The Kept Woman

Will Trent, Book 8

By: Karin Slaughter

Narrated by: Kathleen Early

Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

It's the most dangerous case of Will Trent's career. He knows this from the moment he sets foot in the abandoned Atlanta warehouse where a body lies on the floor - the body of an ex-cop. Bloody footprints leading away from the scene reveal that another victim, evidently a woman, was carried away and has vanished into thin air. And, worst of all, the warehouse belongs to the city's biggest and most high-profile athlete - a local hero protected by the world's most expensive lawyers. A hero married to Will's ex-wife. A hero whom Will's superiors at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation have spent the last six months investigating for rape.

But for Will - and also for Sara Linton, the GBI's newest medical examiner - the case is about to get even worse. Because an unexpected discovery at the scene reveals a personal link to Will's troubled past, and the consequences will wreak havoc on his life and the lives of those he loves, those he works with, and those he pursues.

Relentlessly suspenseful and furiously paced, The Kept Woman marks Karin Slaughter's triumphant return to her most popular series.

©2016 Karin Slaughter (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"As [narrator Kathleen Early] keeps the characters real and the tension high, she never misses the nuances packed into this clever, gripping mystery." ( AudioFile)

Too much Angie, not enough Will

I have really enjoyed the books in this series, but Angie has always left me cold. She was dealt a bad hand in life, but she's a manipulative user and does nothing but hurt people. There was way too much Angie in this story--she doesn't really deserve that much of my time.

Couldn't finish

I've read and greatly enjoyed every other book in the Will Trent series but I almost stopped listening to this one after the first few chapters (and as it turned out, I should have moved on to another book at that point). Finally gave up about halfway through. I have no interest in knowing what happened to anyone in the story line. I like evil characters as much as the next guy, but I prefer that they not detract from the main characters that I purchased the book to hear more about. The despicable Angie was simply too much a part of the book's first half (and, from the reviews, that continues in the second half) for me to enjoy. She has always been there (and always without redeeming qualities) but has not distracted from the story to the same degree as she did in this book. Because of Angie's story, I was coming to dislike Will and Sara as well--and that's when I had to stop since I still hope to read and enjoy future Will Trent stories.

Is this the end or new beginning for Angie?

Would you listen to The Kept Woman again? Why?

Probably will. I often relisten to Karin Slaughter's books a second time. There is usually something I miss along the way.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Okay how about in a day and a half.

Any additional comments?

I have really enjoyed the Grant county series and then the Will Trent series after that, I really hope the Trent/Linten series continues. That being said, I almost got the feeling that this book is a spinoff of that series into a Angie Polaski series. I could be wrong but this book is like 90% Angie's story and the rest goes to Will and Sara. Please don't get me wrong, this is a very good book with a very complicated storyline and Angie is such a colorful character with new revelations popping up all over the place in this book. I won't say what they are because I don't want to spoil it for anyone but if you've listened to the previous books in this series you already know that she's a loose cannon. Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing where this goes next.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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Enough is enough

Unfortunately, the Angie & Will relationship has, finally, jumped the shark. Feedback every author dreads hearing. I'm not alone. Our book club agrees. So sorry.

Another winner from Karin Slaughter!

The Kept Woman is Novel #8 in the Will Trent series which also includes two novellas. I own copies of all of Slaughter's books including the Grant County series, the Will Trent series which is a spinoff of Grant County, and her standalone novels. Slaughter seems to assume some knowledge of earlier Will Trent novels in this book. I'm going to comment on the key characters in the series as well as explain that GBI refers to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. I will not spoil the plot of this novel. This book is set in Georgia, as are other Slaughter novels

Will Trent - Will is a GBI special agent who grew up as an horribly abused orphan in the system. He still carries the physical and emotional scars. He is so severely dyslexic that he can barely read. The tall and lean Will Trent is likely GBI's most effective agent, a natural cop.

Sara Linton - Tall redhead Dr. Linton is currently medical examiner for the GBI. She along with her parents Cathy and Eddie, her younger sister Tessa, her husband Sheriff Jeffrey Tolliver, and sheriff's deputy Lena Adams were the main characters in the Grant County series. He medical career has been as a pediatrician as well as a medical examiner. Linton is currently Will Trent's girl friend. She was once married to Grant County Jeffrey Tolliver but divorced him due to his adultery. They remained lovers until he was killed while on duty.

