Criminal by Karin Slaughter

I've been reading Karin Slaughter's books and enjoying them forever it seems.  Her newest, Criminal, is one that I found a little difficult to get into, but once I was caught up in the story I couldn't put it down.  The characters are so well depicted that I simply had to find out both their background and what was going to happen in the present day.  The story is set in Atlanta.


The background story is covered in sections from 1975 when women cops were a new phenomenon, and as such suffered endless rude comments and downright sexual assault from the men on the force.  Male cops routinely took credit for what women did with no fear of reprisals for any of their mistreatment of females.  Policewoman Amanda Wagner not only has the usual harrassment to put up with but also suffers from the fact that her father is a suspended VIP cop and member of the KKK.  She has to prove herself even more than the other women on the force.


The other major character is Will Trent, agent for the GBI, who grew up as an orphan, knowing that his father had killed his mother and other women in a particularly brutal fashion.  He finds out that his father has been released from prison, and now other young women are dying.  His angst over his background and current situation, as well as his budding romance with a doctor gets a little old but he is a sympathetic character and you just hope he will come out of it.   


Slaughter's books are definitely not for the squeamish.  There were a few passages that even made me squirm, although I'm usually able to read this kind of thing okay.  Having subscribed to her newsletter for some time now, I can imagine her glee at knowing she affects people's sensibilities so well.  She's quite a character, and that comes through in her writing.  Despite the subject matter, I laughed more than once.


Source:  Amazon Vine.  Recommended reading.