Faithless by Karin Slaughter

Faithless (Grant County, #5)

by Karin Slaughter

There are many ways to die. But some are more terrifying than others...A walk in the woods takes a sinister turn for police chief Jeffrey Tolliver and medical examiner Sara Linton when they stumble across the body of a young girl. Incarcerated in the ground, all the initial evidence indicates that she has, quite literally, been scared to death. But as Sara embarks on the autopsy, something even more horrifying comes to light. Something which shocks even Sara. Detective Lena Adams, talented but increasingly troubled, is called in from vacation to help with the investigation - and the trail soon leads to the neighbouring county, an isolated community, and a terrible secret.

Reviewed by Amanda on

4 of 5 stars

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Despite the fact this book is over 500 pages long, I managed to finish it in a single day. There is so much depth in this book, not just in the plot, but in the characters’ lives as well. I like that Karin Slaughter took this beyond the typical “religious cult gone wrong” type of story, which I had been expecting. Instead, she weaved a story that was both surprising and complex. This book could have fallen flat, but it did not. Far from it.

I was glad to see the return of Tessa in this book. She was barely mentioned in book 4, and after what happened to her in book 3, I was all but dying to know how she was handling everything. Tessa doesn’t play a very large role in this book, either, but we do get to see that she is beginning to recover. I still think there is more to hear from her.

Lena was back, making some interesting decisions along the way. Part of me thinks she is starting down the right path, but then, this is Lena, notorious for making bad decisions even on her better days. An old flame comes back into the picture, and this seems to make her rethink a lot of her poor decisions thus far. I’m so very curious about what happens to her in the next book.

Sometimes I wonder if Sara and Jeffrey’s relationship will ever not be tumultuous. As much as I want them to settle down and get on with it, I appreciate that how very real and fleshed out these two characters are. They suffer from flaws just like the rest of us, and they bring these flaws with them from book to book. But they find a way to work in spite of these flaws, and that makes it easier to connect with them.
See my full review here

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 18 April, 2011: Finished reading
  • 18 April, 2011: Reviewed