New Releases by Karin Slaughter

WATCH WILL TRENT ON ABC! “Expect from a Karin Slaughter crime thriller . . . just the right amount of twists, turns, shocks, surprises and domestic thrill and shrill.” — Parade The instant NYT bestseller featuring Will Trent and Sara Linton from Karin Slaughter, author of Pretty Girls and After that Night! One toxic family. Eight suspicious guests. Everyone is guilty...But who is a killer? For GBI investigator Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton, McAlpine Lodge seems like the ideal getaway to celebrate their honeymoon. Set on a gorgeous, off-the-grid mountaintop property, it’s the perfect place to unplug and reconnect. Until a bone-chilling scream cuts through the night. A murderer in their midst Mercy McAlpine, the manager of the Lodge, is dead. With a vicious storm raging and the one access road to the property washed out, the murderer must be someone on the mountain. But as Will and Sara investigate the McAlpine family and the other guests, they realize that everyone here is lying….Lying about their past. Lying to their family. Lying to themselves. Who killed Mercy McAlpine? It soon becomes clear that normal rules don’t apply at McAlpine Lodge, and Will and Sara are going to have to watch their step at every turn. Trapped on the resort, they must untangle a decades-old web of secrets to discover what happened to Mercy. And with the killer poised to strike again, the trip of a lifetime becomes a race against the clock…

WATCH WILL TRENT ON ABC! “Enter the world of Karin Slaughter. Just be forewarned, there’s no going back.” —Lisa Gardner GBI investigator Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton are back in an electrifying thriller from New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter After that night, everything changed . . . Fifteen years ago, Sara Linton’s life changed forever when a celebratory night out ended in a violent attack that tore her world apart. Since then, Sara has remade her life. A successful doctor, engaged to a man she loves, she has finally managed to leave the past behind her. Until one evening, on call in the ER, everything changes. Sara battles to save a broken young woman who’s been brutally attacked. But as the investigation progresses, led by GBI Special Agent Will Trent, it becomes clear that Dani Cooper’s assault is uncannily linked to Sara’s. And the past isn’t going to stay buried forever . . .

Don’t miss the next Will Trent thriller, This Is Why We Lied, coming this August! NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! “It’s Slaughter’s prodigious gifts of characterization that make her stand out among thriller writers.” — Washington Post From the New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her, comes an electrifying thriller featuring newly minted US Marshal Andrea Oliver as she investigates a cold case with links to her father’s past. A small town hides a big secret… Who killed Emily Vaughn? A girl with a secret… Longbill Beach, 1982. Emily Vaughn gets ready for the prom. For an athlete, who is smart, pretty and well-liked, this night should be the highlight of her high school career. But Emily has a secret. And by the end of the evening, that secret will be silenced forever. An unsolved murder… Forty years later, Emily’s murder remains a mystery. Her tight-knit group of friends closed ranks; her respected, wealthy family retreated inwards; the small town moved on from her grisly attack. But all that’s about to change. One final chance to uncover a killer… US Marshal Andrea Oliver arrives in Longbill Beach on her first assignment: to protect a judge receiving death threats. But, in reality, Andrea is there to find justice for Emily. The killer is still out there—and Andrea must discover the truth before she gets silenced, too…

Don’t miss the next Will Trent thriller, This Is Why We Lied, coming this August! INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "There''s deception, sabotage, violence, family secrets . . . all the stuff you could want from a fictional page-turner."— theSkimm Recommended by Washington Post • theSkimm • GMA.com • Popsugar • Bustle • Atlanta Journal-Constitution • Augusta Chronicle • Sun-Sentinel • Mystery and Suspense Magazine • and more! He saw what you did. He knows who you are… From the New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her and The Silent Wife, an electrifying standalone thriller. AN ORDINARY LIFE… Leigh Collier has worked hard to build what looks like a normal life. She’s an up-and-coming defense attorney at a prestigious law firm in Atlanta, would do anything for her sixteen-year-old daughter Maddy, and is managing to successfully coparent through a pandemic after an amicable separation from her husband Walter. HIDES A DEVASTATING PAST... But Leigh’s ordinary life masks a childhood no one should have to endure … a childhood tarnished by secrets, broken by betrayal, and ultimately destroyed by a brutal act of violence. BUT NOW THE PAST IS CATCHING UP… On a Sunday night at her daughter’s school play, she gets a call from one of the firm''s partners who wants Leigh to come on board to defend a wealthy man accused of multiple counts of rape. Though wary of the case, it becomes apparent she doesn''t have much choice if she wants to keep her job. They''re scheduled to go to trial in one week. When she meets the accused face-to-face, she realizes that it’s no coincidence that he’s specifically asked for her to represent him. She knows him. And he knows her. More to the point, he may know what happened over twenty years ago, and why Leigh has spent two decades avoiding her past. AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT. Suddenly she has a lot more to lose than this case. The only person who can help is her younger, estranged sister Callie—the last person Leigh would ever want to drag into this after all they’ve been through. But with the life-shattering truth in danger of being revealed, she has no choice... “A high-stakes thriller . . . Her heroines are believable, flawed and courageous.” –OYINKAN BRAITHWAITE

