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A Readers Musings and Reviews
After That Night (Will Trent Series 11) by Karin Slaughter #20booksofsummer24
One night can change your life forever…
Book blurb
Sara doesn’t think about that night.
About the attack.
About the way it tore her world apart.
About the man who did it, now safely behind bars.
She thought that night was over. Until a new victim appears…
And now a young woman’s life depends on Sara uncovering exactly what happened after that night…
My thoughts
Those readers who have been reading the Grant County series by Karin Slaughter will know that Sara Linton was raped suffering horrendous injuries. After That Night brings back that story to this latest Will Trent book.
Sara is testifying in court regarding the alleged murder of Dani, a young woman who arrived at the hospital badly beaten, she had been raped and she died in Sara’s hands. Sara vowed that she would do all she could to put her killer away. Even if it meant having to expose herself to questions about the night that she, too, had been raped. It doesn’t happen!
Sara is in the ladies when Britt McAllister comes in they have a conversation, it’s not pleasant and Britt is obviously high on something but she lets slip that there is a connection between Dani’s murder and the Friday night ‘mixers’ that took place at the university both she and Sara went to.
The court case is dropped when some photographs come to light and is settled out of court.
Sara can’t let it be. She had made a promise.
Will and Sara are engaged and planning the wedding. Will and Faith, both Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents, are support on a boring investigation. They are both determined to support Sara and the three begin an unofficial investigation into what happened to Dani.
The suspect in Dani’s rape and murder is Tommy McAllister. He is the son of Britt and Mac McAllister. Sara knew them both, she had been with them at a ‘mixer’ the night she was raped. The night her world fell apart, the night that changed everything for her.
As they dig into the McAllister’s another rape is committed. Leighann had been missing for days when she turns up in a bad state. Her mother gets Leighann to report the assault, it isn’t being taken very seriously. When Faith asks a favour of an ex colleague in the Atlanta PD both she and Will get to talk to Leighann. It’s clear that she is telling the truth.
The connection Britt spoke of goes beyond anything they could have imagined and involves several men but even though they uncover damning evidence they can’t prove anything. They are going to have to read Amanda into their unofficial investigation and that could cost them their jobs!
The characters in After That Night are plentiful with the main ones being Sara, Will, Faith and Amanda. Amanda is the boss and quite the tour de force. The relationship between them is unusual as Faiths mother was in the Atlanta PD along with Amanda they are good friends and Amanda is considered family. Amanda has taken a very active role in Will’s life and there are strong personal links. Now Sara is marrying Will, she also works with the GBI, so is becoming a part of that relationship just as Will is becoming part of Sara’s family. This element brings an occasional bit of light relief to this dark story. We also get to meet Wills estranged Aunt something Will is not happy about and although she does help will there be consequences?
Karin Slaughter is a very accomplished author who writes wonderful characters, smoothly bringing together the two series and demonstrates great skill when writing about the darkest and most horrific of crimes.
As you read After That Night your heart is in your mouth, or at least mine was, it’s heartbreaking. Without being overtly graphic Slaughter uses conversation, amongst other things, to put across what happens and then adds the thrill and tension from action to keep this a really compelling read. The subject matter is definitely not easy reading and some of the details and statistics that flow through the narrative and which, sadly, never seem to get any better despite all the recent developments and revelations such as the #MeToo campaign are quite horrifying.
This is a book with balance in the sense that not all men are bad nor, indeed, are all women good. The revelations throughout are disturbing and upsetting but necessary. This is a story that keeps having to be told because these crimes keep happening as is demonstrated with Sara and the other women in this story and Karen Slaughter has, once again, written about these crimes and those who seek to catch the perpetrators in a very powerful, relatable and readable manner.
Book: Purchased
Information
Published: HarperCollins (April 11, 2024) | ISBN: 9780008499433
ISBN 10: 0008499438 | 432 pages |
Buy: HarperCollins |Hive UK | AmazonSmileUK | Your local bookshop | Your local library
Author
Karin Slaughter is the author of more than twenty instant New York Times bestselling novels, including the Edgar–nominated Cop Town and standalone novels Pretty Girls, The Good Daughter, and Pieces of Her. She is published in 120 countries with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe. Pieces of Her is a #1 Netflix original series starring Toni Collette, and WILL TRENT, based on her Will Trent series, is on ABC (streaming on Hulu in the U.S., and Disney+ internationally). False Witness and The Good Daughter are in development for television. Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, she lives in Atlanta.
You can check out all things Karin Slaughter on Karen’s website or follow her on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Books
The Will Trent series takes place in Atlanta and features GBI special agent Will Trent, his partner Faith Mitchell, and Angie Polaski. The first two books in the series are Triptych and Fractured. Later, Sara Linton from The Grant County Series joins the Will Trent series which then continues with Undone, Broken, Fallen, Criminal, Unseen, The Kept Woman, The Last Widow, The Silent Wife, and After That Night. There are also two short stories featuring Will Trent – Busted and Snatched.
The next Will Trent is This is Why We Lied and will be published on 20th June 2024 – please note that Hive U.K. currently have the Collectors Edition (first print run only, whilst stocks last) on pre-order with free U.K. delivery at £17.09
Set in the fictional town of Heartsdale, Georgia, (in the fictional Grant County) the narrative takes place from the perspective of three main characters: Sara Linton, the town’s pediatrician and part-time coroner; her ex-husband, Jeffrey Tolliver, who is chief of police; and his subordinate, detective Lena Adams. The series includes Blindsighted, Kisscut, A Faint Cold Fear, Indelible, Faithless and Beyond Reach (also called Skin Privilege).
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