It was When Sara Met Jeffery up in here.
I needed a breather from Lena, and Grant County #4 gave it to me. OK, she was in it, but not to the extent she has been. Basically, what you need to know is she's back on the force and she's still seeing that asswipe, Ethan Green. I still think she's gonna end up dead. *sigh* At least we know she didn't kill Chuck now. She's covering for Ethan, but she's not a murderer. Small comfort.
We start out with a bang, literally. Two men walk into the police station and start shooting. Sara is there trying to talk to Jeffery. They're on the outs. Jeffery has asked Sara to marry him several times, and she keeps brushing him off, but she also wants to keep seeing him.
There's really 2 stories here, the one in the present, the hostage situation, and the one in the past, the When Sara Met Jeffery Situation. We keep bouncing between the two.
And of course they tie together.
When Sara and Jeffery first start dating, they took a trip. It had been planned as a trip to the beach in FL, but Jeffery really took Sara to his home. We've briefly seen his hometown in Book 2, Kisscut, but this is a real in depth look at where Jeffery comes from, and who he is because of it.
We find out when he was a teen, he was suspected of the rape of one of his classmates. She recanted, and nothing ever came of it, but then she went missing. Actually, Jeffery wasn't the only one accused. His friend, Robert, was actually accused first. Then , when Jeffery says Robert was with him, so couldn't have raped her, she says they both raped her. The whole story kind of hinges on Robert, actually.
But she had sex with someone, consensual or not (take a guess at which one it was for a 16 year old), because she had a kid. Her mother always believed Jeffery did it, and confronts him whenever possible. She does so in front of Sara, and Sara predictably freaks. She doesn't really believe he's that kind of man, but she also knows that bad people don't always look like bad people. He doesn't help the situation by punching a wall either.
The whole thing is just...a test for them. They're getting along, then X happens, and they start falling apart. They get everything settled and are getting along, the Y happens, and they start falling apart again. The point is, they always get it settled. They always come back together.
Going back to my review of Blindsighted, I went on a little rant about Sara not telling Jeffery about her rape. This book just reinforced my position. She had several opportunities to tell him, she even told his high school sweetheart and wife of his best friend, but not him. She seems ready to tell him a couple times, but doesn't follow through. For Jeffery's part, he doesn't tell Sara about this rumor that's been following him since he was a teen. Even when the shits about to hit the fan, he doesn't tell her. She has to hear it from the girl's angry, bitch of a mother. Sara's mom gets it right when she says, "You can't expect to have a solid relationship if it's founded on secrets."
Which of course translates back into their present day situation. Sara figures out right away the attackers are looking for Jeffery, so she hides his identity. He's badly wounded, and she tries to keep him from getting worse, from dying. She protects him. They're mad at each other now, but they'll figure it out. They'll come up with a solution, they'll conquer what needs to be conquered. They'll make it work. They love each other.
And just like they conquered it when he took her home, they're again conquering Jeffery's past. When they started dating, they figured out who the father was, who killed the girl. Unfortunately, the killer committed suicide, and there was no hard evidence. It was really just Jeffery's word against a dead man, a respected dead man. And Jeffery wasn't exactly considered respectable. So it was just left alone. The truth never came out.
Now, the little boy, raised on hate focused on his supposed "father" has come to seek revenge.
As horrible as all that is, what really killed me in this one, was Robert. I know I've only mentioned him in passing, but he really is an integral part of the story. A death in his house is what sparks the whole thing. The only bright spot is that the person who actually caused that death is brought to justice.
Unfortunately, Robert becomes a fugitive. He's outed and can't handle going to jail (for something he didn't do, I might add) or living in his hometown as an out gay man. It's incredibly sad, and Slaughter directs the reader to the real life story of Billy Jack Gaither.
I hope we get to see Robert again. Maybe his name can be cleared and he can come to terms with who he is. Maybe there's even a story with him and Hare, Sara's cousin. I'd like to know that he finds some kind of peace and happiness.
Indelible, Karin Slaughter
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