WATCH WILL TRENT ON ABC! “If you’re into mystery thrillers, then you’re into Karin Slaughter.” —THESKIMM He watches. He waits. He takes. Who will be next . . . THE SILENT WIFE Investigating the killing of a prisoner during a riot inside a state penitentiary, GBI investigator Will Trent is confronted with disturbing information. One of the inmates claims that he is innocent of a brutal attack for which he has always been the prime suspect. The man insists that he was framed by a corrupt law enforcement team led by Jeffrey Tolliver and that the real culprit is still out there—a serial killer who has systematically been preying on women across the state for years. If Will reopens the investigation and implicates the dead police officer with a hero’s reputation of wrongdoing, the opportunistic convict is willing to provide the information GBI needs about the riot murder. Only days ago, another young woman was viciously murdered in a state park in northern Georgia. Is it a fluke, or could there be a serial killer on the loose? As Will Trent digs into both crimes it becomes clear that he must solve the cold case in order to find the answer. Yet nearly a decade has passed—time for memories to fade, witnesses to vanish, evidence to disappear, and lies to become truth. But Will can’t crack either mystery without the help of the one person he doesn’t want involved: his girlfriend and Jeffrey Tolliver’s widow, medical examiner Sara Linton. When the past and present begin to collide, Will realizes that everything he values is at stake . . .

WATCH WILL TRENT ON ABC! Karin Slaughter, the New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her, brings back Will Trent and Sara Linton in this superb and timely thriller full of devious twists, disturbing secrets, and shocking surprises you won’t see coming A mysterious kidnapping On a hot summer night, a scientist from the Centers for Disease Control is grabbed by unknown assailants in a shopping center parking lot. The authorities are desperate to save the doctor who’s been vanished into thin air. A devastating explosion One month later, the serenity of a sunny Sunday afternoon is shattered by the boom of a ground-shaking blast—followed by another seconds later. One of Atlanta’s busiest and most important neighborhoods has been bombed—the location of Emory University, two major hospitals, the FBI headquarters, and the CDC. A diabolical enemy Medical examiner Sara Linton and her partner Will Trent, an investigator with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, rush to the scene—and into the heart of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to destroy thousands of innocent lives. When the assailants abduct Sara, Will goes undercover to save her and prevent a massacre—putting his own life on the line for the woman and the country he loves.

From New York Times bestselling authors Karin Slaughter and Lee Child comes this electrifying short story featuring their iconic characters Will Trent and Jack Reacher. Twice the action. Twice the drama. Double the trouble. Will Trent is undercover at Fort Knox. His assignment: to investigate a twenty-two-year-old murder. His suspect’s name: Jack Reacher. Jack Reacher is in Fort Knox on his own mission: to bring down a dangerous criminal ring operating at the heart of America’s military. Except now Will Trent is on the scene. But there’s a bigger conspiracy at play—one that neither the special agent nor the ex-military cop could have anticipated. And the only option is for Jack Reacher and Will Trent to team up and play nicely. If they can…

