I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

A serial killer is preying on women and continues after the presumed killer is incarcerated.   Sara, a doctor, and her law enforcement husband, and then when widowed,  another law enforcement boyfriend, work to try and unravel the mystery and apprehend the true killer.

Where to begin...if I didn't love Karin Slaughter so much I'd be scared to death of her! This is the 10th book in her Will Trent series, and it was worth the wait. Intensifying and intricately plotted, this book was impossible to put down, but beware, it will keep you up at night. A gruesome look into brutal crimes against women, it is not for the faint at heart. After investigating a brutal crime scene, Will soon realizes and he must must look at the past in order to solve the present and for that, he will need help from Sara and her painful memories. Gritty, engaging, suspenseful and violent, this is one not to miss.

Darryl Nesbit is on Death Row in Georgia for a crime he swears he did not commit. However, he did commit some other crimes so he wants to trade his knowledge for an easier ride. Sara Linton and Will Trent visit him in prison, along with other GBI officials, and he outlines the frame in which he got caught. Only problem is, the frame includes damaging information about Sara's first husband, Jeffrey Tolliver, who was shot and died in Sara's arms. Will is desperately afraid that Sara will be devastated by knowing Tolliver was a dirty cop. As the investigation continues, more and more evidence piles up that Nesbit was, indeed, not the culprit who raped and murder 19 women in mid-Georgia and the perpetrator is still on the loose. While any rape is horrible, these rapes are beyond that. And, there are a lot of suspects out there. Another well-plotted adrenaline ride in the world of Grant County, GA. Will and Sara are fascinating characters with complex emotions and Slaughter always does a good job in portraying their relationship.

Well, this book went all round the houses and back again as it twisted and turned to its shocking conclusion. It also flitted about in time as historic cases were re-investigated, the original events playing out in real time in flashback. We also have Will and Sara battling in their relationship, trying to keep it on an even keel and back into calmer waters as they struggle a bit with their joint and separate pasts which now start to threaten their future.
Starting with a death in a prison, we soon also have a body, a woman attacked and left for dead, an apparent accident. This leads Will to a historic case, the perpetrator of which has been convicted and incarcerated eight years ago. He's always protested his innocence and feels that this could be something that could help his own case. He's also embroiled in the prison killing and tries to bargain with the police. With this in mind, Will decides that the best course of action is to go back to the original case to try and find the truth. As he starts to dig he is shocked at what he finds and needs the help of Sara going forward. But also what he finds threatens their relationship as it brings into question the integrity of some of the people closest to her. Can they survive this both personally and professionally and also, put their troubles and differences aside in order to bring justice once and for all.
Wow! What a tangled web this book turned out to be. Those familiar with the author will be aware that it's the continuation of the merging of two series, Grant County and Will Trent, both of which are well worth a read, bringing Will and Sara together in one series. Normally I'm not the biggest fan of too much personal stuff creeping into a book but here the author gets the balance perfect, aided I suspect in this case by some personal history actually being integral with the plot.
And what a plot it is - oh my - talk about intrigue and keeping my interest and attention right up until the very last page. It's quite brutal in places and pulls no punches but it has to be to match the most heinous story being told. Characterisation is excellent as always, Sara and Will are brilliantly matched both personally (although sometimes they forget this) and professionally and although both wounded by pasts, don't just rely on that baggage to define them. We also reconnect with faces from the past in this book as the historic cases are reopened and it was good to have that, even though it wasn't always pretty.
It hit the ground running right from the start, held me in its thrall throughout, spitting me out at the end exhausted but satisfied. Holding my attention constantly throughout which is no mean feat given the state of things in the world at the moment. It was nice to escape into a different world for a while even if that world was a bit dangerous.
All in all, a cracking addition to an already impressive back catalogue. Looking forward to nest time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Oh! This one was good! The story was told in the past and the present times. I personally don’t care for the fillers in (not only this book) plot (e. g., the romantic part about the MCs, but it is something that all books seem to HAVE to have). 

I have read like three other books by Slaughter and, the only one I didn’t like was “Pieces of her” (I found it ridiculously predictable!). 

Oh I didn’t get why the title of this book, “The silent wife”? I must have missed something! I even thought I was given the wrong book (it happened before). 

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this title.

I'm a huge Karin Slaughter fan and I appreciate being given the opportunity to have read this advance copy.  I don't know how she manages to write these scenes depicting violence against women that actually made me cringe with pain, but she does one hell of a job.  The pace of the book never slowed down and this book just continued to show what an amazing writer she is.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m ride-or-die for Karin Slaughter, and I was a leeeeeetle disappointed in her last outing, so I’m happy to say she’s back in her game. 

This novel combines all the gnarly, icky, get-roiling assault/murder of a type not seen since Kisscut with some pleasant Will’n’Sara B plot romance and relationship advancement. Add to that a healthy dose of JEFFREY TOLLIVER, still being a sexy asshole who always carries a clean hanky in his pocket, and you got a good book right there. Unfortunately, along with Jeffrey comes Lena (of course; ugh), so don’t say you weren’t warned.

