Crime novelist, Karin Slaughter, has five books available in her Grant County series, a fictional town set outside  Atlanta, Georgia. The series features Dr. Sara Linton who is the town’s pediatrician and part-time medical examiner. Her ex-husband, Jeffrey Tolliver is the county’s police chief. Jeffrey is an ex-jock and the main attraction to the series for this reader. Slaughter’s stories are not for the faint of heart as there is plenty of graphic violence and disturbing stories that are realistic in their portrayal and conclusions.
Slaughter has explored many different subjects including pedophilia (Kisscut) and victim recovery of a major character. The author’s stories are character driven. Why do I love reading her? I love her authorial voice. She explores subjects that are indeed scary and realistic. I love the contentious relationship between Jeffery and Sara Linton. Honestly, that is the biggest draw outside the mystery. Just to be clear: these books are not romances nor are they romantic.
The books can stand alone quite well. That’s a rarity with connected books these days. This series is still going strong. If I had to pick a favorite of the series, it would be Kisscut because it was a page-turner for me. I still have Faithless on my shelf waiting to be read. I have a reader’s quirk of hoarding books by my favorite authors. I knew Slaughter wouldn’t be writing a Grant County novel anytime soon so I am hoarding it.  I hope many of you who enjoy mysteries will give her a try if your not averse to violence or put off by Amazon.com reviews.  Karin Slaughter recently released her first stand alone, Tryptych, which I have yet to read. Slaughter edited and contributed to an anthology, Like a Charm, that I have on my shelf. Anyway, here are the books in the Grant County series in order of publication below. I’ve corresponded a few times with Ms. Slaughter. She is gracious and responds back to her fans in a timely manner. As far as I know her website is almost always updated. She runs the most interesting contests.  One day,  I’d love to meet her so that she can sign all my first edition copies of her novels. Check her out.
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Blindsighted (2001)
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Kisscut (2002)
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A Faint Cold Fear (2003)
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Indelible (2004)
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Faithless (2005)
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
[quote comment=”3157”]I love this series and it is all your fault. You know I don’t read outside the genre but I am totally hooked.[/quote]
Ah, another endorsement. Ah, thanks Jane (who only reads romance).
I love this series and it is all your fault. You know I don’t read outside the genre but I am totally hooked.
What about Lena? I think her character has been through the wringer. She drains me emotionally.
I’ve been on a Karin Slaughter glom this past week or so. Went through Blindsighted, Kisscut, and A Faint Cold Fear as of yesterday. So starting on Indelible today. They’re very good and make my breaks go by very quickly (which isn’t always a good thing).
My fave was also Kisscut, mostly because when I started reading it, it didn’t see where it was leading. I remember being horrified by the families who should have been protecting their kids. I think it was ingenuous of her to have the women as the main perps, rather than the men.
What I also love about her books, are the secondary characters. No extraneous plots whatsoever.
The opening scene of Kisscut, really defined the rest of the book, an absolute page turner.