Beyond Reach, Karin Slaughter

Ok, kids, we're doing this one a little differently.

I give a general spoiler warning in the blog intro/description, but I still try to be conscientious of what I give away. I only usually call them out in my reviews if they're pretty obvious and I'm being facetious.

However, as I also say in my review, these aren't meant to be a synopsis of the book, but I do have to give some sort of run down in order to make the parts I want to talk about make sense.

But, in order to discuss this amazeballs book honestly, I need to reveal a huge spoiler.

Which brings me to the different part. Normally, I put the page break in mostly for space and try to place it where it makes you want to read the rest of the review. Because of this major spoiler, I'm placing the break after this intro.

This really was a great book (with and without spoilers), and I absolutely would tell you to read this and the whole Grant County series (in order). But, if you're not like me and a major spoiler ruins it for you, makes you want to not read something, do yourself a favor: Read this book, then come back and read my review.

If not....keep reading....if you dare...

Indelible, Karin Slaughter

This. Was. Awesome.

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.

Blindsighted, Karin Slaughter

It's series time again! This is actually a recommendation from a friend, and boy! was she right on.

I've been feeling like a binge read for a while now, and when the new Karin Slaughter came out, my friend was obsessed. So, when it was time to pick a new read, I thought I'd give the Grant County series a shot so I can catch up.

I completely understand her obsession now!

So, this is obviously book one. It's a mystery/thriller series taking place in Grant County, GA (Hey, that's the name of the series, too!!) where coroner and pediatrician, Sara, and her ex-husband and police chief, Jeffery, live and fight crime (couldn't help myself). Now, there is a...reconciliation brewing, but don't let that trick you into thinking this was a romance. It's all mystery/thriller. (Though I did call the killer right from his first appearance. :D booyah!)

So, the shit hits the fan when Sara comes across the body of a local woman in the bathroom. She's been stabbed and raped, and despite Sara's best efforts, she dies. To make things more difficult, the victims sister, Lena, is on the force. Jeffery's partner actually.

Now, as I said: Not a romance. But I do have to go over that part of the plot because it feeds into the murders (yup, the woman in the bathroom was just the beginning).