Fallen

Several months ago I wrote a review of "Criminal," the 6th book in the Will Trent series, calling it the best of the series so far. It turns out that I may have made a slight misstatement. You see, I had read "Criminal" out of order. I had not at that time listened to "Fallen." Now I have to amend my statement to say that "Criminal" is ONE of the best of the series. "Fallen" is the other best book of the series.

In "Fallen," Slaughter began the process of revealing the history of the generation of women who were the first female detectives on the Atlanta police force, a process which was continued in "Criminal." The plot centers on the kidnapping and torture of Faith Mitchell's mother, a retired high-ranking detective. As things develop, the reader, along with Faith, Will, and others, learn more about the history of Faith and her mother, and her mother's contemporaries in the Atlanta PD and the State Police. And this development of back story provides an excellent background for a reading of "Criminal," the next book of the series.

Like all of Karin Slaughter's Will Trent books, the story is taut, gripping, and sometimes gutwrenching. She makes you really care and worry about the characters. And she keeps many of the plot developments well hidden until they burst into sight. These books make for a tense, sometimes bloody, but enjoyable read.

Shannon Chochran does an excellent job of narration.

There's much that's good in this book. The characters are interesting and beautifully drawn. The plot chugs along at a steady pace.

Why didn't I like it more?

I'm not sure. I found that midway through this story that my interest was flagging. With police procedurals I often find this is where my interest is keenest.

The story seems to lose its way a little, buried under flashbacks and subplots that serve to create just enough confusion to make me a little bored. What I'm saying is that the focus doesn't sharpen as the story continues. On the contrary.

There are many better crime novels...but this one isn't BAD. It's just...meh.

I absolutely love both of Karin Slaughter's series and this book merges the two! This is the best audiobook I've listened to yet. The story was amazing, and the narration was perfect. The narrator's southern accent is just right, not over the top like some books I've listened to. The subtle differences when she does the older female characters was so dead-on!
The author is so compassionate with her characters that I am able to relate to every single one. The mystery in this book is not the most plausible one yet, but defintely entertaining, tense, and unpredictable.
If you haven't read (or listened to) Karen Slaughter before, I would recommend starting from the beginning. This book can stand alone, but it gives away a lot about the previous books and is even better if you already know the characters from her previous work.

I had been a Karin Slaughter fan, but this was a real disappointment. It's hard to explain in detail without giving away any spoilers, but we are led down various rabbit holes of police corruption and drug dealer wars to a forced, contrived ending. I was startled to realize, toward the end, that the events in the book all happened in a 48 hour period - it felt much longer. I was tired of everybody in this book by the time it ended.

It didn't help that the reader was horrible, but of course, she was following the way the characters were written - why did Faith's nearly 20 year old college student son suddenly sound (and act) like a whiny 10 year old? Why did another character, also 20, sound like an old man with a hint of an utterly inexplicable Mexican movie villain accent? Between the muddled plot and the awful reader, this was very disappointing - I've read all of Karin Slaughter's previous books, but after the oddly disappointing Broken and now this weirdness, I think she's lost me.

I really, really enjoyed this book. I was just sick when Jeffery was killed off the story line and have been skeptical since, but Karin Slaughter has done a great job building the relationships and explaining the loyalty between the characters. There are so many tangents in this story but it is very easy to follow and the build up of the relationship between Sara & Will was heartwarming. I couldn't stop listening, and sad when the book ended, I didn't want to let go. I can't wait for the next book....I wish it was out yesterday! Great read / listen. Enjoy

Okay, Triptych, Unseen and Criminal were all home runs. Undone was good, a double, good for 4 stars. Fallen is a sacrifice fly, though not a strikeout.

