A Faint Cold Fear (Grant County, #3)

by Karin Slaughter

THE STUNNING NEW THRILLER FROM INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER KARIN SLAUGHTER Sara Linton, medical examiner in the small town of Heartsdale, is called out to an apparent suicide on the local college campus. The mutilated body provides little in the way of clues - and the college authorities are keen to avoid a scandal - but for Sara and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, things don't add up. Two more suspicious suicides follow, and a young woman is brutally attacked. For Sara, the violence strikes far too close to home. And as Jeffrey pursues the sadistic killer, he discovers that ex-police detective Lena Adams, now a security guard on campus, may be in possession of crucial information. But, bruised and angered by her expulsion from the force, Lena seems to be barely capable of protecting herself, let alone saving the next victim...

• ISBN10: 0060534052
• ISBN13: 9780060534059
• Publish Date: 27 July 2004 (first published 1 September 2003)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amanda]

Actual Rating: 3.5

It only took about 20 pages before something happened, and it shocked me enough to the point where it felt surreal, and that maybe I had misread. While it’s certainly possible that this was the whole point, it was so unexpected and upsetting. And then it seemed like this certain aspect of the entire plot was shoved underneath the rug and only addressed if it was necessary to drive the emotional plot between Sara and Jeffery forward. I sincerely hope that what happened will be addressed in the next book(s).

We also got to reenter Lena’s life. She is such a fascinating and broken character. She terrifies me to a certain extent, because she seems to always be five seconds from screwing up her life completely. After what happened to her, we can understand some of her inner turmoil and poor choices, but I found myself wanting to shake her and tell her to get it together.

The ending was unexpected (and good), but it took a while to get there. I’m finding that mysteries tend to be plot or mystery driven, whereas romances and other fiction tend to be character driven. Somehow that emotional connection with the character(s) makes the book harder to put down. It’s easier to set the book down during mysteries – and this one especially so. I found myself setting the book down of my own volition to do something else. It wasn’t that the plot or mystery was bad; more so it was simply I was not completely engaged and invested in finishing it as fast as I could so I could find out what happened.

I don't think this is the best book in the Grant County series, but it is still a good book.

[Charli G.]

Ok, so book 3 is finished and I need to obtain copies of books 4 & 5. Right now that’s going to have to wait, as I’m out of $$ and out of credits at Paperback Swap. :( In any case, “A Faint Cold Fear” is just as much of a thrill ride as the first two books in the series.

Start out with an apparent suicide, which bring tragedy to Sara Linton and her family when her sister is attacked near the scene of the crime. Then another apparent suicide turns up, causing Jeffrey and Sara to question whether there is a murderer on the loose. Add to this former detective Lena Adams, who is now a security guard at the college and yet another murder - this time on the college staff. Plus, it appears that Lena’s getting involved with someone and that the someone in question might not be the best person for her.

I couldn’t bear to put this book down and I can’t wait to get a copy of the next book, Indelible.

Another 5 star book - and number 3 in the RIP III Challenge.