Welcome to the Slaughter (Indelible - Karin Slaughter)

Member Name: freediveheaven

Product:	Indelible - Karin Slaughter
Date:	02/02/08 (182 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Engaging without being compelling

Disadvantages: Some plot holes

Indelible by Karen Slaughter actually tells two stories within one book however the events in the present story are linked to the one set in the past so there are a series of flash backs to allow the reader to make some sense of the present day goings on.

When two heavily armed gunmen burst into a small town police station both medical examiner Sara Linton and her former husband police chief Jeffrey Tolliver are caught up in the cross fire. Tolliver is left seriously wounded and a number of his fellow officers are dead, Linton is left as one of the hostages along with two other police staff and a few school children who were on a school trip. It soon becomes apparent that this is not a random attack but a carefully targeted one against Tolliver however the identity of the two killers is a mystery to everyone. The second story takes the reader back twelve years to when as a newly dating couple Tolliver takes Linton back to his hometown of Heartsdale to meet his former friends. The trip is a disaster, his mother is an obscene alcoholic and no one paints a very positive picture of Tolliver and when his best friend shoots an intruder in his home both get involved in an investigation which has far reaching effect both then and in the future.

I have read a Karen Slaughter novel before and really enjoyed it and this was no different. It is not a classic but it is a fairly gripping read, a little simplistic at times maybe in the way the plot is constructed and as you become further immersed in the story from twelve years back the identity and motivation of the two killers and hostage takers becomes all the more obvious as does the eventual outcome in both storylines.

On the plus side the book has a fast pace to it and a good level of suspense throughout. One of the aspects I did like wit this book is the way that practically all of the characters are flawed in one way or another, this does mean that you have a little less empathy for the main characters but as the story draws to an end and you begin to fear for their survival then it felt strange to find that I actually did care, similarly you also feel a certain amount of empathy for the bad guys and this just helps to draw the reader in.

I also liked the fact that a certain amount of time was invested in giving personalities and interest angles to some of the more peripheral characters in the story and in fact there was almost a sub plot going on with one of the police officers almost as if a second follow up novel could be developed with her playing a more prominent role.

At first I struggled to think of the draw backs to this book, and there are some, it was just hard to pin down. At times the plot is a little plodding in nature and there are a few issues that are not totally explained. The biggest hole for me rests with the fact that the reader never really understands the motivation of Tolliver deciding to take Linton to visit Heartsdale all those years ago given that she does no really meet anyone who has a good thing to say about him during the visit as before joining the police he was heading into a life of crime. In addition while the motivation behind the present day attack is explained what is not explained is the reason for the attackers waiting until this particular time before they decided to take action, in the end the storyline leaves rather too many holes in it which gives the whole story a superficial sort of quality and lacking real depth.

Other than that the writing style is easy to read and it is engaging enough to capture the reader's attention without making it an addictive read.

The book is published by Random House and the rrp is £6.99. I obtained my copy through a swap on readitswapit.co.uk however copies are available on Amazon for £5.49 new or from a penny in the new and used section. The ISB is 0-09-946224-9.

Thanks for reading and rating my review.

Summary: Good crime thriller from a competent writer.