Now a major Netflix adaptation: The #1 Australian bestseller from the author of The Silent Wife ''A novel that sets the standard for psychological thriller writing. Rarely in fiction have the past and the present collided with such force and in such a distinctive and compelling voice'' Jeffery Deaver What if the person you thought you knew best turned out to be someone you never knew at all? Andrea Oliver''s mother, Laura, is the perfect small-town mum. Laura lives a quiet but happy life in sleepy beachside Belle Isle. She''s a pillar of the community: a speech therapist, business owner and everybody''s friend. And she''s never kept a secret from anyone. Or so Andrea thinks. When Andrea is caught in a random violent attack at a shopping mall, Laura intervenes and acts in a way that is unrecognisable to her daughter. It''s like Laura is a completely different person - and that''s because she was. Thirty years ago. Before Andrea. Before Belle Isle. Laura is hailed as a hero for her actions at the mall but 24 hours later she is in hospital, shot by an intruder, who''s spent decades trying to track her down. What is Andrea''s mother trying to hide? As elements of the past return and put them both in danger, Andrea is left to piece together Laura''s former identity and discover the truth - for better or worse - about her mother. Is the gentle, loving woman who raised her also a violent killer? ''A nerve-shredding psychological thriller that will keep readers guessing to the very last page'' New York Journal of Books ''A frenetic, stay-up-all-night kind of read'' Good Reading ''Filled with Slaughter''s trademark twists'' Entertainment Weekly

Don’t miss the next Will Trent thriller, This Is Why We Lied, coming this August! SOON TO BE A PEACOCK LIMITED SERIES STARRING JESSICA BIEL “The Good Daughter is like Law and Order meets The Good Wife.” —theSkimm The stunning new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her— a searing, spellbinding blend of cold-case thriller and psychological suspense. Two girls are forced into the woods at gunpoint. One runs for her life. One is left behind… Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn''s happy small-town family life was torn apart by a terrifying attack on their family home. It left their mother dead. It left their father — Pikeville''s notorious defense attorney — devastated. And it left the family fractured beyond repair, consumed by secrets from that terrible night. Twenty-eight years later, and Charlie has followed in her father''s footsteps to become a lawyer herself — the ideal good daughter. But when violence comes to Pikeville again — and a shocking tragedy leaves the whole town traumatized — Charlie is plunged into a nightmare. Not only is she the first witness on the scene, but it''s a case that unleashes the terrible memories she''s spent so long trying to suppress. Because the shocking truth about the crime that destroyed her family nearly thirty years ago won''t stay buried forever… Packed with twists and turns, brimming with emotion and heart, The Good Daughter is fiction at its most thrilling.

Protecting someone always comes at a cost. At the age of thirteen, Charlie Quinn’s childhood came to an abrupt and devastating end. Two men, with a grudge against her lawyer father, broke into her home—and after that shocking night, Charlie’s world was never the same. Now a lawyer herself, Charlie has made it her mission to defend those with no one else to turn to. So when Flora Faulkner, a motherless teen, begs for help, Charlie is reminded of her own past, and is powerless to say no. But honor-student Flora is in far deeper trouble than Charlie could ever have anticipated. Soon she must ask herself: How far should she go to protect her client? And can she truly believe everything she is being told? Razor-sharp and lightning-fast, this electrifying story from the #1 international bestselling author will leave you breathless. And be sure to read Karin Slaughter’s extraordinary new novel The Good Daughter—available August 22, 2017.

WATCH WILL TRENT ON ABC! “Part True Detective, part The Girl on the Train. All parts gripping.” --theSkimm The New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her returns with an electrifying, emotionally complex thriller that plunges Will Trent into the darkest depths of a mystery that just might destroy him. Husbands and wives. Mothers and daughters. The past and the future. Secrets bind them. And secrets can destroy them. With the discovery of a murder at an abandoned construction site, Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is brought in on a case that becomes much more dangerous when the dead man is identified as an ex-cop. Studying the body, Sara Linton—the GBI’s newest medical examiner and Will’s lover—realizes that the extensive blood loss didn''t belong to the corpse. Sure enough, bloody footprints leading away from the scene indicate there is another victim—a woman—who has vanished . . . and who will die soon if she isn’t found. Will is already compromised, because the site belongs to the city’s most popular citizen: a wealthy, powerful, and politically connected athlete protected by the world’s most expensive lawyers—a man who’s already gotten away with rape, despite Will’s exhaustive efforts to put him away. But the worst is yet to come. Evidence soon links Will’s troubled past to the case . . . and the consequences will tear through his life with the force of a tornado, wreaking havoc for Will and everyone around him, including his colleagues, family, friends—and even the suspects he pursues. Relentlessly suspenseful and furiously paced, peopled with conflicted, fallible characters who leap from the page, The Kept Woman is a seamless blend of twisty police procedural and ingenious psychological thriller -- a searing, unforgettable novel of love, loss, and redemption.

