By Karin Slaughter
⭐⭐⭐⭐ ¼ (Goodreads: 4.24)
GENRE: Thriller
PART OF A SERIES? Yes {Will Trent #10}
WORTH READING? Yes
SUMMARY:
When investigating the killing of a prisoner inside a jail, GBI investigator Will Trent receives some interesting information. An inmate claims to be innocent of a brutal attack for which he has always been the prime suspect. The man insists he was framed and that the real serial killer has continued to prey on women for years. If Will Trent agrees to re-investigate, the convict will hand over information about the riot murder.
The one person Will does not want to involve, though, is the supposed corrupt cop’s widow, medical examiner Sara Linton. But this becomes vital when another young woman disappears.
Opening lines: ‘Beckey Caterino stared into the darkest corners of the dorm refrigerator. She angrily scanned the food labels…’
The Silent Wife has consistent pacing that makes this a gripping thriller. It was a little slow to start for me, taking a couple of chapters before I was hooked (I feel like most people would probably agree that they are not the most enticing opening lines). But after that, it was a challenge to put down. I really became invested in what happens to the characters.
Naturally, this story fuels the sense of vulnerability many women experience when jogging alone. Slaughter is highly accomplished at writing books that give you that awful skin-prickling deep-rooted fear.
I do have a few small complaints about this book, none of which made me even consider adding it to my small did-not-finish pile:
Firstly, whilst I have no issue with dual timelines - in fact, I quite like them - it does annoy me a little when the author doesn't give you a date to show that he/she is flicking between the two times. Secondly, there was a tendency to provide TOO much detail about some things, so I found my mind switching off a bit. Thirdly, one of the characters does something incredibly stupid... which I found myself getting frustrated about. The good thing, though, is that Karin Slaughter does acknowledge this for her reader... which takes some of the sting out of the aggravation.
Also, nothing to do with the story or Karin Slaughter, but the narration of one of the characters in the audiobook was absolutely grating! If he was one of the main characters, I highly doubt I'd have persevered through the audiobook.
I’ve always found Will Trent and Sara Linton fabulous characters. I like that they always have their own story going on in the background, too, particularly Will’s dyslexia and Sara being a widow. It has also been a couple of years now since I read the last Trent book and I feel like that didn’t really matter… I was able to pick this up and get right back into ‘knowing’ these great characters. Karin Slaughter has created a formidable pair; characters who are well-rounded and three-dimensional.
I highly recommend this gripping thriller book.
Click here to purchase The Silent Wife
Click here if you’d like to read the previous book and purchase The Last Widow (9th in the series)
If you'd like to start this great series, click here to start with Triptych. You won't regret it!
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