Undone Book

Even those who know Karin Slaughter’s books only by reputation are aware of her pole position in the realm of tough and persuasive crime thrillers. In Genesis we are again in the company of medical examiner Sara Linton, who several years previously had left Grant County for Atlanta to heal the psychological wounds of her troubled past. Holding down a job in Atlanta’s Grady Hospital, she is slowly finding a kind of equilibrium again. But then a seriously wounded young woman is delivered to the hospital, and Sara finds herself once again in a familiar world of brutality and evil. Although the young women is the victim of a car accident, it’s evident that she has also been at the mercy of a sadistic killer. Working on the case is Will Trent, an agent of the Criminal Investigation Team, and at the scene of the accident, he discovers a grim subterranean secret: a room laid out like a torture chamber with instruments of mutilation. And the psychotic individual responsible will soon be plying his grisly trade again, unless Sara Linton and Will Trent can assume responsibility for the investigation (the local police chief being unable to cope). The clock is ticking… This is Karin Slaughter firing on all cylinders – showing, as ever, that she would never be happy trading on past glories. Each new book represents a move forward for her, and Genesis pushes all the right buttons. Particularly impressive here (along with the customarily compelling and gruesome narrative) is the foregrounding of the emotional problems of both protagonists, handled with real assurance. --Barry ForshawRead More