First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes revenge. In this sensational short story from the bestselling author of The Kept Woman and Pretty Girls, fifty-two-year-old Pam has done her utmost as a loyal wife to her now ex-husband John. He dropped her cruelly . . . but with a terminal illness about to claim his life, Pam now sees an opportunity to settle the score, in a way that no one—not their children, not her ex, and certainly not the reader—will see coming . . . Surprising, suspenseful, and diabolically clever, Cold, Cold Heart offers old fans and new readers alike a taste of the writer Gillian Flynn calls “one of the finest crime novelists at work today.”

Lee Child says it’s “stunning… certain to be a book of the year.” Kathy Reichs calls it “extraordinary… a major achievement.” Gillian Flynn says of Karin Slaughter: “I’d follow her anywhere.” Sisters. Strangers. Survivors. More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire. Lydia, a single mother, dates an ex-con and struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss—a devastating wound that''s cruelly ripped open when Claire''s husband is killed. The disappearance of a teenage girl and the murder of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: what could connect them? Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago . . . and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it. Powerful, poignant, and utterly gripping, packed with indelible characters and unforgettable twists, Pretty Girls is a masterful novel from one of the finest writers working today.

A beautiful young girl was walking down the street―when suddenly… Julia Carroll knows that too many stories start that way. Beautiful, intelligent, a nineteen-year-old college freshman, she should be carefree. But instead she is frightened. Because girls are disappearing. A fellow student, Beatrice Oliver, is missing. A homeless woman called Mona-No-Name is missing. Both taken off the street. Both gone without a trace. Julia is determined to find out the reasons behind their disappearances. And she doesn''t want to be next… Michael Connelly calls Karin Slaughter "unrivaled among thriller writers." This gripping, unforgettable short story proves why. And be sure to order Karin''s new novel, Pretty Girls, on sale September 29, 2015.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Karin Slaughter, author of the bestselling Will Trent novels, is widely acclaimed as “one of the best crime novelists in America” (The Washington Post). Now she delivers her first stand-alone novel: an epic story of a city in the midst of seismic upheaval, a serial killer targeting cops, and a divided police force tasked with bringing a madman to justice. Atlanta, 1974: As a brutal murder and a furious manhunt rock the city’s police department, Kate Murphy wonders if her first day on the job will also be her last. She’s determined to defy her privileged background by making her own way—wearing a badge and carrying a gun. But for a beautiful young woman, life will be anything but easy in the macho world of the Atlanta PD, where even the female cops have little mercy for rookies. It’s also the worst day possible to start given that a beloved cop has been gunned down, his brothers in blue are out for blood, and the city is on the edge of war. Kate isn’t the only woman on the force who’s feeling the heat. Maggie Lawson followed her uncle and brother into the ranks to prove her worth in their cynical eyes. When she and Kate, her new partner, are pushed out of the citywide search for a cop killer, their fury, pain, and pride finally reach the boiling point. With a killer poised to strike again, they will pursue their own line of investigation, risking everything as they venture into the city’s darkest heart. Relentlessly paced, acutely observed, wickedly funny, and often heartbreaking, Cop Town is Karin Slaughter’s most powerful novel yet—a tour de force of storytelling from our foremost master of character, atmosphere, and suspense. Features a preview of Karin Slaughter’s next novel, Pretty Girls “Karin Slaughter is simply one of the best thriller writers working today, and Cop Town shows the author at the top of her game—relentless pacing, complex characters, and gritty realism, all set against the backdrop of a city on the edge. Slaughter’s eye for detail and truth is unmatched. . . . I’d follow her anywhere.”—Gillian Flynn “Cop Town proves Karin Slaughter is one of America’s best writers. . . . She pulls her readers into a twisted tale of mystery and keeps them fascinated from start to finish.”—The Huffington Post “Stunning . . . Karin Slaughter breaks new ground with this riveting story. If you haven’t yet read her, this is the moment.”—Michael Connelly “Compulsively readable . . . will have your heart racing.”—O: The Oprah Magazine “Intense . . . engrossing . . . evocative . . . [Karin Slaughter’s] first stand-alone novel [has] a gritty, action-packed plot and strong, believable characters.”—Associated Press “Slaughter graphically exposes the rampant racism, homophobia, and misogyny of cop culture in the 1970s. . . . Winning leads, the retro setting, and a riveting plot make this one of Slaughter’s best.”—Booklist (starred review) “Superb . . . explosive . . . [Cop Town] is sure to win over readers new to Slaughter’s work while reminding old fans of her enormous talent.”—Library Journal (starred review)

