This is the first book I’m reviewing from my pile of “whoops I forgot to finish these”. Please note, that much like my ratings, this should not really tell you anything about the book’s merits. I am a seriously heavy mood reader, so a lot of the time I would drop the book in the middle of an exceptional gripping plot simply because ✨the vibe✨ is off. So the fact that it took me nearly three years to finish this excellent thriller doesn’t make it any less excellent. It just makes me appear odd in the head. (I am.)
I started reading Triptych by Karin Slaughter on my way home from visiting a friend in Germany. I made a stop-over in Iasi (that’s in Romania) before heading to my hometown by train. I bought the book there in a secondhand book shop, and dived into it on the train. It certainly made the 4 hour trip seem way shorter.
It’s hard to talk about this book without giving away any details that might point at the twist, so I am going to resort to the Amazon blurb.
When Atlanta police detective Michael Ormewood is called out to a murder scene, he finds himself faced with one of the most brutal murders of his career.
As a one-off killing it is shocking, but it soon becomes clear Aleesha Monroe is just the latest victim in a series of similar attacks.
Twenty-four hours later, the violence Michael sees every day explodes in his own back yard.
And it seems the mystery surrounding Monroe’s death is inextricably entangled with a past that refuses to stay buried…
I gotta say, I WAS a bit disappointed by ✨The Twist✨ in this book, though, but only because I saw it coming. However I’m not taking out any stars as I just love Karin Slaughter’s thrillers. Subtle social commentary that doesn’t at all feel dictated by an agenda or ‘the current thing’. The way her writing is descriptive yet simple. She doesn’t shy away from gore, but doesn’t make a feast out of it either. And her characters and plot lines get developed layer by layer, moved not by the formulaic understanding of ‘show don’t tell’, but by the subtlety that’s part of her talent. The pace is great, and the characters are compelling yet flawed – or maybe because they’re flawed.
I was thinking of taking out one star because of some mixed feelings I had somewhere there in the middle, inspired by the twist or not, I can no longer remember. But the moment I closed the book, I immediately realised it’s a five-star.
Have you read Karin Slaughter’s books? If you love crime fiction and haven’t yet read anything by her, please pick up Triptych. It’s the first one in the Will Trent series.