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Eleanor (1463 KP) rated Blindsighted (Grant County, #1) in Books

Jun 8, 2019 (Updated Jun 8, 2019)

Blindsighted (Grant County, #1)

Karin Slaughter | 2001 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery

7.6

(14 Ratings)

Book Rating

Small town Georgia, big time gruesome crime thriller!!!

Hard to believe this was Karin Slaughters first novel, it’s very well rounded for a debut.

When a young college professor is brutally murdered (and I mean BRUTALLY - i.e. not for the squeamish) it falls to Sara Linton as the town coroner to perform the disturbing autopsy. Having found the victim in the local diner, it soon becomes obvious to Sara that there is a seriously sick individual on the loose.

It’s Sara’s ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, who must head up the investigation along with the only female detective Lena Adams, who is also the victims sister (love small town America everyone is all up in each others stuff - did I mention as well as been the towns coroner Sara is also the local paediatrician….) When another victim is found crucified the tension to find the killer builds, as does the tension between characters.

This book was very graphic, but boy was it entertaining in a disturbing way. Fast paced with plenty of suspense, a great beginning to a series.

Kudos

Phil Leader (619 KP) rated An Advancement of Learning in Books

Nov 8, 2019

When a body is discovered under a statue at college, gruff old hand Andy Dalziel and idealistic, learned Peter Pascoe arrive to investigate. Whereas Pascoe is very much at home in the surroundings of an institute of learning (and indeed bumps into an old acquaintance), Dalziel is highly dismissive of the students, if not downright abusive. This doesn't help the tensions during the socially active early 70s when this was written.

What follows is in some ways a standard police procedural and in others another step in the road of the development of the characters of the two policemen. This novel is really the one where it becomes clear that the mismatched duo don't fit the standard templates, with Hill clearly creating something special with the two of them.

The result is very much the prototype of the rest of the series: their characters develop, they solve a seemingly baffling crime and Dalziel provides a dash of humour with his acerbic and often old-fashioned outlook on life and those around him.