The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter

Title: The Kept Woman 

Series: Will Trent #8

Author: Karin Slaughter 

Husbands and wives. Mothers and daughters. The past and the future. 

Secrets bind them. And secrets can destroy them. 

The author of Pretty Girls returns with an electrifying, emotionally complex thriller that plunges its fascinating protagonist into the darkest depths of a mystery that just might destroy him. 

With the discovery of a murder at an abandoned construction site, Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is brought in on a case that becomes much more dangerous when the dead man is identified as an ex-cop.

Studying the body, Sara Linton—the GBI’s newest medical examiner and Will’s lover—realizes that the extensive blood loss didn't belong to the corpse. Sure enough, bloody footprints leading away from the scene indicate there is another victim—a woman—who has vanished . . . and who will die soon if she isn’t found.

Will is already compromised, because the site belongs to the city’s most popular citizen: a wealthy, powerful, and politically connected athlete protected by the world’s most expensive lawyers—a man who’s already gotten away with rape, despite Will’s exhaustive efforts to put him away.

But the worst is yet to come. Evidence soon links Will’s troubled past to the case . . . and the consequences will tear through his life with the force of a tornado, wreaking havoc for Will and everyone around him, including his colleagues, family, friends—and even the suspects he pursues.

Relentlessly suspenseful and furiously paced, peopled with conflicted, fallible characters who leap from the page, The Kept Woman is a seamless blend of twisty police procedural and ingenious psychological thriller -- a searing, unforgettable novel of love, loss, and redemption. 

Amazon

“It is over.”

What an incredible ride! My heart was thumping in my throat. 

It's so easy to hate Angie. In my opinion, there's nothing redeemable about her. Karin tries to humanize her but she fails big time. Angie is full of bad decisions and terrible actions. She enjoys hurting Will in a despicable manner. I certainly don't feel sorry for her. She had a crappy past but she had Will in her life. She CHOSE to push him aside over and over again. Now that Will is with Sara, she's jealous but she has nobody to blame but herself. Will was more than enough to fill her emptiness yet she didn't want him. The things she has done to Will and Sara and the way she thinks about Will makes her a monster. 

“Needy bitches like Sara want the white picket fence and the kids in the yard. How would that be, having a bunch of little monsters with your fucked-up genes inside of them? Loser retards like you who can’t read their own fucking names.”

or

“Except for being retarded, he probably would’ve been a star student.”

Ok, I got sidetracked by my complete distaste for this woman. She's a manipulator and a psychopath. 

Back to the story. 

The team is called to the scene of a crime. An ex-cop is found dead in a soon-to-be new nightclub by a very prominent basketball player, Marcus Rippy. A basketball player who recently was investigated by Will for rape. He got away with good lawyers and by paying the witnesses. Will knows he's guilty but he couldn't prove it since Marcus's wife gave him an alibi. 

The nightclub not only has one dead cop. The room is full of type B blood everywhere. Whoever is hurt, must be dying. It's up to the GBI to figure it all out. Hopefully, they are not too late.

If you read my earlier reviews, you know Sara is my favorite character. She's nice, patient and she understands Will. She supports him and she's the only women in his life who doesn't mistreat him. 

And who would have thought that Sara could be such a romantic? The things she typed to Tessa were all too cute.

“When he holds me in his arms, all I can think is that I want this to last forever.”

Faith won't let his partner down. She'll do anything to find out about the missing victim. She cares for Will and she knows he's not seeing clearly in this case.

Amanda Wagner, Will's boss, show us her most vulnerable side to date in The Kept Woman. She's concerned about Will and Faith. She gives them great advice. She doesn't want them to make her mistakes.

“Don’t let this job turn you off men, Faith.”

“I picked you. Faith picked you. Sara picked you. Let that be enough. Let yourself accept that you’re worth it.”

The Kept Woman was fantastic. The only problem is that I'm in a huge book hangover. I need another Will Trent book now.

I can't finish my review without talking about Will. A smart guy who doesn't think he deserves love in his life. A part of him is always terrified of being left alone or push away. His dyslexia making him think less of himself. Just one more reason to hate Angie. Sara is perfect for him and I know he knows it. 

 “I understand that you need time, but you need to understand that I am never, ever going to let you go. Not ever.”

Cliffhanger: No

5/5 Fangs