Sunday, May 27, 2018

Criminal by Karin Slaughter


Title: Criminal 
Series: Will Trent 
Author: Karin Slaughter 




Will Trent is a brilliant agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Newly in love, he is beginning to put a difficult past behind him. Then a local college student goes missing, and Will is inexplicably kept off the case by his supervisor and mentor, deputy director Amanda Wagner. Will cannot fathom Amanda’s motivation until the two of them literally collide in an abandoned orphanage they have both been drawn to for different reasons. Decades before, when his father was imprisoned for murder, this was Will’s home. It appears that the case that launched Amanda’s career forty years ago has suddenly come back to life—and it involves the long-held mystery of Will’s birth and parentage. Now these two dauntless investigators will each need to face down demons from the past if they are to prevent an even greater terror from being unleashed.







Criminal was good but not as great as its predecessors. 

I think the main reason why it wasn't as good for me is that Will was not in it for half of the book.

Criminal can be divided between the past in the 1970's where Amanda Wagner and Faith's mother, Evelyn Mitchell are the main characters and in the present were Will, Faith, Sara, and Amanda are running the investigation into the murder of a college student, Ashleigh Snyder.

When the book begins, we learn that Will's father has been released from prison. Will is shocked this evil man is out and of course, he's mad at Amanda for keeping things from him once again. 

Just in case his father's reappearance is not enough to make Will's life go into turmoil, we have Angie, his currently estranged wife who's stirring up trouble for him and Sara. Angie loves to make Will suffer. She's mean and she takes pleasure in hurting him. I was disappointed in Will for not stopping her when he needed to. 

The time taken away from Will and focusing on Amanda and Evelyn were less interesting to me except for the portrayal of the 1970's situation with women in the police force. Those were eye-opening. 

One thing which is becoming tiring to me is that most of the criminals portrayed in both of the series I'd read by Karin Slaughter use religion in an evil way. I'm hoping for a new approach in Unseen.

The more I read about Will's past, the more I like him. He has overcome a life full of disadvantages. It's sad that he doesn't understand how smart he really is. Thankfully, there's Sara to support him when he needs it the most. 
"He still felt like a stranger."

Cliffhanger: No

3/5 Fangs

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