Review: Fractured by Karin Slaughter (Will Trent #2)

In this second installment of the Will Trent series by the incredibly talented Karin Slaughter, we are back in Atlanta investigating the brutal murder of one teenage girl and the apparent abduction of another. When Abigail Campano comes home from an afternoon of playing tennis to find her affluent Ansley Park home broken into, her mind instantly goes to Emma, her 16 year-old daughter. When she reaches the top of the stairs and looks down the hallway leading to Emma's room, she sees the small, crumpled body laying at the feet of a man leaning over her with a knife. Abigail's protective mother mode, along with her adrenaline, kicks in and she lunges for the intruder and literally strangles him with her bare hands, using her fingers to gouge his eyes out at the same time.

Agent Will Trent, with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, is called to the scene to assist the Atlanta Police Department in its investigation. When Will arrives, he soon starts noticing things about the crime scene that just don't add up. A few hours into the investigation, it becomes clear that the APD has made a pivotal error in assessing the crime scene, in turn, wasting valuable time. As a result, the GBI takes over the case which does nothing to sooth the friction between the two law enforcement agencies.

For this case, Agent Trent is assigned a partner, which is something new for him. Faith Mitchell, a detective with the APD is as surprised as Will but they attempt to put their personal feelings aside and get to work on the case. Both Faith and Will have connections to the case, though both are reluctant to divulge the connections. With the life of a young girl hanging in the balance they have a suspect in their sights but proving his involvement becomes tedious and difficult. As the hours tick by, the hope of finding their victim alive wanes as they try to put all of the pieces together before its too late.

My Thoughts:

A few months ago when I read the first book in this series, I was riveted and I am happy to say I felt similarly about this one. FRACTURED is not as violent as TRIPTYCH, the first book, but it was equally as heart-pounding. I didn't miss the gruesomeness of the first book, and it showed me that Karen Slaughter can give the same thrills without all of the shock and horror she showed previously. That said, I'm sure there will be other books in this series that will have more violence but it won't keep me from reading them at all. Her restraint in this book spotlights her talent as a great suspense writer.

On another note, I liked the introduction of Detective Faith Mitchell as a new character and I feel like she brought a dimension to the story that worked very well. I hope to see more of her in the future. From the very beginning, I have appreciated KS's writing style. There's not many writers that can really take me by surprise the way she does in her stories.  Its one of the things I love most about her writing. I've also noticed that my vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds since I began reading her books. I've started highlighting all the new words I discover as I read just to keep track. These are words I've never heard before such as: fulcrum, spurious, misogyny and shemales to name just a few.  As a lover of words, this is a bonus for me.  

The next book in the series is UNDONE and it brings in the main character of her Grant County Series, Sarah Linton. I've not read that series though I do have the first book, BLINDSIGHTED, and I am planning to read it as well.  I'm really looking forward to continuing with the Will Trent books as I've developed a passion for crime/suspense fiction. I know these books have been out for awhile, but its never to late to get started. Karin Slaughter is a writer that I enjoy so much and though it may take me some time to get caught up, I am going to enjoy every book along the way.

FRACTURED (Will Trent #2) 
Author: Karin Slaughter
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Sold By: Random House, LLC
Published:  July 2008
Length: 400 pp