Where have I been?!  Under a rock?!  I cannot believe I managed to miss the fact that we are getting another Lady Trent book.  For some strange reason I swore that the Voyage of the Basilisk  was the last installment to the Lady Trent Series.  Which was in fact why I have put off reading the darn thing over the last year.  I wasn't ready to say good-bye to one of my favorite female characters, no matter how flawed she was.  The book as been sitting on my self mocking me for almost a year because I was a single book away from finishing the series.  Then I'm browsing through Goodreads' giveaway section and BOOM!  Look book number four!

Needless to say I have entered to win the book, marked my calendar for April 5th, and I am ready to pre-order my copy through the bookstore.  This also means that I have pulled the third book off my shelf and added it to my TBR pile once again.  However, I haven't heard whether this will be the final installment of the book or not. Despite some opinions I've read I do really enjoy this series, and the author herself.  I had the great pleasure of getting to meet Marie Brennan last year and the illustrated for her books.  

If you haven't seen the covers, or drawings inside these books you are missing out on something.  I thought the Voyage of the Basilisk was the best cover to date, but Todd Lockwood has out down himself again.  The cover for In the Labyrinth of Drakes is beautiful.

I thought the only book I was looking forward to this year was Morning Star, but I was mistaken.  There might have been some squealing when I saw this, maybe some dancing, and an immediate text to a friend of mine who also adores this series.  So if you haven't checked out the first book, A Natural History of Dragons, you should!  The books has Victorian ladies stepping out of their deemed societal role, dragons, exotic locations, dragons, and people get eaten.  Plus the drawings inside the book are breath taking.

By Karin Slaughter

Series:  Will Trent #6

ISBN; B005X0JUBW

Publisher: Dell

Publication Date: 1/29/2013

Format:  Audio

My Rating:  5 Stars

Karin Slaughter, the queen of Atlanta crime thrillers delivers, CRIMINAL, another 5-Star gripping, suspense novel with the sixth installment in the Will Trent series. (right up there in same category as COP TOWN, another 5 star winner "must read!

Criminal hooked me from page one to the end, Will Trent (love him) of the GA Bureau of Investigation is in a new relationship with Dr. Sara Linton, (former Grant County Medical Examiner from Broken, 2010) when there is an abduction of a 19- yr old college student, Ashleigh Snyder.

When his boss, Deputy Director Amanda Wagner, tells him to stay away from the case, Will knows something is up but unsure the connection. GA Tech sophomore Ashleigh Snyder has gone missing. Not only has she banished Will to the airport in a dead-end patrol of men's rooms, he also finds her hanging around the Techwood apartments, geographically close to Ashleigh's place.

OMG - Will learns his father (horrible SOB) has been paroled after serving 30 years of a life sentence. And now girls are going missing again! No wonder the guy is troubled with a dad like this! He learns a little more about the strange relationship he has with his boss Amanda Wagner and his dad’s past. (a shocker)!

There are two different stories going on thirty years apart. Flashing back to 1975, with alternating chapters, Amanda is a rookie with the Atlanta Police Department along with Evelyn Mitchell who later becomes the mother of Faith Mitchell (GA Bureau of Investigation-Fallen, 2011), Will’s GBI partner.

Poor Will is struggling. He wants to get closer to his girlfriend doctor Sarah Linton. But as he learns more about suspect in these disappearances he closes himself off from everyone, including Sarah and his stupid ex-wife Angie, shows up - which I despise. Poor Will cannot catch a break!

In 1975, during racism and sexism, Amanda and Evelyn refuse to abandon the case of several missing prostitutes, despite warnings from other (male) detectives to back off. Slaughter seamlessly shifts between past and present for a suspenseful ride, keeping you turning into the wee hours of the morning to learn the fate of all involved. When the two stories connect, what a powerful explosion!

Having read COP TOWN first, I fell in love with the kick-ass edgy strong women, the characters, the city (as lived in Atlanta for most of my career), and last but not least -- Karin’s compelling writing style and outstanding research– what a dynamic storyteller!

I am currently playing catch up and reading Karin's earlier books in the famous Will Trent series between all my new ARCs. Finally, I received my answers about the intriguing Special Agent Will Trent character and his history.

I did not relocate to Atlanta until the early 90s, and was so engrossed in the history of the 70s, with all its police brutality and political battles and always enjoy catching up with all the familiar landmarks and characters!

Can’t wait to read them all!