Small Town, Close Knit Community, Serious Crime Problem

Kisscut by Karin Slaughter

A sadist is preying on the vulnerable -

One by one….

This week I will be reviewing the second book of Karin Slaughter's Grant County series 'Kisscut'. Whilst I will be making sure to keep this review free of Kisscut spoilers, it will contain some spoilers about the first book in the series 'Blindsighted'. If you are yet to read 'Blindsighted' then I recommend you read that first before this review. My review of 'Blindsighted' can be found here.

So you're sure that you are fine to read this review and not have it ruin your enjoyment of this series? Let's get going then!

'Kisscut' begins a few months after the events of 'Blindsighted'. All of the main characters from 'Blindsighted' return in 'Kisscut' and we continue to follow their stories. Sara Linton and ex husband Jeffrey Tolliver are beginning to date again as they continue in their attempts to reconcile their marriage. Lena Adams' uncle Hank has moved in with her as she recovers from the ordeal she suffered at the end of 'Blindsighted'. Everybody is still reeling from the events that rocked the small Georgia town just a few months before but there is no more time to dwell in the past as tragedy is about to strike again.

The opening chapter of this book involves a dead baby which has been cut into various pieces in an attempt to flush it down the toilet of a local skating rink and the death of a teenage girl who is shot dead in the skating rink's car park. This is all just chapter one. This should give you some indication of what to expect from this book. The content is even darker and more disturbing than the first book so if you are particularly squeamish then it may be a good idea to skip this book.

There is quite a bit of repetition to begin with in this one as the author attempts to bring everyone up to speed with the events of book one. To begin with I thought this was going to be quite tedious and it began to annoy me. However almost as soon as I got annoyed by it, the recaps of book ones events ended and the events of book two started to unfold uninterrupted. My annoyance is probably just because I read these books fairly close together so I didn't need the recap. I'm sure a lot of people will find it useful and it may mean that you could read these books independently of each other. I'm not sure I would recommend this though as you will get a lot more from them by reading them as they were intended.

I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it. As I have already stated, the content is a lot darker and more disturbing than book one. However the story is compelling and the characters are as perfectly fleshed out as they were in book one. Karin Slaughter seems to perfectly balance the development of fascinating characters which you want to read about with a well placed plot which keeps you hooked till the very end. The story of the investigation is fast paced and action packed but we also take time to enjoy following the lives of the main characters who return in each book. Lena is particularly interesting to read about as she struggles with her feelings towards the man who raped her and how these feelings affect her during the course of the investigation. Again the minor characters are just as fleshed out as the main cast and we enjoy a vivid portrayal of small town life. This whole book feels agonisingly real and the ending really adds to this feeling. I would again rate this as 5 out of 5 and I look forward to reading the next instalment of the Grant County series. I can only imagine that house prices are going to fall dramatically with each instalment! Nobody is going to want to live in a small town with such a serious crime problem!