Genesis by Karin Slaughter

Back Cover:
Three and a half years ago former Grant County medical examiner Sara Linton moved to Atlanta hoping to leave her tragic past behind he. Now working as a octor in Atlanta's Grady Hospital she is starting to piece her life together. But when a severely wounded young woman is brought in to the emergency room,, she finds herself drawn back into a worls of violence and terror. The woman has been hit by a car but, naked and brutalised, its clear that she has been the prey of a twisted mind.

When Special Agent Will Trent of the Criminal Investigation Team returns to the scene of the accident, he stumbles on a torture chamber buried deep beneath the earth. And this hidden house of horror reveals a ghastly truth - Sara's patient is just the first victim of a sick, sadistic killer. Wrestling the case away from the local police chief, Will and his partner Faith Mitchell find themselves at the centre of a grisly murder hunt. And Sara, Will and Faith - each with their own wounds and secrets - are the only thing that stands between a madman and his next crime.

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Thoughts:
I know, I know, I just said, like, 2 days ago I was unlikely to be reviewing any of these authors soon. Well, then I realised I hadn't read this year. So tough.

Sara Linton is a recurring character from previous Karin Slaughter books. I'm certain I've also encountered Will and Faith before too but I can't be bothered searching the books right now to confirm this. I'll update this paragraph if I get around to finding out this information.

This is a fairly decent crime fiction novel, made more by the characters than the storyline. I like all 3 of our major players, espcially Will who I seem to have a bit of a soft spot for. He's a man who comes from a particularly sad upbringing in state care and foster homes, where he suffered a lot of abuse during his childhood. He's dyslexic (and hiding it well) but otherwise we don't really know too much about him yet. My impression (from both this and the other book he's been in) is that he's both very private, as well as of the opinion that he's 'tainted' and that to share too much may cause people to think of him differently. Will is tied into a dysfunctional relationship with Angie, a girl with a similar past who he grew up with. Unsually for a crime novel, I ended up in tears at the end of a telling scene with Will and Angie. But then, I always was a cry-baby.

Faith is a more irritating character, but that doesn't ake her unlikeable. I find it odd that I don't relate to her easily, yet I somehow do with Will? Weird. Faithhas her own problems in this book, dealing with some medical issues, including a suprise pregnancy.

Sara is just a broken woman - the move to Atlanta made after the detah of her police officer husband (a majoy character in previous books, until his untimely death, that is). There's not too much of her here but that works for where she is in her life.

And then there's Amanda. Amanda is the head of the GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) and she's a ballbreaker and I heart her. But also way glad I don't work for her as she can be (and usually is) a mega bitch. Fun for me as the reader though.

So, the actual storyline in nothing amazing - read enough crime fiction and it all becomes a bit run-of-the-mill. But the character interaction really helps this book not to feel like it's the same as every other. There's enough there to keep it enjoyable, particularly if you've read other books in the series. And at 440-odd pages, a good length - something important to me as I'm such a speed-reader (I can guarantee I'll read more books than I blogs about, casue I'm far more dedicated to reading than I am to writing).

Final opinion: 3/5