Sent to Macon for an undercover mission to infiltrate a drug and prostitution ring, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Agent Will Trent hides the facts about his latest assignment from his girlfriend, Sara Linton, when the stakes prove higher than any he has yet encountered.

A Georgia Bureau of Investigation search into a shocking crime from 1975 poses unprecedented personal and professional challenges for top agent Will Trent, who encounters threats against his life and everything he thought he understood about his past.

‘One of the boldest thriller writers working today’ TESS GERRITSEN ‘Her characters, plot, and pacing are unrivalled’ MICHAEL CONNELLY __________________________________ FBI Special Agent Will Trent’s instinct is put to the test. On assignment at Atlanta''s busy airport Will Trent is forced to make a split-second decision. But is it the right one? Multi-million copy, international bestselling thriller writer Karin Slaughter is known for her razor-sharp plotting and her ability to put the reader right at the heart of the crime. Snatched is Karin at her best in a compelling story that will grip you like a vice. An exclusive straight to digital short story from the No.1 bestseller. Includes the opening chapters of Criminal and a taster of Fallen.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A complex, gripping, and deadly serious novel that reflects anew [Karin] Slaughter’s abundant talent.”—The Washington Post WATCH WILL TRENT ON ABC • “An absolute master . . . Slaughter creates some wonderfully complex and mature female characters, a distinctive achievement in the world of thrillers.”—Chicago Tribune “You know what we’re here for. Hand it over, and we’ll let her go.” There’s no police training stronger than a cop’s instinct. Faith Mitchell’s mother isn’t answering her phone. Her front door is open. There’s a bloodstain above the knob. Her infant daughter is hidden in a shed behind the house. All that the Georgia Bureau of Investigations taught Faith Mitchell goes out the window when she charges into her mother’s house, gun drawn. She sees a man dead in the laundry room. She sees a hostage situation in the bedroom. What she doesn’t see is her mother. . . . Faith is left with too many questions and not enough answers. To find her mother, she’ll need the help of her partner, Will Trent, and they’ll both need the help of trauma doctor Sara Linton. But Faith isn’t just a cop anymore—she’s a witness. She’s also a suspect. The thin blue line hides police corruption, bribery, even murder. Faith will have to go up against the people she respects the most in order to find her mother and bring the truth to light—or bury it forever.

Grant County medical examiner Sara Linton and Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Will Trent have their work cut out for them when the prime suspect in a shoreside murder winds up dead in his holding cell.

Fleeing to Atlanta to seek refuge in the aftermath of a violent act, Sarah Linton becomes unwittingly enmeshed in a case involving a tortured young ER patient, a situation that is investigated by special agents Will Trent and Faith Mitchell. Reprint. A best-selling book.

When a severely wounded young woman is brought in to the emergency room, Sara Linton finds herself drawn back into a world of violence and terror. The woman has been hit by a car but, naked and brutalised, it''s clear that she has been the prey of a twisted mind. When Special Agent Will Trent of the Criminal Investigation Team returns to the scene of the accident, he stumbles on a torture chamber buried deep beneath the earth. And this hidden house of horror reveals a ghastly truth-- Sara''s patient is just the first victim of a sick, sadistic killer.

Gillian Flynn says, "Karin Slaughter is simply one of the best thriller writers working today." A small Georgia town erupts in panic when a young college professor is found brutally mutilated in the local diner. But it''s only when town pediatrician and coroner Sara Linton does the autopsy that the full extent of the killer''s twisted work becomes clear. Sara''s ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, leads the investigation—a trail of terror that grows increasingly macabre when another local woman is found crucified a few days later. But he''s got more than a sadistic serial killer on his hands, for the county''s sole female detective, Lena Adams—the first victim''s sister—want to serve her own justice. But it is Sara who holds the key to finding the killer. A secret from her past could unmask the brilliantly malevolent psychopath .. or mean her death.

