Fallen

Unbelievably this is the first Karin Slaughter novel I have read. I have read one of her short stories before, which made me pick up this novel, so it wasn't like I didn't know that Slaughter had the goods in crime thrillers.

I quite enjoyed the slightly different take that Karin has on the crime

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thriller. Front and centre are a mix of slightly dysfunctional characters that somehow manage to not only work with one another, but are actually interesting to read about. You know how crime novels often have that self-loathing, alcoholic, dark and depressing lead character? Well this novel doesn't have that - thank his noodliness.

You can see why Karin is a bestselling author, so the only question is which of her novels I'll read next.

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A great addition to the Grant County series. This one features Will Trent, Faith Mitchell and Amanda Wagner with Sara Linton playing a small but very important role. Faith's mother is kidnapped and the the circumstances surrounding it will surprise you.
A good twist and it answered a the questions

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about Faith's mother. I enjoyed this one, it was a fast read because I didn't want to put it down.

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Another page turned by Karin Slaughter! I'd forgotten how much I love her writing style. This book brings back Will Trent and Dr. Sarah Linton, but the story centers around Will's partner, Faith. Though I figured it out by about the half-way mark, I still couldn't put it down.

Well done, Karin --

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now how long do we have to wait for another? ;-)

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Faith, a veteran officer, is alarmed when reaching her mother’s home, to find evidence of foul play and calls for back up. But she disregards the orders to wait for the back up when it’s obvious that there’s someone moving around in the house and she fears for her mother’s life. In just

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minutes Faith becomes both a witness and a suspect when she’s forced to kill 2 of the perps in order to defend others.

I haven’t read any other books by this author and it was obvious from the start that this book is part of an ongoing series. As a matter of fact the author has two series and brought these characters together in prior books. I believe reading any of the other books would have only increased my level of enjoyment in reading this story that was difficult to put down.

This story is told mainly from the points of view of Dr Sara Linton, a former coroner now emergency room doctor who is interested in Will. Will, an officer with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations who is partnered with Faith. And Faith, who finally sees the bigger picture on how having a child at such a young age affected members of her family. We also get one scene with the point of view from Evelyn, Faith’s mother, who is the kidnap victim and herself a retired police captain.

There’s a lot that takes place in this story. While Faith remains under surveillance, waiting for the kidnappers to contact her, she must do her best to protect her family and is willing to do anything to get her mother back. Will and their boss, Amanda who is a personal friend of Evelyn’s, are off trying to find answers through interviews with criminals that make the police fearful even though the police have jurisdiction over the crime and aren’t sharing a whole lot of information. Sara’s role in the story is two-fold. She uses her experience and contacts to feed information to Will and Amanda, but her interest in Will and the pursuit of that relationship is a larger role.

I very much enjoyed the unraveling story as we come to the surprising root cause of the crime. It’s not at all predictable. The characters whose point of view we followed obviously had more depth than the others, although many of them were interesting and I’d like to know more about them.

Read and reviewed for Library Thing

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I can not claim Fallen is a good mystery, but it was an entertaining read. When I requested Fallen I was not aware that this was part of a series. The good news is that everything that is truly important is in the novel.

Faith Mitchell is a veteran police officer. When she comes home to a hostage

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situation, dead bodies and a missing mother whom was the Captain of the Atlanta Police Department and terminated under suspicious circumstances a bad day turns into a her worst nightmare.

The story then unfolds almost entirely through exposition. I do not like this form of story telling but Karin Slaughter was able to keep my interest through the whole book despite it. Her story flowed smoothly with enough information appearing at all the right places to prevent me from wanting to put it down. The multifaceted characters help tame the frequent and very graphic violence that seems to guide the direction of the plot. Be warned if you don’t like to read about copious amounts of grey matter covering just about everything this is not the book for you.

I really enjoyed the ride until the finally. Unfortunately I found the end to be completely unbelievable to the point of almost laughable and almost caused me to give this book less than 3 stars. The reason I am giving it 4 stars is that I really enjoyed the book until the very end and will likely read the other books in the series.

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I enjoyed reading Fallen, Karin Slaughter's latest, although not as much as her previous novels. It is definitely a page turner, and I like the characters of Will and Faith, even Amanda. The plot line was a little confusing sometimes, but Slaughter wraps things up quite nicely. I did not especially

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appreciate the similarities between Roger Ling and Hannibal Lecter, but even Slaughter makes a joke about it, as Amanda refers to Will as "Clarice." The best thing I took away from Fallen was a Tennessee Williams' quote: "If I got rid of my demons, I'd lose my angels."

