Book Review: Unseen by Karin Slaughter

Unseen by Karin Slaughter

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publish Date: July 2, 2013

Hardcover, 400 pages
Fiction, Suspense, Romantic Elements
 ISBN: 9780345539472
Will Trent #7

My Review:
I will admit I have been away from Karin Slaughter for awhile just because I haven't kept up with her series.  But I was intrigued by the blurb of this book and decided to heck with series order and picked this one up for review.  I don't regret my decision one bit, but I will be going back and starting with the second book in the Will Trent series and also going back to read the Grant County series.

Character Development:
I was familiar with Will Trent going into this book having read Triptych when it came out.  But somehow after that I think my reviewing life got in my way and I haven't read the series since.  I like Will, he's not perfect but he's trying to do the right thing.  I was really interested in his undercover work in this book and also in his love life with Sara (who I was not at all familiar with since I haven't read the Grant County series).  Will makes a great character.  Sara is also interesting and a little bit of a contrast to Will.  I liked getting to know her in this book and look forward to getting to know her more by reading the other series.  Lena was also interesting.  Somehow even though I don't think you are supposed to like her, I liked her.  I wanted justice and for her to prove that the crime in this book wasn't her fault.  I also can't wait to get to know her more from the earlier books.

Plot:
The plot was interesting and fast moving.  There is romance between Will and Sara.  There is history between Sara and Lena.  And there are secrets between Will and Sara.  And of course there are crimes that need solving.  The dynamics between the characters were great to watch, a lot of animosity that really comes off the page is present in the book.  The crimes that need solving are also fascinating and I kept turning the pages to see what would happen next.  I honestly could not figure out the ending until it happened.  To me that was the mark of a great suspense novel and why I enjoyed Triptych years ago.


Final Thoughts:
If you enjoy great suspense with romantic elements than Unseen is a great read for you.  Don't fear if you are  not caught up in the Will Trent or Grant County series, the book can read as a stand alone.  There is definite history but it's explained in a way that I don't think previous books will be ruined if you go back and read like I am going to do.  I loved Unseen and it reminded me why I loved Karin Slaughter years ago.  I won't get behind again!

My Rating: 4.5/5.0


About the Book:
Karin Slaughter’s New York Times bestselling novels are utterly riveting and masterfully drawn. Her latest thriller, Unseen, pits detectives, lovers, and enemies against one another in an unforgettable standoff between righteous courage and deepest evil.

Bill Black is a scary guy: a tall ex-con who rides to work on a Harley and trails an air of violence wherever he goes. In Macon, Georgia, Bill has caught the eye of a wiry little drug dealer and his cunning girlfriend. They think Bill might be a useful ally. They don’t know that Bill is actually a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent named Will Trent. Or that he is fighting his own demons, undercover and cut off from the support of Sara Linton—the woman he loves, who cannot be told of the risk Will is taking.

Sara herself has come to Macon because of a cop shooting: Her stepson, Jared, has been gunned down in his own home. Sara holds Lena, Jared’s wife, responsible: Lena, a detective, has been a magnet for trouble all her life, and Jared’s attack is not the first time someone Sara loved got caught in the crossfire. Furious, Sara finds herself involved in the same case that Will is working without even knowing it, and soon danger is swirling around both of them.

In a novel of fierce intensity, shifting allegiances, and shocking twists, two investigations collide with a conspiracy straddling both sides of the law. Karin Slaughter’s latest is both an electrifying thriller and a piercing study of human nature: what happens when good people face the unseen evils in their live.


Books in Will Trent series:
Triptych
Fractured
Undone
Broken
Fallen
Snatched
Criminal
Unseen

About the Author (from Goodreads.com): 
Karin Slaughter (born 1971), is a US author who debuted with her novel Blindsighted in 2001. It became an international success, made the Dagger Award shortlist for "Best Thriller Debut" of 2001, and has been published in 23 countries.

Slaughter was born in a small southern Georgia community, and now resides in Atlanta. She is widely credited with first coining the term "investigoogling" in 2006.


Website

***I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free.  ***