Friday 19 May 2017

What I've Been Reading: Will Trent series by Karin Slaughter

So I've been a little lazy about posting reviews lately, but part of that is because I've been swept up by a series!  I tried Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter about a year ago and couldn't get into it, but her Will Trent series is another story altogether! I'm completely addicted to this series, and I'm already on book six as I write this post!

(Click on cover for Goodreads link)


So what is it I love about this series?

  Each mystery grabs you, takes hold until you know the culprit, the motivations, and the final outcome. I have to say book three, Undone, was at times very disturbing. Some of the disturbing nature is the fact that I've seen news stories that echo the crimes featured. Real life can be absolutely frightening!

The characters! 
(I've hidden some of the kind of spoilery information)
Will Trent is very much the underdog hero! He's dyslexic, and feels stupid because of his disability, yet because of his seemingly uncanny detecting abilities, he's one of the top Agents in the Altanta GBI. Will tries to hide his dysfunction, but that doesn't always work out, and soon others figure it out and help, to his great dismay.  There are reasons he still feels inadequate in spite of all his successes, and one big reason is Angie Polaski (see below).

Amanda Wagner, the GBI's Deputy Director. Amanda hand-picked Will for her team and yet she sometimes acts like the "the worst mother he never had".  Amanda can be a cold-hearted old broad, cross her at your own peril, but oddly, she seems to have Will's best interests at heart. Well, most of the time.  

Faith Mitchell, a cop. (Highlight for spoiler) Will's partner. She can be like a grouchy older sister, but she's loyal and a great detective.  A fortuitous pairing for Will, even though they didn't get off on the right foot at first.   (end of spoiler)

Dr. Sara Linton *sigh* LOVE her! (Highlight for spoiler) She's grieved the death of her husband for the last few years. It's a sad story, but she meets Will and a spark is ignited! (end of spoiler) She has a sharp mind and is an excellent sounding board for these cases, which she seems to become directly involved with in some way or another.

 Angie Polaski, a woman Will has known since childhood, is a piece of work!  And that's putting it very politely.  I have some very choice descriptions that I won't write here. Suffice it to say that I can't stand her!  Angie's introduced in the first book, Tryptich, and even has her own POV, but it's quickly clear that she has a lot of damage.  I even felt a bit sorry for her at first, and maybe I will again at some point,(Highlight for spoiler) but when you're the victim of hideous treatment, and then you dish it on out to others, like Will, chipping away at their self-esteem, and hindering them from healing and moving on, I've got a BIG problem with you. Let's just say Angie is the character EVERYONE loves to hate on in this series! (end of spoiler)

I'm currently reading *listening* to book six, Criminal, and after that I have three more books left, including a novella, until 2018! I'm gobbling these stories up so it's going to be hard to have to wait for the next one. 

So, that's what I've been reading lately. What about you?  Do you get sidelined by a series, putting all other books to the side until you finish? Let me know in the comments below!





13 comments:

Blodeuedd said...

Wow, lots of her books read then :)

Grace @ RebelMommyBookBlog said...

This is an author that has been on my to read list for a while but I never knew where to start. I will have to check out this series then!!!

Joy said...

Oh wow. You are on a Karin Slaughter bender! Looking forward to reading more of your thoughts about this author's work.

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

I haven't read this author. I love that you have gotten completely caught up in a series. It has been a long time since that happened to me. Are they really dark and disturbing?

Rachel said...

The series is really good!

They can be in short scenes, Heidi. The thing that saves it from being unbearable is the fact that as a reader you're not "observing" firsthand while anything happens. Most of the disturbing parts are from cataloging what happened to a victim in the past.

Shooting Stars Mag said...

Sometimes I WISH I could just read a series back to back, but I tend to mix in other books I need to read/review. I'm glad you're enjoying this series though. It sounds great!

Greg said...

Oh I love it when a series grabs you like that and doesn't let go! This one looks fun. And Will seems like an original protagonist. Glad these are so good! I love that cover of Broken too...

Rachel said...

Usually I'm unable to read a series back to back, too. But I'm listening to the audios so that helps! :)

Rachel said...

He is not the normal detective/agent I've come across. Love him! I thought that, too, about Broken. The view into the tree branches is neat. :)

Keertana said...

Wendy Darling recommended these books to me WAAAY back in the day but I just never got around to reading them! I'm so glad you're loving this series, though, Rachel! I've definitely been more into thriller/mystery novels lately, so I'll have to make time for these books this summer. Fantastic review!!

Bonnie said...

I read Blindsighted ages ago at this point (and I loved it) but I never continued with the series! I also know that it merges into the Will Trent series at some point? I should research that. lol

Carina Olsen said...

Ohh, lovely post Rachel :D YAY for reading and loving this series. <3 Mystery books are pretty awesome. I'm a bit curious now :) Happy reading sweetie. <3

Mystica said...

The series sounds very good. Thank you for the reviews.

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