Review: The Kept Woman (Will Trent #8) by Karin Slaughter

Synopsis from Good Reads:

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

Secrets bind them. And secrets can destroy them.

The author of the acclaimed standalone Pretty Girls returns with this long-awaited new novel in her bestselling Will Trent series—an electrifying, emotionally complex thriller that plunges the Georgia detective into the darkest depths of a case that just might destroy him.

With the discovery of a murder at an abandoned construction site, Will Trent and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are 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 searing novel of love, loss, and redemption. A seamless blend of twisty police procedural and ingenious psychological thriller, it marks Karin Slaughter’s triumphant return to her most popular series, sure to please new and diehard fans alike.

I was late to the party with the Will Trent series. The first book of the series I picked up was the book prior to this one, Unseen. It was actually one of the first books I reviewed on this blog. After that, I went back and read the whole series. And loved it. And have been (impatiently) waiting for the next installment ever since. After three years, Slaughter finally gave us more Will Trent and it was definitely worth the wait!

Karin Slaughter has such a great style of writing. Her use of shifting POV and timelines is always used to the greatest effect possible and is done with such skill. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I decided to put this book off until a library book became available instead of buying it because I read a review that (incorrectly stated) the second half of the book was told from Angie’s (Will’s “wife” and resident psycho) POV. I’ve always hated Angie and didn’t think I could stomach half a book from her (not to mention being a little annoyed of only getting half a book from Will, Sara (his girlfriend), and Faith (his partner)). But, of course, I should have had faith in Slaughter’s storytelling. We get Angie’s POV at the beginning, middle, and end of the book. The middle, where we go back in time a bit and find out just what Angie was up to, was definitely one of the best parts of the book. Yes, I still hate Angie. Yes, she’s still a psycho. But I actually really loved being able to get in her head and plot-wise it was pretty intense.

The mystery of the book was really well done. I loved the build up and the little reveals. There were several things that completely surprised me and I love that. As a fan of the series, I also love the character development. Will Trent is such a complicated character and his relationship with Angie is so complicated, as well. I really enjoyed the exploration of their twisted relationship and how it affected those around them.

Overall, I really loved this book. Slaughter never disappoints me and I am so happy that we finally got another book in this series. I definitely recommend it to fans of mystery/suspense/crime. I already can’t wait for the next one!

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars

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