The Last Widow by Karin Slaughter

3.5 Stars

It's been a long time since I have read one of the Karin Slaughter books featuring Will Trent or Sara Linton and it seems like quite a lot has happened to the pair of them since I last picked up one of the books in their individual series.  I have to be honest and say that I am not entirely sure that the merging of the two works particularly well and throwing them together as a couple just feels uncomfortable somehow.  They are such disparate people beneath the surface and it just doesn't work for me.  So much so by the end I was beginning to wonder if Sara is suffering from some kind of saviour complex and that is why she is with Will.  The bigger problem though is that because these are such well established characters that the jeopardy that is intrinsic to making this novel work is dissipated; it is VERY unusual for an author to kill of a beloved character that is the main protagonist of a series of novels.  Therefore, you know pretty much how things are going to turn out so you are just reading for the hows and not breathlessly turning the pages to find out if they are going to make it.

I was also initially frustrated at the way the early chapters unfold.  The tale is told to us from 3 different viewpoints - Will Trent, GBI field agent, psychologically damaged from his childhood, dyslexic and autism sufferer (all of which defines his character on the page and always has done and is part of why I abandoned the Will Trent series); Sara Linton, GBI Medical Examiner, pediatrician, rape survivor, police widow and romantic partner of aforementioned Will Trent (a real Girl Scout whose fictional personality is as a Debbie-Do-Good and is held up as somehow perfect in many ways - a reason why I abandoned the Sara Linton series as she was beginning to grate); Faith Mitchell, GBI Field Agent that is a single mother and partner to Will Trent (probably the only one of the trio who reacts in normal, quantifiably human ways).  The three pronged attack on the story is not a bad thing and the voices interrupt each other just enough that my natural annoyance with 2 of the 3 was diverted.  The problem comes in the early stages as you have to sit through the same few minutes being told from the perspective of will or Sara, literally the same events unfolding over the same timeline with a slightly different vision.  Fortunately Faith's minutes are substantively different so I kept reading.  This format is utilised throughout the book but as the 3 are generally in different locations it is more informative and actually does begin to drive the story.

The bits I really want to discuss I don't feel that I can in a review, as they give away a major narrative to the plot and as it is really the lynch pin of the whole thing it would give too much away.  It is definitely one that would work well in a Book Club setting and give the members plenty to chew over and rehash.  The main plot deals with belief, brainwashing, subjugation and what happens when people become disenfranchised.  Once I separated the characters form the events I began to enjoy it more - the world which the "bad guys" inhabit is richly created and their behaviours are justified to themselves in a way which is wholly believable.  I do not personally share their belief and find their justifications ludicrous but in the knowledge that tens (if not hundreds) of thousands happen to agree with their philosophy.

The plotting is strong and generally well paced, the author knows the right points to ratchet tension and when to divert the reader.  The research in to the procedure of police and government is solid and gives a believability to the text.  My problem lies solely with the main characters as they are never really anything more than a shadow of a whole person.

It's a good enough procedural tale but lacking any true peril for the main players, leaving the reader just bumping along for the ride in the blacked out panel van.  Leaving you feeling slightly dishevelled and needing a good hot shower at the end of it.

THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED VIA THE PIGEONHOLE.