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I am a big fan of of Karin Slaughter's work. When I first stumbled on one of her books last year, I promptly obtained every single one that I could find, and read them within a two or three month period.

I have to admit though, I wondered what would happen to the Sara Linton storyline after the

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unspeakable event which took place in Beyond Reach. But then the author did a very smart thing and merged the Sara Linton Grant County series with her Will Trent Atlanta series, and I'm really enjoying it.

In Fallen, Will Trent's partner, Faith Mitchell can't get in touch with her mother and comes to her house to find her mother and her infant daughter missing with blood all over the place. There's a dead body in one room, and a hostage situation in the other. Faith finds her daughter, but not her mother.

Unfortunately, Faith is also considered a suspect, and her mother's past comes back to haunt everyone. In addition to the storyline of Faith trying to find out what happened to her mother, Will and Sara are realizing that they have real feelings for each other, despite his being married to the very unstable Angie, who he feels responsible for, as they both share very turbulent childhood experiences in the children's home where they grew up.

I also enjoyed the several humorous lines supplied by Will's boss Amanda, who was at her snarkiest, and the best friend of Faith's mother, Evelyn.

I can hardly wait for the next installment!

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While I found the plot and characters of this novel interesting, there was something about it that wasn't totally engaging. There are four main female characters, all considered "strong independent women" each of whom have careers in criminal justice or medicine. Their strenghts were emphasized,

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but what it also brought out was the fact that there are no men in their lives. Perhaps it's just a personal thing with me at this time in my life, but I find that tragic. One main male character, Dr. Trent, who is partner of one of these women on the police force, has his own childhood deamons and challenges he faces working with and being married to "strong womem." There is much violence, massive kilss and physical torture described throughout the book. Perhaps that is what made me uncomfortable with this read. Ms. Slaughter presents her thoughts and plots well, with some twists and turns and does manage to show depth to her characters. I think men may appreciate this book more than women, even "strong women" as I found it rather depressing that she essentially said men avoid strong women.

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This is the latest in the Will Trent/Faith Mitchell/Sara Lipton series and it does not disappoint. The book starts off with a bang and doesn't let up - the fast paced, well-written and edited story is woven expertly. Karin Slaughter moves the plot along while also advancing the personal lives of

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the characters in a way that is spot on and makes sense. This is a fantastic thriller and I felt as though I had another exciting adventure with characters that I've come to know and enjoy. While the ending was a bit predictable, the book was so well written that I didn't care. I couldn't put this down and it was the perfect way to spend an overcast, rainy Sunday. Highly recommended!

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The first half of Fallen by Karin Slaughter is a great read. The mother of Will Trent's partner Faith is kidnapped. The clues point to dirty cops, drugs, stolen money and much else. However, by the second half, the novel gets too caught up in the past lives of Will's boss and Faith's mother, and

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frankly, I didn't care. There are too many names to keep track of and too many extraneous plot elements to tease out. Roger Ling (a bad guy with too little plot time) tells Will Trent what's what with Faith's kidnapped mother Evelyn. But by the time you get to the end of the book, his comments make no sense. The budding romance between Will Trent and Sara Linton is kind of cute but so far has no real depth. The denoument is out of left field and serves only to annoy the reader. I am willing to give Slaughter a little bit of leeway and will read her next novel because the disposal of Sara Linton's husband was so wonderful, surprising, and absolutely necessary. I was shocked that she killed Jeffrey because so few series authors will give up on a character. But Slaughter could see a dead end when she saw one and dispatched Jeffrey. I applaud that bold move and hope only to see some boldness in the next novel.

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Fallen is the latest in a series of novels written around several familiar characters and taking place in Atlanta, GA by Karin Slaughter. A fast past read, Fallen proves to be an enjoyable but it becomes convoluted as characters from books that appear earlier in the series come together in a

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crescendo that might hold little meaning to someone who has not read those previous narratives. While the book overall is enjoyable and answers some of the questions from earlier books the ending is a little anti climatic. It did however make me eager for her next effort.

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I was a big fan of Karin Slaughter's early work. While she remains a great writer, for me, her last few novels have fallen a bit short. Fallen has tremendous potential with gripping suspense and characters that stand out. But the cast of characters in this one is quite large and sometimes hard to

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keep track of. Slaughter's attempt to keep the suspense rendered an often frustratingly vague plot that didn't tie together until the very end. I found the conclusion too convenient in some aspects and a little unbelievable in others.

