From Atlanta's wealthiest suburbs to its stark inner-city housing projects, a killer has crossed the boundaries of wealth and race. And the people who are chasing him must cross those boundaries, too. Among them is Michael Ormewood, a veteran detective whose marriage is hanging by a thread--and whose arrogance and explosive temper are threatening his career. And Angie Polaski, a beautiful vice cop who was once Michael's lover before she became his enemy. But unbeknownst to both of them, another player has entered the game: a loser ex-con who has stumbled upon the killer's trail in the most coincidental of ways--and who may be the key to breaking the case wide open.
The book is written in third person, but we have different narrators throughout. It starts with Michael Ormewood whom I did not like. This is partly why I wasn’t sure whether I’d end up liking the book. I wanted to see things from Will Trent’s perspective, and I wasn’t really fond of Michael. Once Michael’s stint as narrator is over, it shifts between John Shelley, a “loser” ex-con, Will Trent, and Angie Polaski.
There were threads woven throughout this plot that intertwined in the most interesting ways. I like Karin Slaughter’s books already, but I think her true story telling abilities really shine through with this book. She connects points in her plot without explicitly saying so, leaving it to the reader to make the inferences and final judgment. But I also never felt like I was missing out on anything, and many times after I had made a connection, pieces of the puzzle would click together as previous parts of the plot took on an entirely new meaning.
I’m more curious about Will Trent than anything. There wasn’t enough information available to really learn a lot about him, but the things I did learn just made me want to find out more. Karin Slaughter has a knack for creating broken characters who struggle to rise above their pasts.