Angie Polaski - Angie, 3 years older than Will, was in the orphan system with him and suffered some of the same abuses, especially sexual. She is a very self centered individual who can best be described as evil. Angie and Will were married as part of a dare years ago and have never been divorced. She is Will's wife who shows up occasionally in his life. Virtually all of Slaughter's novels have an evil female character. In the Will Trent series it is Angie while in the Grant County series it is Lena Adams. Both Lena and Angie have law enforcement backgrounds.

Faith Mitchell - GBI Special Agent Faith Mitchell is the cop partner of Will Trent. Faith has her on backstory, but the key here is that Will's and Faith's strengths and weaknesses compliment each other as where he is weak she is strong and where he is strong she is weak.

Amanda Wagner - 60+ year old Amanda is the head of GBI. She first met Will when he was a child and recruited him into GBI. Amanda suffers from a lack of patience with Will and at times is very critical of him, and mean to him.

Jo Rippy - Jo, the kept woman, is not a long term character in the Will Trent series. She is not aware that Angie is her mother who gave her up for adoption. Jo is married to a professional basketball player and they have a young son. She, her husband and her son are significant characters in this novel.

If you have not listened to earlier novels in the Will Trent series the description above sets up the characters and some of their background well enough to understand and appreciate The Kept Woman. The is a wonderful novel and Karin Slaughter (along with Lisa Gardner and Louise Penny) is the best living author of police procedural thriller series. Kathleen Early does a great job of narrating this and most other Karin Slaughter novels.

I strongly recommend this and all of Karin Slaughter's novels.

Another winner by Karin Slaughter!

As usual Karin Slaughter doesn't disappoint with another Will Trent book. Her characters are already well defined, and now we have Angie's story. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment!

Finally Will Trent Is Back

The Kept Woman is a fascinating mystery and police procedural based in Atlanta and features the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's special agent Will Trent. Its the 8th book centered on Trent, though Slaughter has incorporated or fused several key characters from other series. Nevertheless, The Kept Woman easily stands on its own. There is no need to begin with the first book in the series.

Katleen Early is my favorite female narrator. In fact I put her up there with the best of the best. Her performance is simply stunning.

Will Trent is a smart, but flawed detective. His flaws, however, are based in his tragic youth, growing up in the foster care system. It doesn't help he was diagnosed late in adolescence with dyslexia, which deeply effects his self esteem. He is surrounded with equally sharp women detectives who share a deep understanding and respect of him.

You can read the publisher's synopsis of the story to get the gist, but here I really want to communicate the author's masterfull skill in weaving the lives of so many complicated characters in a way that mkes feel we are part of their story. The mystery, characters, detective work, suspense all combine to make an unforgettable story.

I Forgot How Much I Missed All These Characters

Would you listen to The Kept Woman again? Why?

Maybe once I forget it. I would love to listen to "Criminal" again... that was my favorite in the series and I no longer remember it.

What other book might you compare The Kept Woman to and why?

Karin Slaughter has her own style of writing. On a side note I do find it funny that all of her people draw blood in their mouth to suppress anger and seem to all have gastric issues with all the bile coming back up everytime they are traumatized.

What does Kathleen Early bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Kathleen is a great narrator. I can recognize her without hearing her name by just listening to how proper she prounounced "w" with a "hwuah." There always seems to be a million chances for her to say the word "white" so we can hear "hwuahiite." All kiddding aside though she is one of ther best female narrators out there.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Karin's books always make me laugh and cry and stay on the edge of my seat. She has a way of making you connect with the characters like no other.

Not for me.

I struggled with this one. I kept zoning out. It didn't keep me wanting more. The only thing I wanted was for it to end.

Too much Angie!!! Not enough Will.

This book makes the despicable Angie it’s main focus. And she still has no redeeming characteristics. This character should have been removed from Will’s life and series long ago.

Also, the writing meanders with not much payoff. The extreme violence and despicable characters seem gratuitous, and used as filler for a weak plot.

This book was very disappointing considering how much I loved the previous books of this series. I won’t be buying any future books in this series.