This book is part of an ongoing series. Slaughter fills in plenty of details about her characters' pasts, so I don't think it would be a problem for a reader new to her work to follow along

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Karin Slaughter has written another edge-of-your-seat suspence novel. When Agent Faith Mitchell arrives at her mother's home to find evidence of a crime, she is not only an anxious daughter, but becomes a material part of a larger crime. Faith reacts quickly and kills two of the intruders, but her

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mother is nowhere to be found. Her involvement in the shooting precludes her being an active part of the investigation, so she relies on her partner and friends to work the crime. Secrets from her mother's past come to light as the book progresses.

An action filled adventure with credible and likeable characters will make this a book you'll want to finish in a single sitting.

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I started this book because I was having trouble getting into anything else after finishing an excellent novel. Generally books of this type; thrilling, suspenseful and easy to read, draw me right in and this was no exception. [Fallen] is my first book by this author but it won't be my last! Ms.

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Slaughter has a new fan!

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Loved this book! Ms. Slaughter does such a good job of character development that you feel you know everyone in the book. I have read everything she has written, and I think this was one of her best.
I really liked the Grant County series with Jeffrey Tolliver and Sara Linton, but I think the last

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few titles with Will Trent are even better. I would recommend any of her books to anyone. Some books I pass on to others to read and don't care if I get them back. This title I will want to keep to re-read.

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Dyslexia, diabetes, dysfunctional relationships and dirty cops are an unlikely mix but Karin Slaughter puts them together with a sure hand and in Fallen creates an interesting and relentless page-turner.

She has developed a well-rounded cast of characters and attracted the attention and regard of

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the thriller-reading public, making her a best-selling writer – deservedly too since her books are a fine balance of action, intelligent plotting and entertainment.

Slaughter’s fictional world is in Atlanta, Georgia, in which she has set both the Grant County [featuring trauma doctor Sara Linton] and the Atlanta series [with Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents Will Trent and his partner Faith Mitchell]: this book is the third in which she combines the threads, and her 11th full length novel, yet it reads well as a stand alone.

Faith Mitchell’s mother Evelyn [a former member of the Atlanta police department] is kidnapped and mutilated, her house is ransacked and there are dead hoodlums on the property. Faith herself is under suspicion and battling to deal with her diabetes and her new-born daughter, so it’s up to her partner the dyslexic Will Trent, assisted by Sara Linton, to investigate.

Drugs, gang politics, homicidal prisoners, police loyalties, family secrets, the old girl network and dogs, combined with the city of Atlanta and its suburbs, form a potent and exciting mix of elements that guarantee you will stay absorbed.

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Captivating and well written suspense novel. Great addition to the series. I couldn't be more pleased. It was interesting and didn't let down for even a moment. I would definitely check out the next book Ms. Slaughter has published.

Karin Slaughter, another author I had not read until receiving an early reviewer copy of Fallen. Faith Mitchell; single mother, cop, and devoted daughter; arrives at her mother’s house to find her baby in danger, dead bodies, and threatening criminals and her mother kidnapped. If that story line

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does not catch your interest, then nothing will. I read this book while travelling and I could not get it out of my head during my eight-hour days driving. Slaughter’s writing style is engaging and keeps the story moving with new details and unanswered questions that continue at a good pace. I found myself trying to puzzle out just what her mother had been up to as a police officer that would lead to her being kidnapped. Had she really stolen a million dollars that she had hidden away and if she did not, why did she have a secret bank account? Does Faith’s boss know the truth about her mother and why won’t she share what she does know. Faith’s partner is equally complex as is his own love life. Fallen features a well-crafted storyline with complex characters and satisfying twists and turns in the plot. I will be reading more works by Karin Slaughter.

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I loved this book. I started reading it as soon as I got it, and I had the whole thing read in 2 days. I couldn't put it down. It was well written and the characters were completely fascinating. One more prize-winning book in Karin Slaughter's repertoire. I whole-heartedly recommend this book!

Faith Mitchell completes a long seminar mandated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Faith's mother, Evelyn, is watching Faith's four-month-old daughter, Emma.

Faith has been through many training exercises but when she sees a bloody handprint on ther mother's door, she goes into high gear. She

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finds Emma, locked in her mother's car and calls for backup.

