the bond of sisterhood and family. This was an incredible story and the kind of novel that will send you into a spiral as you devour everything else Karin has written. There is a companion novella called Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes that details the last few days leading up to Julia's disappearance and it literally answered all of my questions that I wanted to know, so I definitely recommend checking out that one as well.
The Good Daughter (2017)
This was my first read by Slaughter and the one that gave me some major FOMO when it came to her stories. With an epically long and violently terrifying prologue, I realized that there was so much violence and darkness within the first 100 pages of this one that I had no clue where this story could go. Two girls and their parents are attacked one night in their house leading the gunmen to lead the two girls out into the woods. When one runs for her life, the other one is left behind. Almost thirty years later, one of the girls is following in her fathers footsteps as a lawyer and violence strikes their small town again bringing back memories of the night she was taken into the woods with her sister at gunpoint. This read was brutal and beautiful all in one. Again, Slaughter builds a dark and devilish crime fiction novel around family bonds and kept me well-invested in this story because no one can write characters like Karin Slaughter. I loved this story and I was doing all of my research to find out what else I could read by her before even finishing this poignant story of survival.
Pieces of Her (2018)
Now, this is the only Karin Slaughter novel that I read that I felt okay about, but only because of my own personal taste. This one definitely was unlike her other novels and while it was written in the typically addictive and savvy prose that Karin is known for, there's a sub-genre of crime fiction that I don't particularly care for that is really heavy in this read. Now, I want to avoid spoilers, so I'll try to tip-toe around this without giving anything away. In this one, Andrea and her mother Laura are at the mall when a shooting erupts. I loved this opening and immediately fell in love with Andrea and Laura and their relationship felt so natural. After the shooting, Laura is exposed and Andrea realizes that Laura was someone completely different before she was her mother and you can only imagine what happens from there. I loved the present timeline with this one as Andrea went on this adventurous journey to find out who her mother really is, but at the same time, the past timeline featured that area of crime fiction that is usually lost on me. This one is definitely a good tale and as the novel got closer to the end, things that confused me or didn't make as much sense were explained exceptionally well and overall I found this one enjoyable, but I definitely loved The Good Daughter and Pretty Girls more. I do value Slaughter's writing and was pleasantly surprised to see her go in a different direction compared to all of her other novels, but I can see how this one might not be the best read for people who enjoyed her other work. Regardless, it's still definitely worth a read because it is going to become a Netflix series and I am a stickler for recommending that you read the book before the film or television adaptation.
Grant Co. Series (2001-2007)
The Grant Co. series was recommended to me by a friend after I was dealing with a serious book hangover after finishing Pretty Girls and I devoured it within a month. These stories are chilling and vibrantly written crime fiction at its best. What I loved about this series the most were the characters that carried it. The stories definitely can be read as standalone reads, but I obviously recommend reading the series in order and prior to the Will Trent series because they are connected. I loved the relationships within all of the characters in this series and how while each case was a more detailed and intricate versions of things that actually happened in todays world. Not only do the secondary characters within each case get relentlessly tortured by Slaughter, but the main characters of this series are dragged to hell and back starting with the first book all the way to the harrowing finale of the series. What I took most from this series was that while each case was different, I just loved the connection between these characters and these books definitely had Slaughter's dazzling prose along with the proof that you think you're getting one story when you start these books and you may think you have a general idea as to where it's going only to have your head spinning by the finale. They are emotionally charged, character-driven, top-notch thrillers that will leave you speechless and begging for more. These are the books that changed my mind when it comes to reading a series and nothing is like the Grant Co. series. Nothing. With the personal lives of these characters weaving into some of the most intricate and immersive stories, I guarantee you'll need to buy all six at once because trust me, waiting on shipping is torture if you don't have the next one waiting on your nightstand for you.
Will Trent Series (2006 - Present)
So after I licked my wounds and tried to emotionally heal as much as possible when the Grant Co. series was over (I'm still a mess actually), I dove right into the first novel in the Will Trent series. Triptych is easily one of my favorite Slaughter stories yet and it packed a ton of major twists that I never saw coming and definitely made me really excited for this series. For someone who avoided series like they were germs, finishing the first installment made me so giddy that I had a long list of Will Trent novels to devour and before I knew it, I was caught up. I think that a lot of the Grant Co. series novels were darker and had some definite Law & Order: SVU vibes to them, whereas this series covered an array of different areas of the crime fiction umbrella. While I loved the Grant Co. characters for who they were and their relationships, with this series I just loved reading about Will Trent and these characters - flaws and all. Even the villainous character that pops up and leaves a trail of pain and disaster whenever they show up was enjoyable to read and a really well-written character with a plethora of layers to their personality. A lot of these stories were standalone cases, but the changes within these characters were tales all in their own. A few of the stories actually connect current cases to cases that involved the personal lives of these characters and made them not only enjoyable to read due to Slaughter's crafty and innovated writing capabilities, but kept me immersed and fully invested in not only her books, but how she can write characters that really come alive throughout these harrowing and thrilling stories. With so many directions that this series can go in, I can honestly say that I enjoyed every single one and had to save them all for the weekends and focus on my other blog-related books for during the week because there's no way I am putting down a Karin Slaughter book for work or any social obligation. I will say, thankfully I enjoyed many of these stories by the pool and I am thankful that my family and I do takeout a lot on the weekends when we spend time together. Nothing says summer reading like some Karin Slaughter by the pool with a slice of pizza or some sushi on the side.
So there you have it. That is my Karin Slaughter spotlight and wrap-up of the fantastic titles that I've been able to enjoy from her within the past nine months. I guess it's save to say when you read almost 20 books by one author alone within such a small timeframe, it's fairly certain you're a fan. So my advice to any readers that haven't had the pleasure of enjoying the world of Karin Slaughter, pick up a couple or a few of her standalone novels and see if her writing matches what you like. If so, dive into Grant Co. and then devour Will Trent as the next Will Trent book comes out in the summer of 2020 and not only can I wait for that, but every other novel that Karin Slaughter has to offer.
With this spotlight, the only full-length novel I hadn't mentioned is Cop Town (2014) and the reason for that is I just got it for Christmas and I am saving it for when my withdrawal really hits. You see, I didn't have to deal with Karin Slaughter withdrawals yet because I devoured fifteen books between the two series in such a short time and now I am waiting for the next book in the Will Trent series, so prepare to see Cop Town featured soon on my blog. For any inquiries or questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me regarding anything you see on my blog, specifically Karin Slaughter. She is my favorite author and her work definitely deserves recognition and I am more than happy to spread the word.
As always, thank you so much for reading!
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