Just as an aside, I do wish publishers would avoid these descriptor/relative types of titles (I.e. Silent Wife; Reliable Wife; Good Daughter; etc. there are about 5 other novels called The Silent Wife.) Can this trend be over now? It lacks imagination. /end rant.

The meat: young women seemingly accidentally dying in the woods, perhaps while running on the nature path - tripping and having a head injury, maybe, freak accident - turn out to have not been accidental deaths at all. Two of them, one an assault initially thought to be an accidental death (thanks Lena Adams, you f***ed up good and proper as usual) and one a murder of the woman who found the first assaulted woman (yikes), are clearly linked, and a known pedophile is in prison for his Erm, activities, but is also thought to be guilty of the crimes. But then it becomes clear that there are numerous Similar attacks on women in wooded areas that include violent rape, deliberate paralysis, and lots of other terrible details, the more recent of these consistently culminating in murder, and occurring while your man was already in prison.

Slaughter leads the reader a merry chase as she slowly draws out the story, flipping between present day Will and Sara and 8 years prior, when Jeffrey and Sara were fresh on the outs after their divorce. 

It’s all good stuff. Welcome back, Karin Slaughter. Good to see you again.

I was excited to start this book by Karen Slaughter, with whom I am familiar, because I had never read one of her books before.  Unfortunately, I was not drawn in by the characters.  None of them were very appealing, and the prison setting sounded very depressing. I was not able to finish.  Perhaps it was just not the right timing for me to read something like this. 
Thank you for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.  Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers.

Karin Slaughter is one of my favorite authors, so I was so excited to be able to review this book.  It was great!

First, a trigger warning.  This book deals heavily with sexual violence and violence against women.  I commend the author for writing about difficult issues and giving proper attention to the life long scars carried by so many women.  

I think this may be my favorite of all the Sara Linton books ---- why? Because we went back to Grant County in flashbacks! The case is an old case that Jeffrey Tolliver (former Police Chief, former husband of Sara Linton, deceased) had worked on 8 years ago (*note - for followers of the series, Slaughter addresses the crazy timeline in the author's note at the end*).  Will, Faith, Sara, and the rest of the GBI team work together to uncover the truth about what happened 8 years ago in Grant County and solve a string of murders.

This was really a great book - I couldn't put it down.  While it is not necessary to have read all of the series books in order, I do recommend reading some Grant Grant County and Will Trent books before this one, just because it makes the story that much better.

First off, I love these characters. I have to admit that I haven’t read them all, I’ve skipped a few in the middle, but I caught up quickly and am happy to see Sara and Will again.

Secondly and probably most importantly, a warning....the descriptions of crimes in this novel are NOT for the weak of heart. If you are squeamish or sensitive to crimes against women, this is not the book for you. I had to skim a couple times just because it was too awful to imagine.

Classic Karin Slaughter though and I enjoyed following Will and Sara’s journey through this one.

I’ll wait for the next.

Trigger: Rate and extreme violence against women (in enough detail that the reader can almost feel it) It is a difficult read.

The author addresses difficult topics, which could be a bit too much for some readers. 

This book in the tenth book in the Will Trent series. There will be some familiar characters, and it'd make sense to read the series in order. The story flashes between present day and eight years ago to when a serial killer first struck. It's a fast pace read, but there is more violence than some readers may anticipate for this genre.

Another terrific Will Trent book.  This one had so many twists, you wanted to make the book last.
Will and Sara are investigating a crime at a prison, when it is brought to their attention that a prisoner holds the secret to finding a killer.  A killer they thought had been locked away by Sara’s deceased ex husband Jeffrey.  Was Jeffrey a dirty cop?  Are they on to something? To find out, Will and Sarah must go way back, and not let their feelings get in the way.

* I received an advance copy of this book.
Karin Slaughter has done it again. Her newest book in the Grant County series features Sara and Will working to find a possible serial killer after a prison inmate denies being guilty of a crime spree years ago. At that time, Chief Jeffrey Tolliver was still alive and behind the conviction.

Is it possible that Jeffrey was wrong?  Familiar characters from the earlier books in the series are back, including the ones you love to hate...like Lena Adams.  I’ve gotten to know them so well, it’s as if they are real people! 

I won’t give away the plot but suffice it to say that you won’t put this one down. Karin Slaughter has written another suspense chiller.

The Silent Wife
A Novel
by Karin Slaughter
HarperCollins Publishers
William Morrow
General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 04 Aug 2020   |   Archive Date 04 Aug 2020

Another fantastic read by Karin Slaughter!  I love the Will Trent books.  Many of our patrons read Karin Slaughter so I knew I would want to read this before it is released to the public.  Great thriller!  I will recommend this. Thanks to NetGalley, Harpercollins and William Morrow Publishers for the ARC.