The characters are engaging, Slaughter's writing is so charismatic that I feel like I live in Grant County Georgia. Once again, Will Trent is the understated, underestimated and thoughtful detective I appreciate. This story focuses on his partner, Faith Mitchell, feisty and relationally irresponsible, but still a good cop. Her mother is Evelyn Mitchell, a retired cop is kidnapped. (She was easily my favorite character in the blockbuster "Criminal." In my opinion the best in the series)

The mystery is not only by whom but why? Was her mom a dirty cop? Does she have a stash tucked away? It kept me listening.

Disappointment set in regarding believability and in the motives of the involved parties. Nevertheless there is no way I could've guessed the ending.

A solid 3 star from a reviewer who is liberal with his praise.

As the series progresses you learn more about the history of Amanda Wagner.

I've found my friends either love or hate, no middle ground. I enjoy the series despite the overall depressing feel.

This book is as melancholy as the rest with the same over dramatic tone at times. However, I found it a little annoying with respect to the handling of Faith's diabetes. I found it a little disrespectful, but can't really articulate why.

The story was good though, character development moved nicely and though I read it out of order I wouldn't have felt lost had as a new reader to the series.

I did not like Shannon Cochran's performance in this book. She was so off when it came to capturing Will Trent's tones and mannerisms. She made him playful and cute in a comedian sort of way which I didn't like one bit. Her read ruined the book for me. Thank god for Criminal because I would have been negative about the whole series which I really enjoyed. Too bad they made such an awful choice...if it ever gets re-recorded I would have a man read it, reverting back to the sex of the first two books narrators.

WI/NWI--1 NWI means not worth it. This book gets a “1″ because I didn’t turn it off. BUt I was very, very close.

Plot--1 The publisher’s description for this book says, “There’s no police training stronger than a cop’s instinct.” Well, someone needs to tell Karin Slaughter that critique groups train a writer. They teach important things like “show, don’t tell.” This book starts out with an action scene. Then everyone talks about it for the rest of the book.

If you know the characters from previous books this might work. It didn’t work for me.

Characterization --1 The characterization was done in previous books. I hope.

The heroine of the book was mostly either unconscious or in a diabetic stupor. I would not hire her to watch a shoe store in the mall. No one would want her for a sheriff. A law enforcement officer needs to be healthy, not passing out or becoming incapacitated constantly. She was absolutely disabled in this book, and no hero to me.

Violence--1 Very little violence, because violence in conversation is difficult.

Grossness--0 Nothing gross, unless you think inaction is gross.

Sex--0 No sex. That would be action.

Supernatural Elements--0 None. Unless I fell asleep and missed them.

Crossing the Line--0 Nope.

Setting--1 They were in a house, and a prison, I think. A lot of talking.

Prose--1 Talking. A lot of talking.

Deeper Message--1 This book literally preaches about diabetes, but uses the facts incorrectly, diabetes is “hyperglycemia”, or too much sugar in the blood, because of a lack of insulin to break it down, insulin helps the body break down sugar, and that is why you need injections, hypoglycemia is low blood sugar, if a hyperglycemic person needs an injection, they can eat sugar, if a hypoglycemic person eats sugar on an empty stomach, they will go into insulin shock? In this book, they call diabetes “hypoglycemia”, but let’s talk about it and talk about it and talk about it some more! I could be wrong about these details–I didn’t look them up, and I got very confused–let’s talk about it!

Arg.

The point is this–if you’re going to use medicine in a book, make it part of the story, and have it make your character stronger. If it distracts the reader from the story, it’s used incorrectly. If it makes your hero look like an imbecile, you are preaching, not telling a story!

Again–critique groups, Karin!

Performance--5 Shannon Cochran is a hero for reading this book without going into sugar shock.

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I bought this audio when it was on sale last month, and it's one of my best buys from audible. I love Will Trent and Betty the dog! If I were to cast Will in a movie, I'd choose Laurence Fox (son of James Fox), who plays Inspector Lewis' sidekick on the Inspector Lewis series (PBS). I liked this story so much that I bought the other five books in the series, and I wasn't disappointed. I liked the narration of the first book by Michael Kramer and the second book by Phil Gigante the best. This is a series that I can listen to over and over again.