Indelible - Hardcover

Slaughter, Kar

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1844133702 ISBN 13: 9781844133703

Publisher: Century, 2004

Synopsis

When medical examiner Sara Linton and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver take a trip away from the small town of Heartsdale - an escape from all the pressures which complicate their relationship - it should be a straightforward weekend at the beach. But they decide to take a detour via Jeffrey's hometown and things go violently wrong when Jeffrey's best friend Robert shoots dead an intruder who breaks into his house. Jeffrey and Sara are first on the scene and Jeffrey's keen to clear his friend's name, but for Sara things aren't so simple. The sear marks around the bullet-hole don't tally with Robert's story. Robert's wife, Jessie, is incoherent and confused. And when Jeffrey appears to change the crime scene, Sara no longer knows who to trust. Twelve years later, Sara and Jeffrey are caught up in a shockingly brutal attack which threatens to destroy both their lives. But they're not random victims. They've been targeted. And it seems the past is catching up with both of them...

About this title

Review:

Karin Slaughter’s reputation grows apace, and Indelible sports all the customary fingerprints. Over the space of a handful of novels, the author has built a reputation as one of the key crime novelists at work today. What's her secret? In some ways, Slaughter’s work is a refining of the Southern Gothic idiom that has been the bedrock of so much atmospheric work in the past, but Slaughter’s way with the form is entirely her own, and despite the lashings of atmosphere, she never forgets that a crime novelist has to be rigorous in the arena of plotting--and that’s her strongest suit.

Medical examiner Sara Linton and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver take a trip from the pressures of Heartsdale (in the hope of straightening out their relationship), but a detour to Jeffrey’s hometown lands them in the most difficult case of their career.

Readers are probably growing weary of the inevitable comparison novels like Slaughter’s draw with those of Thomas Harris--and rightly so. But the trouble is, such comparisons are right on the nail for Slaughter. She may not quite have the older writer's authority, but she is undoubtedly skilled at creating a delicious, unsettling tension in the reader--as is very much the case in Indelible. And she’s careful, too, to ensure that the relationship between Sara Linton and Jeffrey Tolliver isn’t sidelined by the accelerating tension--that relationship is moved on considerably here. The fulsome praise on the jacket from such fellow scribes as John Connolly and Michael Connelly is more than professional courtesy here--they’re fully justified by the work on offer.--Barry Forshaw

Review:

"[Slaughter] has a bighearted way...and a knack for grisly detail."--Entertainment Weekly

"Well-crafted...Slaughter skillfully maintains the tension in the parallel stories."--Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Harrowing...Compelling...Solidly and uniquely plotted...Realistic and believable...Indelible again proves the superb indelible mark Slaughte is making on mystery fiction."--Florida Sun-Sentinel

"Lauded on two continents as the most significant new voice in American crime fiction."--Daily Telegraph (Sydney, Australia)

"Skillfully told in both the then and the now, and quite scary on both fronts."--New York Daily News

"Amazingly, Slaughter manages between past and present stories while maintaining suspense in both."--Kirkus Reviews

"Gripping...complex characters with credible relationships...keep[s] readers hooked right up to the end."--Publishers Weekly

"A fearless writer. One of the boldest thriller writers working today."--Tess Gerritsen

"Her characters, plot, and pacing are unrivaled among thriller writers."--Michael Connelly

A fearless writer. One of the boldest thriller writers working today. --Tess Gerritsen"

Her characters, plot, and pacing are unrivaled among thriller writers. --Michael Connelly"

Simply one of the best thriller writers working today. --Gillian Flynn, bestselling author of Gone Girl"

"Simply one of the best thriller writers working today."--Gillian Flynn, bestselling author of Gone Girl

About this edition

• Publisher: Century
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1844133702
• ISBN 13: 9781844133703
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368