Mystery Playground Recommends: Karin Slaughter

Today we're starting a new series called Mystery Playground Recommends. This is when one of our team chooses an author who's work they love to recommend as a body of work, rather than just one book. Kerry Hammond kicks if off today with an ode to the work of Karin Slaughter. 

Karin Slaughter is the author of seventeen novels. She started her career with the Grant County series, featuring pediatrician and part-time coroner Sara Linton. There are six books in this series and prior to writing the last book in the series, Beyond Reach, she began a brand new series featuring Will Trent. There are eight books in the Will Trent series and the most recent, The Kept Woman, was published in 2016. The two series have experienced a crossover; a character from Grant County has entered Will Trent’s world. Readers of both have delighted in the commingling and continuation of one of the best characters Grant County had to offer.

In addition to writing about Grant County and Will Trent, Slaughter intermixes some of the most suspense filled standalone novels you’ll ever read. The most recent, The Good Daughter, was perhaps her best book yet. Stay tuned on Mystery Playground for a review of the book, which releases from publisher Harper Collins on August 8.

Slaughter is a gifted storyteller who never seems to run out of ideas. Her plots have twists and turns and the reader is guaranteed a surprise when the final page is turned. The characters she creates are well-developed and realistic, although you sometimes wish the “bad guys” were a little less so. If you lock your door and leave the light on, you will have no problem finishing any of her books.

Slaughter’s books aren’t beach reads, nor are they light and fluffy. But if you’re ready for an intense ride and a satisfying read, she is definitely an author to try.

Garden of Lamentations by Deborah Crombie

Deborah Crombie’s 17^th novel featuring Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James is on bookshelves now. Kerry Hammond, who also reviewed book sixteen, To Dwell in Darkness, is here to tell us about the latest in the series.

Garden of Lamentations by Deborah Crombie is book 17 in the great series featuring Scotland Yard detectives, and married couple, Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James. It hits bookstores on February 7, published by William Morrow. I read To Dwell in Darkness when it came out in 2015, and I have been anxiously awaiting this next installment to see what Gemma and Duncan are up to.

In this book, like most others, the detectives are working on two very different problems. Gemma is connected to a case involving the body of a young girl that was found in a private garden in Notting Hill. The girl is a nanny to one of the children who takes dance classes at the same studio as Gemma’s son. Since she has indirect knowledge of the people involved, she inserts herself into the mix and begins talking to those who knew the nanny. She discovers that there is more to the case that she first thought, and the nanny isn’t the only victim.

Meanwhile, Kincaid is knee deep in his own troubles. He is making connections between some cases and suspecting shady dealings by members of the force. He is contacted by an old boss and is warned away from looking into matters further, but Kincaid can’t stop what he’s started. He’s too honest a detective to let the corruption continue, but he’s worried about keeping his family safe if he becomes a target.

There is a lot of tension for each of the detectives as they investigate their cases and we see their relationship react to the pressure Kincaid is feeling. He finds himself fighting with and keeping things from Gemma. This strain that they’re under adds to the pace of the plot, making it hard to put the book down.

I am a big fan of Crombie’s books, but I came in late to the game and am still working my way back through the books from the beginning. I think it’s important to note that if you picked up Garden of Lamentations you would have no problem getting into the story without having read any of the other books. As with any series, you will learn some spoilers, but that can’t be helped. The characters are what really draws you in and the mysteries the characters are solving keep you reading.

This book was provided to Mystery Playground by the publisher. The review was fair and completely independent.