Sensing that her mother is in danger, when she sees movement in her mother's house, Faith doesn't wait. She enters the house and finds a man, dead, in the laundry room. Moving upstairs, she confronts two men, shoots one and chases the other. A gunfight ends with this home invader killed outside of a neighbor's home.

Will Trent is Faith's partner. He and his boss, Amanda Wagner, lead the investigation. The know that Evelyn was the head of a narcotics division that had been taking money from the scenes when they made arrests. Although Evelyn wasn't part of that investigation, she took an early retirement.

Amanda is Evelyn's best friend. She and Will are loyal to Evelyn and spare nothing in their effort to find her. Will spends time with Dr. Sara Linton, a longtime friend and they begin a romantic relationship.

The evidence seems to say that Evelyn had taken money fromt he drug deals but Will and Amanda never stop trusting the memory they have that she was an honest cop.

The action moves swiftly and with an inventive plot, knock out characters and a fascinating ending, it all makes for an engrossing read.

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Wow, where do I even begin with this series? Like I've said before, Karin Slaughter is probably my #1 favorite author and any true fan of the Grant County series can tell you these characters are seriously amazing. They feel like old friends now, so every time I read a new installment in the series

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it's like reuniting with them all over again. In this book, Faith's mother, Evelyn, is kidnapped and everyone is at a loss as to why. The crime scene is bloody and everyone knows if Evelyn isn't already dead she will be soon. Faith is shocked and terrified for her mother and she has to rely on her partner Will and Dr. Sara Linton to help her find Evelyn before it's too late.
The characters in this series are absolutely amazing. I guess before I go too much further, this review might have some spoilers. There is a MAJOR event that takes place in Beyond Reach that changes everything, so if you haven't read that one yet and plan to in the future, I suggest you don't read this whole review. I guess you take that risk with any sequel to a book though. We see Faith sort of fall apart in this one and not without good reason. She's worried about her mother, but she's also worried about something happening to her kids. She's still a very strong, smart woman though and does anything and everything she can to figure out where her mother is. I'll admit, when both Faith and Will arrived on the scene several books ago, I wasn't too pleased. Not that they weren't well written, just that when I'm used to certain characters, change can be difficult. Now I really love them though. Will is very instrumental in trying to solve this case, since Faith is mostly at home protecting her kids. I love how successful he is despite his battle with dyslexia; he's developed ways of organizing his notes and things so that he's very efficient. He still seems to be embarrassed by his handicap, but not as much so as in previous books (probably because pretty much everyone knows about it now). Amanda Wagner (Will and Faith's supervisor, Faith's sort-of Aunt, and one of Evelyn's closest friends) takes charge of most of the investigation, with Will at her side. I wanted to slap her quite a few times in this book, and I know Will did too, for not being forthcoming with information pertinent to the case. She was trying to protect Evelyn and her secrets, but it seemed like every time Will would find out an important piece of information, Amanda already knew about it and so it wasted a lot of time. Even though she's extremely tough, and even that may be an understatement, we see a much softer side of Amanda in this book. Sara gets dragged into the investigation as well, examining the dead bodies that pop up and giving her two cents on the situation. I love Sara and I hate seeing her working in the hospital environment where I'm pretty sure she's unhappy; she needs to go back to having her own practice. Basically I just want to see her happy again. It's been almost 5 years since the "event that shall not be named" and she's still trying to find some normalcy in her life.
I loved the twists and turns that are present in all of Karin Slaughter's books. Towards the end I had things figured out, but the ending was still explosive and amazing. Unlike some books, I think this one ended on a very good note so maybe I can rest easy until the next one comes out.
Now on to the romance. There's a lot of chemistry and sexual tension between Will and Sara and I just couldn't wait for them to kiss. Sara's been understandably broken and Will has been with Angie for a very long time and doesn't know what a healthy relationship should be. Of course who should decide to make her appearance in this book at the worst possible time? Angie! I know both Will and Angie had extremely tough times in foster care, with abuse being part of their normal routine. I just can't seem to find any compassion for Angie anymore. She's mean, manipulative, and just plain evil; she likes to tell Will he can't survive without her, and he's been so emotionally damaged that for the most part he believes her. Let's just say I wouldn't be sad if she disappeared from the face of the earth. You'll know what I mean and probably agree with me when you read this one.
I absolutely loved this book, Karin Slaughter is at the top of her game like always. Her books are so suspenseful my heart races the entire time I'm reading and the characters are so real that I hate to remind myself when the book is finished that they are fictional. I didn't want to say too much in my review because I didn't want to give too much away. If you haven't read any of her books yet, please do; you won't be disappointed! If you're already a huge fan of her books, make sure you get this book as soon as it's released (6/21/11) because it's amazing. But her fans wouldn't expect anything less!

