Will Trent Book 1
Karin Slaughter
Delacorte Press
Penguin Random House Canada
ISBN 9780804180283
eISBN 9780440336235
ASIN B000JMKRAW
I very much have mixed feelings about this book. I picked it up to read, after finishing Cleaning the Gold that was written with Lee Child as a Will Trent Jack Reacher mash up story. There was really something about Will Trent that really resonated with me, and I wanted to give his other stories a try. One of the first things I found out about Will Trent in this novel is that he has a form of dyslexia. As someone who has a dual form of dyslexia, diagnosed in grade two, I realized some of what I recognized in the character. The book was also highly addictive. It was very hard to put down.
But maybe it is my aging mind, or that I have daughter in their teens or entering their teens, but I found the book a hard read. I often talk with my children about certain movies that they should wait and watch when they are older because they do not need those images in heir minds. That is the way I felt about this book. The violence is so extreme, so brutal, and so pervasive, that at a couple of points I almost put the book down. I do really appreciate Will Trent, his skills, his abilities, and his overcoming his learning disability. I will likely give another of the stories a try but if the violence is on the level of this one, it will end up in my ‘did not finish pile’. But back o this story.
This story is one that spans over 20 years. The story is told in three parts, or three acts. And several of the chapters begin with clippings from newspaper articles about a murder that is central to the story. We do not realize the importance of these clipping or the possible scrap book they come from until much later. The story jumps back in forth in time a few times, telling events from the past and the current story as it plays out. It involves family, drugs, time in jail. And a psychopath. The murders are particularly gruesome and disturbing.
Another factor is the title. Triptych meaning of triptych is a) a picture or relief carving on three panels, typically hinged together side by side and used as an altarpiece. and b) a set of three associated artistic, literary, or musical works intended to be appreciated together. In the book it is described as “triptych, three canvases hinged together to make one image when it was open, another image when it was closed.” There is a different name for that though I do not recall from my art history classes 30 years ago. But the title works for the story and the three stories coming together.
This was an intense read. Parts of it were not easy to read. But the ways the story came together and wrapped up was an interesting surprise. I love the character of Will Trent and will give another of the novels a try. But as stated the level of violence was bit much for me. But very well written.
Books by Karin Slaughter:
Will Trent Books:
1.0 Triptych
2.0 Fractured
3.0 Undone
4.0 Broken
5.0 Fallen
5.5 Snatched
6.0 Criminal
6.5 Busted
7.0 Unseen
8.0 The Kept Woman
8.5 Cleaning the Gold with Lee Child
9.0 The Last Widow
…
Grant Country Series:
1.0 Blindsighted
2.0 Kisscut
3.0 A Faint Cold Fear
4.0 Indelible
5.0 Faithless
6.0 Beyond Reach
…
The Good Daughter Series:
0.5 Last Breath
1.0 The Good Daughter
…
Other Books:
Pretty Girls
Pieces of Her
Cop Town
Blond Hair, Blue Eyes
Thorn in My Side
Martin Misunderstood
Cold Cold Heart
The Unremakeable Heart and other Stories
The Blessing of Brokenness
…
Contributed to:
Like a Charm
…
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