Audio Book Review: Fallen by Karin Slaughter

Fallen by Karin Slaughter

Publisher: AudioGo (June 2011)
Source: Publisher
Formats Available: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio
Format Read: Audio
Read by: Shannon Cochran

Synopsis from Goodreads: 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. . . .

“You know what we’re here for. Hand it over, and we’ll let her go.”

When the hostage situation turns deadly, Faith is left with too many questions, 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.

Karin Slaughter’s most exhilarating novel yet is a thrilling journey through the heart and soul, where the personal and the criminal collide, and conflicted loyalties threaten to destroy reputations and ruin lives. It is the work of a master of the thriller at the top of her game, and a whirlwind of unrelenting suspense.

My thoughts: Karin Slaughter is yet another new to me author. She has a number of books to her credit all of which have a rating of at least 3.5 stars according to Goodreads. As the third book in Slaughter’s Georgia series, Fallen is a thriller chock full of tension and suspense. I was surprised to find some amusing moments thrown in for good measure.

As you know, I am new to the thriller genre and this was my first time listening to one on audio. During audiobook week Jen of Jen’s Book Thoughts suggested that thrillers would be a great genre to try on audio. She was absolutely right. I was immediately riveted to the story. As the story opened I could feel the tension build as Faith frantically tried to get in touch with her mother. I loved that fact that I was constantly surprised by Slaughter. Through the introduction of new characters and casting doubts on old ones, she constantly kept me guessing as to who the devious mastermind was.

I don’t even think that I was through with the first disk when I went to Goodreads and added the other two novels in this series to my list as well as those from Slaughter’s other series. It is THAT good.

I love that the characters were humanly flawed. They had histories, they have made mistakes in their lives and they admit it. The “investigation” didn’t got exactly as planned and they had to improvise. Their relationships seemed real. They had the usual drama, but it wasn’t so much that you thought “that would never happen.”

I am so excited to have had Karin Slaughter brought to my attention and I look forward to reading or listening to more of her work. If you haven’t read any yet I would strongly reccomend it. I think she might be among my favorites that I’ve discovered this year.

Just a short note on the narration. I haven’t heard any of her other work, but I think Shannon Cochran did a great job narrating Fallen. I would certainly listen to her again.

I did manage to snag a bit of a Q&A from Karin Slaughter. I caution you as it might be a tiny bit spoilerish for those who are not familiar with the characters and their history. Enjoy!

Sarah and Will’s romance has been slowly building over the course of the past few novels and this felt like a real turning point for them. Do you enjoy writing romance in your mysteries? Were you wary fans wouldn’t accept Will, having been so attached to Jeffrey? Was the timing right finally to give these two a full-fledged relationship? Will Angie be an obstacle?

I think it’s important for every book to have a light and a dark side. Showing a character’s personal relationships is a way of exploring that lightness, but it’s also a way to give the reader insight into that character’s mind. Will is a very complicated man, but for all his charms, he is extremely insecure. When he’s working a case, we get to see him as competent and capable. Then, when he’s dealing with Angie or Sara, we get to see that he’s really a mess. I love that dichotomy, and you see it with Faith as well. She’s awful at relationships. She not only admits this, but wears it as a badge of honor. I think it’s important to make sure that the private lives are just as delicately woven as the thriller side of the plot. And I always have a rule about a sex scene: if you can take it out and the story still works, then it doesn’t belong. If it says something new about the characters, if it shows them in a different way or moves the plot forward, then it stays.

As for Jeffrey, I had a lot of people mad at me about the decision I made with him, but most of them are now rooting for Will and Sara. Talk about fair weather friends! Folks should keep in mind that nothing is ever easy for my characters. It’s not like a key locking into place. Will is a different kind of man than Sara is used to. He’s not going to sit down and pour his heart out to her. He’s not going to do the things that Jeffrey did, which is kind of the point. (And even though I love what’s happening with Will and Sara, I have to admit, I still miss Jeffrey)