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Another winner from Slaughter. Her series continues with this latest entry which is an absolute page turner. If you've enjoyed any of her previous books, pick up Fallen right away. Well written characters that you can't help but care about and a wonderful plot. If you enjoy thrillers this won't

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disappoint. No need to read the previous books, but after you finish this one you will want to read them all. (kindle edition)

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I enjoyed reading Fallen from the moment it arrived in my mailbox. Slaughter knows how to write suspense which kept me on my toes waiting for the next shoe to drop. I found the book interesting and loved getting to know another side of Faith Mitchell and the criminal life of Faith's mother. I would

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like to see Slaughter further develop Will Trent's character, and feel that the author is leading us into the further revolution of Trent. Overall, like all of her books, Karin Slaughter delivers again.

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Don’t you hate when you’re following a series and the author and the characters sort of wind down after a while? Not here: Slaughter cranks them up, and delivers a darned good story. This book is intelligent, very well-crafted, with great characterizations (including much more of the appealing

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Will Trent than in previous books) and has a good, sustained level of tension. I think this is her best one yet!

Most of the focus of this book is on Georgia Bureau of Investigation Agent Will, his partner Faith, and their boss Amanda. The interactions between Faith and her mother, and Faith and her children are so well-done and natural-seeming, you have to pinch yourself to ensure you’re not in a room watching actual people. And the problems evinced by Will with relationships, which stemmed from the awful experiences of his childhood, in my opinion are drawn to perfection.

Dr. Sara Linton has finally recovered from the murder of her husband four and one-half years previously. She is no longer sniveling and moping around, but is once again the incisive, caring, sexy woman we loved so much in the earlier books.

I realize I’m not telling you anything about the plot. But the spoilers start right away. Suffice it to say it is a police procedural that pays strong attention to the crime but even more so to the character portrayals. If you like Karin Slaughter, you’ll love this latest in her Will Trent/Sara Linton series. And the best news of all? It can be read as a stand alone!

Discussion: Why I like Karin Slaughter’s books so much is a mystery to me, so to speak. Generally, the plots involve things I can’t stand: either very bad violence toward women, or drug gangs and drug wars. Her protagonists are for the most part very good looking, something that usually turns me off [too unrealistic]. But then there are all the appealing aspects: while her author newsletter, to which I subscribe, is funny and charming and full of pet news, in her books, Slaughter is tough as nails. She doesn’t waste any prose by taking breaks from the action, but rather just switches the storylines at intervals. Her women are a terrific combination of rock solid and soft, written in a way that doesn’t exaggerate either element. Her heroes may be good looking, but they are flawed in charming ways that are creatively different than most detective books. And some of her terrific sense of humor does manage to leak into her books, in spite of their serious nature. It makes the dialogue and action seem more realistic.

Evaluation: I love Karin Slaughter as an author, and I liked this book even more than her others!

Notes for the record:

Location: Atlanta, Georgia

Characters:

Faith Mitchell, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Age 34, diabetic, unmarried mother of 20 year old Jeremy and four-month-old Emma (by different fathers)

Dr. Sara Linton, Pediatric Attending Doctor in Emergency at Atlanta’s Grady Hospital, 39, widowed, 5’,11”, auburn red hair, has two greyhounds and a cat

Will Trent, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Age 34, 6’3”, grown up in a children’s home and never been adopted, dyslexic, married to Angie, has a Chihuahua named Betty

Amanda Wagner, Deputy Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, probably in the vicinity of 60

Evelyn Mitchell, Faith’s mother, retired Captain of the narcotics squad at the Atlanta Police Department

Karin Slaughter's books in order

The Grant County series

Blindsighted (2001)
Kisscut (2002)
A Faint Cold Fear (2003)
Indelible (2004)
Faithless (2005)
Beyond Reach (2007)

The Will Trent/Atlanta series

Triptych (2006)
Fractured (2008)

The Georgia series (combining characters from both series)

Undone (2009)
Broken (2010)
Fallen (2011)

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