A FAINT COLD FEAR by Karin Slaughter
Karin Slaughter is one of the best mystery writers around today. She is totally in control of her subject matter and knows her characters inside and out. The location of her plots is Grant County, Georgia and she makes that fictional area come to life in all its scenes, smells and tastes. This community and several of its townsfolk are back in her new novel A FAINT COLD FEAR, and if you don't feel a faint cold fear creeping up your spine as your read it, well check your pulse.
Once again the story centers around Sara Linton, a pediatrician who is also the town Medical Examiner. Her ex-husband, Jeffery, is the Police Chief of the town so the two of them are thrown into constant contact. At the start of this novel a body has been discovered on the campus of the local college. A young man has either been pushed or he jumped from a bridge.
This discovery precipitates even more violence and soon there are several bodies showing up on campus, one of which involves Sara's family. Jeffery has his hands full and wishes that Lena Adams were still on his team. She, however, is working for the Campus Security group and she and Jeffery are not on good terms.
All of these characters have been part of previous Slaughter stories but even if you are just meeting them for the first time you will have no problem in getting into their personalities and situations. Slaughter gives you enough to get you up to code with each character and each plot motivation.
In most books I tend to skim over some of the "filler" material which is always present. Authors do this to create a full picture of their locales and to impress readers with their knowledge of background they fill is needed. In Slaughter's books there is no "filler" and therefore there can be no skimming. The reader needs to take in every written word for it has a purpose in being there. When I say I can't take my eyes off the page, I mean I literally can't stand to overlook a word, a phrase, a colon or a period. It is all essential.
If you have the time, start with Slaughter's first novel and work your way up to A FAINT COLD FEAR. If you don't have that luxury then just plow into this one. You will have a wonderful time as you piece together the plot and move toward the final revelations.
Karin Slaughter is as good a writer as there is anywhere today. Get her book and discover the pleasure of a master writer's brilliant work.
A FAINT COLD FEAR is published by William Morrow. It contains 343 pages and sells for $24.95.