Kisscut

I enjoyed this book very much. It had an interesting plot and we also got to know the characters Sara, Jeff, and Lena better. The crimes being committed in this story were particularly disturbing because they included children. The novel jumps very quickly into action which I appreciate along with the clever plot twists. However, when you start to figure out what is happening you can almost predict who the culprits will be.

Although the mystery of the book was rather simple, I think the characterizations and the portrayal of childhood sexual trauma was spot on. There were so many fully formed characters, and the way that they brought out sides of our main characters Jeffrey, Sara, and Lena, that we hadn't seen before was masterfully done. We got so much more information on our main characters, motivations, their strengths, and their weaknesses from merely seeing them react to the events of the case. For that reason alone, this book deserves five stars, but the creative way that she tackled a relatively straightforward type of crime was the icing on the cake.

You know the sensation you have just before a storm arrives? The temperature lowers, the smell of sweet grass fills the air, and a distant thunderclap jolts you to your core. Your “spidey sense” kicks into full gear, and you dash indoors. Well, there is no calm before the storm in Kisscut by Karin Slaughter. It sets you right down in the torrential depravity of a small town and never provides cover from the awfulness of some of the people in Heartsdale.

* I really do not know how to review this book, so I'll just do my best and add blanks in place of some of the areas that are extremely uncomfortable to discuss. *

So, we start the story with our favorite pediatrician, Sara, at a roller rink as she awaits her on-and-off-again ex-husband, Jeffery, who is the chief of police, to arrive. Sara grows impatient and makes her way to the washroom, where she finds a ___ in the ___. I almost had to skip the subsequent scene at the morgue. It's that uncomfortable.

–Check the trigger warnings, folks.

Fast forward a bit, and we catch up with Lena, a detective who went through an incredibly horrific ordeal in the first book, as she interviews several people at a local school about __ and __. The suspects show no regard for their actions or involvement in the ___ and offer up little to no information.–Could they be hiding something?Meanwhile, Jeffery questions a local family that is under suspicion of __, __, and __, but they all deny that anything of that nature could happen under their roof.

–This is the tip of the iceberg.

The investigation starts to pick up steam when Jeff finds a trailer that is setup to ___ and exploit __. He finds boxes full of __. Again, I almost had to skip some of these scenes.

Oh, and the revelations that come to light. I can't even express how much it hurt. It was painful to read.

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