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In this standalone novel, author Karin Slaughter transports her readers from her more usual location of Grant County to Atlanta, Georgia. Detective Lena Adams gets a much-needed break from the trials, terrors and tortures that regularly beset her, at least for the space of a book, while her creator bestows those benefits on different characters. In February of 2006, Grady Homes is the scene of a brutal rape and murder. Detective Michael Ormewood is sent to investigate the crime. The victim, Aleesha Morgan, is a drug-addicted prostitute who lives in the slum area. The killer, not content with depriving the woman of life, also bit out her tongue. Michael's home life is not happy. His wife is discontented with the few hours he spends at home and his son Tim has learning difficulties. Tim's welfare is the prime concern of his wife's life. Then, of course, there is also his very attractive young neighbour, Cynthia . . . Michael's superior calls in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Special Agent Will Trent, a man with a large secret, comes to assist in the case. Trent decides there is a connection between their current case and the rapes of two very young girls who, although not killed, had their tongues bitten out by the rapist. Part II begins some months before Part I, in October of 2005. Convicted rapist/murderer John Shelley has been paroled and is now earning a precarious living in a car wash. He desperately wants a television set but when he attempts to buy one, discovers he is the victim of identity theft. He becomes obsessed with finding who would want to perpetrate such a crime against him -- and why. The action shifts to a time prior to the crime for which John is imprisoned. His cousin Woody gets John hooked on drugs. John's father, a doctor, is desperately disappointed as he watches his son's rebellion and deterioration. John's mother, although distressed, continues to love and protect him but everything changes when John is arrested for the murder of the girl. Part III is the largest segment of the triptych and brings to light a great deal of the past of Will Trent and Angie Polaski, his sometime lover, now a cop working Vice. Angie is, for one reason or another, an important resource for Will and she becomes closely involved in the case. I was, initially, rather surprised at the comparative lack of gore in the tale. Mind, there are some extremely nasty images of what was inflicted on Shelley when he went into prison as a 15-year-old but the major quantities of blood are reserved for the closing chapters and female victims of the killer. Slaughter is a deft hand at misdirecting readers' ideas and encourages her audience to believe in a scenario which is really entirely at odds with the reality. As usual, the author brings her characters to vivid and credible life. Her narrative contains much that is heartrending while at the same time there is a welcome hope of redemption and rehabilitation. One problem I encountered which tended to strain my suspension of disbelief was the introduction of a reasonably highly-placed investigator with dyslexia. I know that dyslexics, of necessity, acquire habits in order to fool people, but found it a stretch to think someone could rise to a reasonably high rank without being able to read very well. Surely people in his position would have to sit for written exams at some stage? Still, his dyslexia is an integral part of the plot. Once more Karin Slaughter has produced an engrossing, well-plotted thriller. One can only hope that she is not content to leave this novel as a standalone but may, at some future date, resurrect the intriguing characters she created to populate this work.
Reviewed by Denise Pickles, July 2006
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