Grim, disturbing, but also quite gripping!

The last book in the Will Trent series was The Kept Woman, which I gave 1 star to, because it was a boring, joyless effort that suggested the author wanted to move on to other things. Thankfully, after doing exactly that and delivering two standalone books, Karin Slaughter seems to have re-energised her interest in this series.

Sara Linton and Will Trent rush to the scene of an explosion, only to get waylaid by a car smash-up where everything isn't as it seems. Before they can do anything, Sara is in the clutches of a deadly white supremacist group. This group has a massive attack planned to highlight their cause, so Will, boss Amanda Wagner and partner Faith Mitchell must fight against time to rescue Sarah and prevent a mass murder from unfolding.

Pretty much everything I criticised in The Kept Woman is rectified here. Sara isn't a wishy-washy bore whose life revolves around a man. She resembles the Sara from the Grant County series, who is compassionate, strong and brave. Indeed, it is the chapters featuring Will that are less effective this time. Sara is in the midst of the Invisible Patriots Army camp and her chapters are full of tension, suspense and intrigue. Chapters featuring Will, Faith and Amanda catching up to what was going on sometimes hampered the pacing.

The fact this deals with white supremacy gives the book an extra suspenseful charge and a big dollop of relevance in today's times. The book bristles with anger at the attitudes of these people and how they appropriate different parts of history to justify their cause. It is quite a disturbing book to read at times, but it is never less than gripping. When I had to put the book down, I was always eager to get back to it! Although Angie Polaski is mentioned, she's not at all present, so hopefully Slaughter is moving away from that tiresome "love" triangle.

A gripping, disturbing return to form for this series!