Helpful Score: 2
This isnt my first foray into the twisted world that Karin Slaughter creates, and it wont be my last but she does have a hard time keeping me interested in reading about the goings-on in Heartsdale, Georgia. The book begins with a shocking scene: a blind teacher has been raped and apparently (nearly) gutted but is alive when local pediatrician/coroner Dr. Sara Linton finds her. Sara, unable to save her, now faces the task of explaining to her ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, what happened. She also now has to explain what happened to the teachers sister, detective Lena Adams.
The three characters, Sara, Jeffrey, and Lena, create an explosive triangle of distrust, hero worship, and off-beat friendship. However, they also come across at times as very unlikable people, people who are so damaged they cant function in normal society. They behave inconsistently and, in Lenas case, stupidly at times and its hard to believe that people with advanced medical degrees or years of job experience would do some of the things that these characters do.
The plot is nicely paced, but there is a lot of dialogue and backstory to wade through.
Interestingly, though, I believed that Lena was going to be the central character in this book since her sister, Sibyl, was the teacher murdered at the outset. But the central character is Sara, whose past rape is described clinically via a court transcript in a later chapter. I guessed the killer before the end, since there werent that many suspects to begin with (hey, it is a small town). One of the more problematic aspects of this book is how the author describes the killers raping of his victims. She practically eroticizes it, and this is uncomfortable to read. I had the same complaint about Patricia Cornwells book Predator. She doesnt simply let the readers know about the killers fetishes; she wallows in it.
Slaughter has been compared to Cornwell by other reviewers, but Cornwells books are more sharply detailed and her characters more likable. Dr. Sara Linton is no Dr. Kay Scarpetta. And her niece, Lucy Farinelli, would pistol whip the damaged Lena Adams before shooting her.
The three characters, Sara, Jeffrey, and Lena, create an explosive triangle of distrust, hero worship, and off-beat friendship. However, they also come across at times as very unlikable people, people who are so damaged they cant function in normal society. They behave inconsistently and, in Lenas case, stupidly at times and its hard to believe that people with advanced medical degrees or years of job experience would do some of the things that these characters do.
The plot is nicely paced, but there is a lot of dialogue and backstory to wade through.
Interestingly, though, I believed that Lena was going to be the central character in this book since her sister, Sibyl, was the teacher murdered at the outset. But the central character is Sara, whose past rape is described clinically via a court transcript in a later chapter. I guessed the killer before the end, since there werent that many suspects to begin with (hey, it is a small town). One of the more problematic aspects of this book is how the author describes the killers raping of his victims. She practically eroticizes it, and this is uncomfortable to read. I had the same complaint about Patricia Cornwells book Predator. She doesnt simply let the readers know about the killers fetishes; she wallows in it.
Slaughter has been compared to Cornwell by other reviewers, but Cornwells books are more sharply detailed and her characters more likable. Dr. Sara Linton is no Dr. Kay Scarpetta. And her niece, Lucy Farinelli, would pistol whip the damaged Lena Adams before shooting her.
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