The third book in Karin Slaughter’s acclaimed Grant County Series. “[A] page-turner . . . Slaughter’s plot has more twists than a Slinky factory and the characters’ relationships are sharply drawn.” —People, starred review “Scary, shocking and perfectly suspenseful.” —BookPage Sara Linton, medical examiner in the small town of Heartsdale, GA, is called out to an apparent suicide on the local college campus. The mutilated body provides little in the way of clues—and the college authorities are eager to avoid a scandal—but for Sara and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, things don’t add up. Two more suspicious suicides follow, and a young woman is brutally attacked. For Sara, the violence strikes far too close to home. And as Jeffrey pursues the sadistic killer, he discovers that ex-police detective Lena Adams, now a security guard on campus, may be in possession of crucial information. But, bruised and angered by her expulsion from the force, Lena seems to be barely capable of protecting herself, let alone saving the next victim.

_________________________________________ Desire leaves a man destroyed – a young girl''s curiosity reveals secrets better left hidden – an accidental encounter on a train ends violently – ambition leads to a curious exchange – an uncanny likeness changes two lives forever. A novel in sixteen chilling parts, linked by a glittering charm bracelet which brings misfortune to everyone who handles it. In Like A Charm, the cream of British and American crime writers combine for a must-have collection. From nineteenth-century Georgia, where the bracelet is forged in fire, to wartime Leeds, a steam train across Europe, the violent backstreets of 1980s Scotland, present-day London, a Manhattan taxi, the Mojave desert and back to Georgia, each writer weaves a gripping story of murder, betrayal and intrigue. _________________________________________ Crime and thriller masters know there’s nothing better than a little Slaughter: ‘I’d follow her anywhere’ GILLIAN FLYNN ‘One of the boldest thriller writers working today’ TESS GERRITSEN ‘Her characters, plot, and pacing are unrivalled’ MICHAEL CONNELLY ‘Passion, intensity, and humanity’ LEE CHILD ‘A writer of extraordinary talents’ KATHY REICHS ‘Fiction doesn''t get any better than this’ JEFFERY DEAVER ‘A great writer at the peak of her powers’ PETER JAMES ‘Raw, powerful and utterly gripping’ KATHRYN STOCKETT ‘With heart and skill Karin Slaughter keeps you hooked from the first page until the last’ CAMILLA LACKBERG ‘Amongst the world‘s greatest and finest crime writers’ YRSA SIGURÐARDÓTTIR

Ansley Park is one of Atlanta''s most upscale neighbourhoods but in one gleaming mansion, in a teenager''s lavish bedroom, a girl has been savagely murdered.

When the charred body of a woman is found, and Detective Lena Adams is charged with homicide, Grant County''s medical examiner/pediatrician Sara Linton joins forces with her husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver to uncover the truth.

Troubled by a rocky marriage and the recent loss of his partner, Atlanta detective Michael Ormewood launches an investigation into the savage murder of a local woman, but for ex-con John Shelley, desperate to prove his innocence, the nightmare has just begun. Reprint.

The victim was buried alive in the Georgia woods then killed in a horrifying fashion. When Sara and Jeffrey stumbled upon the body, they both became consumed with finding the killer of the young woman.

The internationally bestselling author "squarely in the ranks of Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs" (Publishers Weekly) shows off her superb talent with this brilliantly conceived, skillfully executed tale of suspense. In Karin Slaughter''s exciting new thriller, an officer is shot point-blank in the Grant County police station and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver is wounded, setting off a terrifying hostage situation with medical examiner Sara Linton at the center. Working outside the station, Lena Adams, newly reinstated to the force, and Frank Wallace, Jeffrey''s second in command, must try to piece together who the shooter is and how to rescue their friends before Jeffrey dies. For the sins of the past have caught up with Sara and Jeffrey -- with a vengeance ... Deftly interweaving present and past, Slaughter -- dubbed "the new face of crime" by Book magazine -- offers another brilliant knife-edge tale of suspense that cements her place among the most outstanding practitioners of crime fiction today.