Another terrific thriller from Karin Slaughter! I have yet to be disappointed by any of her novels. Will Trent novels are my favorites. love his vulnerability.

This book.has it all, another solid win from Karin Slaughter! Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC copy. When a prison riot ends in a purposeful death, detectives get tied up with a prisoner who claims he was set up.for his crime. Easily dismissed as a ride until a copycat murder takes place. Only problem is, the details were never public knowledge. 

I really enjoyed this book!

Normally I zip through mysteries - but every time I get a new Karin Slaughter book, I need to set aside at least a couple of days to process and enjoy. The Will Trent/Sara Linton books in particular are always intense, hardboiled, and intellectually involving, providing lots of thrills while giving you lots of serious issues to chew on. This book is no exception. The Silent Wife met all my (VERY high!) expectations.

I am a former criminal prosecutor and Karin Slaughter, for my money, is one of the most technically accurate and realistic crime writers around. She gets everything from forensics to lingo to motive exactly right, and even as she infuses each story with drama, she never sacrifices accuracy or requires a ridiculous suspension of disbelief. 

This book begins with a murder of an inmate, but like most Will Trent/Sara Linton books, takes the reader down a tangled and fascinating path to issues and characters you never saw coming. In this case, a hunt for a serial rapist and murderer who has gone free for years. As with other Karin Slaughter books, you shouldn’t read this unless you like your books hardboiled and gritty. There are also some very tough violence and explicit medical and post-mortem details.  But these are always given for a reason and her writing is second to none.

Fans of this series will especially enjoy the fact that Jeffrey Tolliver has a big part in this story, and you will see him again through flashbacks as he worked on the old investigation. It is especially interesting that this book takes a different approach to Tolliver than some of the past books did. There is also somehow a really touching love story in the middle of all the horror this book describes.

Karin Slaughter has always done a particularly good job with sexual assault issues in her books, helping readers gain an understanding of sexual violence long before #MeToo became a commonly understood phrase. This book is particularly great at addressing these issues and showing the difference in perception of sexual assault then and now, and the many problems and prejudices that still currently exist, and the fact that rapists don’t usually look or act the way we have been conditioned to believe they do.

This was at times a very tough book to read, but it was excellent. Thanks to HarperCollins, NetGalley and Karin Slaughter for another great entry in this series - which luckily Slaughter assures us will continue!

As a reader of the rest of the books in this series, I was excited to preview this book.  It was compelling!  The switching between the past and present required some effort to keep from getting confused but became easier to manage as the story progressed.  Including a current abduction about halfway through the book added to the fun.  Gratuitous comments about home-schoolers were unnecessary and weak.  The character of Sara is very different, especially in the last two books.  The portrayal of Sara in this book was more edgy, angry, and impulsive than she was in every other book of the series.  It seems that she is being continually reinvented, not in an organic way suggesting growth, but more like a new character.

‘The Silent Wife’ is the 10th book in the popular Will Trent series by thriller author Karin Slaughter. And her second addition to the series in under a year. It’s not often that I would usually opt for one of Slaughter’s books, not that I don’t like her series, but simply that I have taken a dislike to one of her major characters – to my relief, I discovered that the infamous Lena would play a rather minor role in ‘The Silent Wife’ and so I could comfortably dive into the narrative.
While investigation a riot at a nearby prison, Faith and Will from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, are contacted by a criminal with a curious tale – he swears that he is innocent of a series of rapes and murders committed 8 years ago. A recent spate of attacks seem to bear weight to his story. Numerous flashbacks to the original crimes, allow the reader to see a younger Sara and Jeffery working the case and also showcases how Lena came to be the duplicitous character we now know.
It’s fascinating to look back at the characters that we know so well but yet to see another side to their relationships, and how those interactions, impact on them in the current book. Even newcomers to the series, we see the differences from the flashbacks, although be warned there is a lot of catching up to do if you start on book 10.
The crime storyline itself is also fascinating, but it is not an easy read and I would recommend that if you are at all uneasy with the topics of abuse or rape, then to stay well clear as I did find it difficult to read at stages. However, the unveiling of the killer is brilliantly done and such an excellent twist. I’m eagerly waiting for book no. 11.

Karin Slaughter’s forthcoming mystery is a terrific continuation of Sara Linton’s and Will Trent’s story.  Will and Faith visit a convict claiming that he was framed for crimes he did not commit.  Here the story loops back to the investigation of those crimes and more crimes with the same traits.  The investigator of those crimes? Sara’s former husband, Jeffery Tollliver.  The mystery then loops from Atlanta to Grant County, tangling clues from both ends.  Sara and Will are stuck in their relationship and they both get advice from other characters. Touches of humor lighten the grim crimes being investigated and Sara and Will untangle the knots and move forward. All is well in Atlanta.