Tag / Karin Slaughter

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Book 17 (of 52) – Blindsighted

Blindsighted – Karin Slaughter

The sleepy community of Grant County, Georgia is rocked when a blind woman, the sister of a police detective, is found raped and mutilated.  After a second woman, a local college student, is found after having been crucified and raped, the local pediatrician/coroner tells her ex-husband. police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, about her own attack years prior in Atlanta.  When a third woman goes missing, the clues start to come together, but is there still enough time to stop the rapist before he moves on to another victim?

Blindsighted is the first entry in Karin Slaughter’s older Grant County series, which I am once again reading out of order, both within itself and in relation to the Will Trent series.  Because of this, some of the reveals play a little differently.  For one, the reveal of Sarah’s rape is completely blunted, as this is already known information.  On the opposite side, the initial murder of Sibyl Adams cuts much deeper, having more familiarity with her character and with Lena from future stories.  With four more books to go in this series and a new Will Trent entry coming later this summer, there will be plenty of Slaughter to go around for the foreseeable future.

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2023: The Year In Books

As 2023 comes to a close, my third full year of remote working, I managed to far surpass my previous records by completing a whopping 59 books, four books more than my previous high from last year and my third consecutive year completing the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.  I completed the challenge in late November and surpassed last year’s total in mid-December.  I read (or listened) to 21,394 pages, by far my highest total of all time and only the fourth time I’ve passed 10,000.

Of those books, eleven were non-fiction and, of the remaining 48 novels, only four were tied to a TV show, either as the source material or as a tie-in.  None of the books came out of my dwindling “to-read” drawer, with 53 e-books and two audiobooks.  I continued to take advantage of my library card, which helped me procure 44 of the books I consumed throughout the year.

Over 61% of the books I read this year were by authors I had read before. The 22 authors that I read for the first this year were:

Selma Blair Stacy Willingham Gillian McAllister Chuck Klosterman
Gabrielle Zevin Ronan Farrow Matthew Perry Amor Towles
Jason Rekulak Emily St. John Mandel Bonnie Garmus Thomas Mullen
Naomi Hirahara Maitland Ward Busy Phillips Elliot Page
Jinwoo Chong Maureen Ryan Minka Kelly Britney Spears
Emily Henry Rebecca Makkai

Jennifer McMahon, Karin Slaughter, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Erle Stanley Gardner, Grady Hendrix, Jeffery Deaver, Laura Lippman, Ruth Ware, and Stacy Willingham were the only authors that I read multiple titles from during 2023.

18 of the books I read were released this year, while only five of them were released last century, with the oldest first published in 1934.

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Prolific Authors Wrap Up

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we wrap things up with a look back at the 97 authors I’ve read more than once.

Largest Increase (since 2021)

The Silent Wife – Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter – 6
Erle Stanley Gardner – 5
Jeffrey Deaver – 4
Grady Hendrix – 4
Richard Osman – 3
Alex Finlay – 3
Taylor Jenkins Reid – 3

Largest Increase (since 2011)

The Skin Collector – Jeffery Deaver

Jeffrey Deaver – 14
Erle Stanley Gardner – 14
Richard Castle – 13
Karin Slaughter – 12
Mary Kubica – 8

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Book 52 (of 52) – After That Night

After That Night – Karin Slaughter

After That Night, the eleventh entry in Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent series, puts the focus on Dr. Sara Linton, who is testifying in a rape trial when the defendant’s mother, a former colleague of Sara’s from her residency, lets her know that there is a connection between this case and Sara’s own rape from 15 years earlier.  While Will and Faith start investigating off the record, Sara looks back to her past to see if she can find the connection while still maintaining her sanity.  What they find horrifies them: a rape club that has been ongoing for years.  Once they get the approval to turn this into a real case, can they turn their theories into proof and stop the rape club from the inside?

After It took me four plus years to read through the earlier books in the series, a new entry made it to the top of the pile rather quickly.  Slaughter once again leans on the crutch of having the villain have some sort of personal connection to the primary players in the investigation, something that was a hallmark of the early entries in the series.  At some point, you’d think they’d take a hard look in the mirror and ask some hard questions, like why is everyone we know a serial killer or rapist?

And there we have it, book #52!  For just the third time since I started this “52 books in 52 weeks” challenge back in 2010, I made it to the finish line.  Last year, I did it with just a couple of weeks to spare.  This time around, I’m a whole month ahead of schedule.  I should have little problem surpassing my personal record of 55 books, set all the way back in 2022.

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Prolific Authors – 12 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we continue with the two authors I’ve read twelve times, even with two years ago.

Christopher Golden

The prolific author first entered my bookshelf in 1998, thanks to a Buffy the Vampire Slayer tie-in.  Eleven more of those over the following seven years leave him here.

The Kept Woman – Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter

A New York Times best seller, Slaughter first crossed my radar in 2018 with the standalone novel Pretty Girls.  I followed that up with The Kept Woman, which, unbeknownst to me, was the eighth entry in the Will Trent series.  Since then, I’ve quickly caught up on that series while also starting her previous Grant County series.

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Book 31 (of 52) – Kisscut

Kisscut – Karin Slaughter

When police chief Jeffrey Tolliver is forced to kill a young girl to stop her from shooting another kid outside the local roller rink.  The investigation into why she had been threatening the older boy turns dark, leading to discovery of incest, sexual abuse, and the type of pictures and magazines that earns one a visit from the FBI rather quickly.  Can Tolliver unravel the strings in the case in time to save another young life?

