The Kept Woman: A Will Trent Thriller

I ordered this book over a year ago and let it sit on my Kindle because Karin Slaughter's last book left me irritated and unhappy. Slaughter is a first-rate writer and I've been buying her books ever since she started publishing. There are some dark characters and some annoying characters, but that's life, and I've relished the sometimes twisted path of Sara Linton's life. I enjoyed reading about all the peripheral characters. Except one.So I think this will be my last book by Slaughter. Its well written and a great thriller. But while Will Trent and Sara Linton just can't seem to let Angie go, I can. Like many other readers, I was hopeful that this book would but an end to her, or at least get her out of the next book. But no. Angie is not the most heinous character in Slaughter's work, but she's the most infuriating, not for what she does but for how others react to her. In spite of Will's tortured childhood, he's not stupid, and neither is Sara. So why is she still in the picture? Why do they allow her to interfere in their life? Unlike Will and Sara I can walk away from Angie, and I will.I'll check future reviews and if Angie is gone I may buy Slaughter again, but only if the whole "Angie lurks on the edges of their life and Will and Sara get all twisted up about it" is over.

I didn't think the paltry story-line worthy of all the gratuitous sex, vulgar language, and violence. not great writing.

*Rolling Stones, "Angie"I can pretty much piggy back on the comments made in previous reviews. The writing here is tight. This is NOT a stand alone book, but you could read it after reading one or two of the Will Trent series and it would be fairly seamless, as Ms. Slaughter is excellent at writing in back stories without making you feel like she's repeating herself in every novel.So, we start out with a bloody and brutal murder. We also start out with Will & Sara in some-what domestic bliss. Of course Angie is going to raise her beautiful, yet ugly, head.I do get the feeling that Ms. Slaughter loves Angie, most authors do love their creations, even the most heinous of characters. Perhaps that's why we got that huge chunk of the story from Angie's POV?Honestly, I really cannot stand Angie, and no matter how horrible her life has been, she gets no sympathy from me. I think if she were raised in privilege and with loving parents that she would still be a user, still be selfish and destructive. I usually enjoy anti-hero characters and root for their partial redemption. Angie has none.Next book, let's find her dead and buried!

Karin Slaughter writes disturbing psychological thrillers that invariably feature strong female characters, complex criminal behavior, and a sometimes cringeworthy level of violence. Her work includes two series of mystery novels and several critically acclaimed standalone thrillers. Slaughter is one of America's best-selling authors in the genre.The Kept Woman is the tenth novel in Slaughter's series featuring dyslexic Agent Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Once again, she has brought Will together with Dr. Sara Linton, the pediatrician and pathologist who is the protagonist of the earlier Grant County series. Linton had moved to Atlanta after the death of her husband in Grant County. She recently signed on with the GBI as a coroner. And now she and Trent are lovers.The case that draws both Trent and Linton into a deeply unsettling investigation involves two top stars in the NBA, their unscrupulous agent, two crooked cops, a thug from Boston, Trent and Linton's boss at the GBI, and Angie Polaski. Of all these characters, Polaski is the most disturbing. She has been the bane of Will's existence since he was eleven years old. They've been married for many years, although Polaski only occasionally drops back into Will's life to cause more trouble. They'd met in an orphanage. "Kids like that didn't live the lives they wanted," Slaughter writes. "They survived the lives they had." The troubling relationship between Will and Angie is the central thread in the novel. And that helps make this one of the most distressing books I've read in recent years.

Well, that was one hell of a ride.As always Karen doesn't disspoint, her writing is brilliant and the storyline Is interesting.I have to say, she did a great job showing us what Angie is all about, having read her previous works it was easy to hate the character, but after reading this I found myself having some respect for the layered character.I really felt for Sara in this book, there was a lot of emotional beating for her to take, loving will isn't an easy job and this book showed it.But I still can't stop myself for rooting for will and Sara, relationships aren't easy and karin has shown that beautifully with these two.I also liked the little snippets of insight into Amandas personality, it's interesting to see Character who always comes across as tough and cold to show just a glance of the caring person they are, I love her and wills relationship.Over all I applaud karin for another amazing book that's filled with humor, complicated relationships, interesting storylines and details.Can't wait for the next book!

I really enjoyed this story as I had wanted to learn more about the back story of Angie Trent and her history with Will and why she treated him as she does. The story is enthralling as it starts with a crime scene involving Angie and its initial investigation with Will and Sarah and then goes back a week to the key events. This adds to the suspense as parts of the story unfold piecemeal. It is only when it reverts to the present and the continuing investigation do the pieces start to fall into place, and then the correct place. The ending is satisfying and gives Slaughter several options for follow-ups.

I discovered the works of Karin Slaughter through a recommendation from a Facebook book group. The Kept Woman is the most recent novel by her that I have read. I do think Slaughter is a brilliant surname for a crime writer. Karin Slaughter is an American crime writer, whose first novel Blindsighted became an international success, was published in almost 30 languages, and made the Crime Writers' Association's Dagger Award shortlist for "Best Thriller Debut" of 2001. She was born on 6 January 1971 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.The Kept Woman is the eighth outing for her character, Will Trent. I rather enjoy his idiosyncrasies.They make him interesting and different to other detectives in this genre. Slaughter is just amazing at characterization: as much as I love Will for his flaws, I dislike very strongly Angie for her selfishness. Slaughter's writing is not for the faint hearted. It is gritty and dark, very gritty and dark. I have warned you! I also found this book a bit confusing. It has a great many characters many of whom are involved in different story lines, the time periods include past and present and family relationships seem to crop up where you would not expect them.  Sara, Will's girlfriend, is the medical examiner and is called to a murder where the dead body is that of a police officer. Sara realizes that the extensive amount of blood does not belong to the corpse, but belongs to a woman. They must find the missing woman as she may be close to death with the amount of blood lost, whether she is a victim or a killer. The body is found in a night club owned by a basketball star that was accused of rape. A case that Will had been investigating. With high priced lawyers, and other powerful allies, the athlete was able to walk. And if that is not enough on his plate, Angie is back in his life.This book was an especially emotional rollercoaster. We get to know Angie's story. She is still married to Will and The Kept Woman gives the reader insight to how she got to be the way she is. If you enjoy complicated, crime thrillers. The Kept Woman is the novel for you.Val Penny

I am a BIG fan of Ms. Slaughter books, and I have read many. This one has been my favourite so far. Twisty turny, never saw that one coming easy page turner. Her books are not good for my sleep though, and I have had many "Just one more chapter nights" I NEVER know "whodunnit" in any of her books. Her characters are well drawn and after a few books, you feel that you know the characters and care about them.Serial killer thrillers are my genre of choice, and Karin Slaughter is up there with the best of them. I really admire her writing style and she writes stories that I enjoy. Feet up, phone of the hook lose yourself in a well thought out puzzley read and R-E-L-A-X

I’m only half way through it and already I’m sick to death of Angie, want to slap Sarah and need to give Will a kick up the bum. I don’t know what has got into Karin Slaughter with this one as I usually enjoy her books. It’s rambling and boring, the plot is unrealistic, there are too many characters and the Angie,Will and Sarah triangle has become very very tiresome. I’m not sure whether I can summon the patience to finish it. If I do, and Angie is still around at the end of it, I may have to consider never reading another book in this series.