The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter

Val Penny ♦ November 17, 2017 ♦ 1 Comment

I discovered the works of Karin Slaughter through a recommendation from a Facebook book group. The Kept Woman is the most recent novel by her that I have read. I do think Slaughter is a brilliant surname for a crime writer. Karin Slaughter is an American crime writer, whose first novel Blindsighted became an international success, was published in almost 30 languages, and made the Crime Writers’ Association’s Dagger Award shortlist for “Best Thriller Debut” of 2001. She was born on 6 January 1971 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

The Kept Woman is the eighth outing for her character, Will Trent. I rather enjoy his idiosyncrasies.They make him interesting and different to other detectives in this genre. Slaughter is just amazing at characterization: as much as I love Will for his flaws, I dislike very strongly Angie for her selfishness. Slaughter’s writing is not for the faint hearted. It is gritty and dark, very gritty and dark. I have warned you! I also found this book a bit confusing. It has a great many characters many of whom are involved in different story lines, the time periods include past and present and family relationships seem to crop up where you would not expect them.

Sara, Will’s girlfriend, is the medical examiner and is called to a murder where the dead body is that of a police officer. Sara realizes that the extensive amount of blood does not belong to the corpse, but belongs to a woman. They must find the missing woman as she may be close to death with the amount of blood lost, whether she is a victim or a killer. 

The body is found in a night club owned by a basketball star that was accused of rape. A case that Will had been investigating. With high priced lawyers, and other powerful allies, the athlete was able to walk. And if that is not enough on his plate, Angie is back in his life.

This book was an especially emotional rollercoaster. We get to know Angie’s story. She is still married to Will and The Kept Woman gives the reader insight to how she got to be the way she is. If you enjoy complicated, crime thrillers. The Kept Woman is the novel for you.

Val Penny