Now that I am up to date in her Will Trent series, I decided to dive headfirst into Karin Slaughter’s older Grant County series, starting, unfortunately, with entry #2, Kisscut.  Thankfully, due to the crossovers between the two and series and the sharing of some characters, I pretty much had the lay of the land.  While the subject matter at hand was deplorable, to say the least, Slaughter handled it in a good way, never losing sight of the damage being done to the children in the story.  There are six books total in this series, and I already pretty much know how it will end, so I’m sure I’ll be diving into the rest sooner rather than later.

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Book 18 (of 52) – The Silent Wife

The Silent Wife – Karin Slaughter

The Silent Wife, the tenth entry in Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent series, is really a combination of this series and her previous Grant County series.  When a disabled inmate offers to trade information on the smuggling of cell phones into the prison in exchange for as investigation into rapes and murders, of which he was suspected, that have continued since he’s been in prison.  While Will and Faith look into the newer cases, Sara is forced to look to the past, when she worked the earlier crimes with her now-deceased husband.  Will they be able to find the truth before the ghosts from the past get in the way of Will and Sara’s relationship in the present?

It took me a little over four years to read through this series, although there is a new entry on tap for later this year.  While this was a good read and I enjoyed the story, Slaughter once again leans on the crutch of having the villain have some sort of personal connection to the primary players in the investigation.  At some point, you’d think they’d take a hard look in the mirror and ask some hard questions, like why is everyone we know a serial killer?

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Midseason Review – Tuesdays

Continuing our look back at my thoughts on the new fall season, with the offerings that I found myself interested in for Tuesdays.

Now, let’s see what interesting tidbits are coming this spring:

Night Court – Melissa Rauch joins the returning John Larroquette in this update of the 80s hit.

Will Trent – Based on Karin Slaughter’s series of novels, early indications say this will turn into a procedural, which does not fill me with joy.

Superman & Lois – Returning for its third season while I still have yet to watch any of it.  At what point do I admit that I don’t watch this show?

Gotham Knights – Following the death of Bruce Wayne, his adopted son forges alliances with the children of his father’s enemies.

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2022: The Year In Television

With less and less good productions airing on network and cable and moving to the various streaming platforms, that seems to have taken over as my main form of television watching.  Now that I work from home full time, I have plenty of time to take in whatever they have to offer.  Since we cover the network and cable shows that I watch elsewhere, let’s take a look at the 32 seasons of shows I streamed on nine different platforms this year.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7 (Netflix)
The end of the road for the first series set in, but not completely part of, the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Archive 81 Season 1 (Netflix)
A video archivist is hired to transfer video tapes rescued from a building fire, but they contain much, much more.

Barry Season 3 (HBOMax)
With the acting class disbanded, Barry falls back to his old job while trying to make amends.

The Blacklist Season 9 (Netflix)
Years after Elizabeth’s death, Red returns and the task force re-forms to track down her killer.

The Bear Season 1 (Hulu)
A world class chef inherits the family beef joint after his brother dies.

DMZ (HBOMax)
An adaptation of Brian Wood’s comic series about Manhattan becoming a DMZ following a second civil war.

The Flash Season 8 (Netflix)
Catching up in preparation for the upcoming final season.

High School Season 1 (Freevee)
An adaptation of the memoir from Tegan and Sara shows the twin girls growing up in Canada and discovering their musical talent.

How I Met Your Father Season 1 (Hulu)
Missing all the charm and humor of its predecessor but might have all been worth it for the surprise appearance in the last episode.

Inside Man (Netflix)
A misunderstanding leads to a math tutor being held hostage and a vicar doing anything he can to save his family.

Lost in Space Season 2 (Netflix)
The Robinsons manage to get to another planet, but run into more adventures. Continue reading →

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2022: The Year In Books

As we wrap up 2022, my second full year of remote working, I managed to surpass my previous records by completing a whopping 55 books, an increase of one book over last year and my second consecutive year completing the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.  I surpassed last year’s total with a mere three days remaining in 2022.  I read (or listened) to 19,328 pages, by far my highest total of all time and only the third time I’ve passed 10,000.

Of those books, fifteen were non-fiction and, of the remaining 40 novels, only two were tied to a TV show, either as the source material or as a tie-in.  None of the books came out of my dwindling “to-read” drawer, with 44 e-books and three audiobooks.  I continued to take advantage of my library card, which helped me procure 37 of the books I consumed throughout the year.

A little more than half of the books I read this year were by authors I had read before. The 31 authors that I read for the first this year were:

Adam Nedeff Kelsey McKinney Simone St. James Laura Dave
Jeff Warren Carlye Adler Matt Paxton Jordan Michael Smith
Alyssa Milano Alex Finlay Taylor Jenkins Reid Emily Ratajkowski
Samantha Downing Dave Grohl Mary Lynn Rajskub Stephanie Perkins
Michael Schur Joseph Henrich V.E. Schwab Brianna Madia
Jimmy Piersall Richard Whittingham Richard Osman Colleen Hoover
Jenette McCurdy Sally Rooney Josh Malerman Alice Sebold
Katie Mack Penn Jillette Elin Hilderbrand Nita Prose

Alex Finlay, Simone St. James, Karin Slaughter, Megan Goldin, Jeffery Deaver, and Richard Osman were the only authors that I read multiple titles from during 2022.

16 of the books I read were released this year, while only two of them were released last century, with the oldest first published in 1953.

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