Two crimes that seem to be single entities are connected, which is how Will Trent is drawn into the search for a killer who has allegedly been caught, and the machinations of a criminal with ulterior motives. Whilst peeling back the layers of an historic crime he realises that somewhere along the line people have screwed up and in a way that has cost lives and left scars that will never heal.

Simultaneously he has to navigate the complicated boundaries of his relationship with Sara, which is easier said than done. It's hard loving a woman who admits that she will never love Will the same way she loved her ex.

Together they have to retrace steps and revisit mistakes to find a ruthless killer, which also leads them right into the clutches of little old troublesome Lena Adams. Such a great character, because she really doesn't give two monkeys whether she breaks rules, commits crimes or crosses boundaries.

On a side-note I really disliked Sara. Not Sara as the professional, but most certainly in her personal life. Regardless of her past and all her ex-hubby baggage - she really enjoys the drama, perhaps more than she should. It's a peculiar imbalance, because as far as being the expert when it comes to death and crime scenes she gives Cornwell's Scarpetta a run for her money.

It's a police procedural with the vibe of a vicious and meticulously plotted psychological thriller.

I really enjoy the way Slaughter plots. She plays the long game. As a reader you should be looking under beds, remembering every detail and looking out for the solution woven shrewdly into the story. It's there - if you look close enough.

What this author does exceptionally well is deliver a read you really want to solve. The story keeps you captivated from beginning till the end, which is always a sign of a great read and a talented author.

Wow, what a blast from the past with Jeffrey featuring so much. Karin new how upset we were when he went, however she was right as Sarah Linton has blossomed and developed further, and Will is brilliant. It was so good to have Jeffrey and Will in the same storyline, and of course the infamous Lena, who I've always had a soft spot for. I have read every single Karin Slaughter book, and never has there been one I haven't loved.

What a fabulous book. I just love the Will Trent series and this book does not disappoint. A beautiful love story wrapped up in the most heinous of crimes and yes, a whopping great shock at the end. Recommended!

Really good read but I hadn't realised it was part of a series, I thought this was a standalone one for some reason. It was still enjoyable but I think it would have been better if I'd had more of the background story.

This 10th instalment in the Will Trent series also works as a standalone novel. Truly disturbing scene descriptions are blended with the complexities of tangled relationships impacted by complicated pasts. This is not one for readers who are squeamish.

With thanks to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for the ARC.

Another great installment in the Will Trent Series.

Full review to follow...

I don't I think this is a bad book by any means.
I think I had issue following it because it was the 10th book in the Will Trent Series by Karin Slaughter and I didn't know that before I requested the ARC

The story was fair but I'm not somebody who typically likes police procedural novels so I can't complain about it

This was another epic read from Karin. It had me gripped from the start, it was well paced and a joy to read

When GBI Detective Will Trent and his partner Faith Mitchell are called to the scene of the aftermath of a prison riot, they are not expecting information to reopen cases from Grant County that involved Jeffrey Tolliver and Lena Adams. Eight years earlier a man was imprisoned for kiddie porn but also was the main suspect in a couple of rapes and murders. He claims Jeffrey framed him. This reopens an investigation that suddenly becomes a possible serial rapist/murderer. For those of you who follow Karin Slaughter will recognize the setting of Grant County as that was the first series with Sara Linton. The Will Trent series is a spinoff. Sara was married to Jeffrey Tolliver who was murdered by a convict out to get revenge. She is now seeing Will. This case will challenge Will in a few ways, especially with Sara's involvement as the medical examiner at the time of the original crimes.

I really enjoyed revisiting Grant County and Jeffrey Tolliver. I loved that series, and Karin Slaughter does a great job bringing both of Sara's worlds together. The story has a dual timeline and shifts between the present and eight years earlier when the original crimes were committed. Not only are they investigating the older cases, but a recent one that is remarkabley similar to the older ones. Is the wrong man in prison? Was Jeffrey dirty? Who is this serial killer or is it a copycat? So many questions, but Will and Faith do not give up the search. Amanda, their boss, pushes them onward and brings Sara in as well. The ca.se was quite complicated with a lot of threads to follow. It was also violent and descriptive in the injuries, so be prepared for that. This has strong female characters who are relentless when trying to solve a case. A well written and developed story with great characters who I have come to know very well. I do recommend you read this series in order, in fact, recommend you read the Grant County series before starting the Will Trent one. You won't be disappointed.

I have read just one other book by the author and liked the intricacies of the relationships between the lead characters. When I got a chance to pick another up, I took it.
The author's writing is varied, and each character has their own quirks, patience levels as well as unique viewpoints. The book I had previously picked up luckily was the one in while Will and Sara first met, which made it easier for me to understand the undercurrents in this instalment. I would not recommend jumping into this with no prior knowledge of everyone concerned. It might be hard to stomach the people without having an understanding of what they stand for.
I should now move on to the biggest problem I personally had with this story. I zeroed in on the culprit quite early and then could not shake off the certainty of it being the right solution. This meant I spent the entirety of the book talking to the characters to look at the obvious! I was partially mollified when one of them did get to the solution towards the end without the complete confession. The case itself is very graphic and not for the faint of hearted under any circumstances. I would not recommend reading it close to mealtimes either.
The case begins after personal situations are introduced, and an almost unrelated(to the rest of the book) start is elaborately discussed. Then we are redirected to the past, which is highly relevant. This is also assisted by giving us alternative chapters with the narration in realtime as events unfolded all those years ago. Painstaking police work follows, and it is written simply and straightforwardly. This makes it a quick (although not easy) read.
I would recommend this to people who have followed the series and/or have read other books by the author.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Another great story from Karin Slaughter (an appropriate name in this case!). I'm not normally a fan of switching periods in (recent) history, which can make it a more difficult read, but followers of KS (and Sara, Jeffrey and now Will) will understand the reasons for doing this. The fact that I regretted having to put the book to one side to get enough sleep testifies to the tension that KS is able to build.

Quite a lot of the forensic detail reminded me of Patricia Cornwell ,and PC followers may see other parallels. Having read all of the PC books I can whole heartedly recommend KS as a worthy contributor to the genre without in any way denigrating KS (or PC!).

It's not an easy read for several reasons, but you will be glad that you read it!

It is a while since I have read anything by Karin Slaughter but I was certainly not disappointed. Well written, and definitely not for the faint hearted. I really enjoyed the concept of looking back and making the reader understand relationships. I look forward to the next novel.

Another excellent book from Karin Slaughter. This pursuit of a cold case serial killer is engrossing and well written. As always with this author, some parts are quite graphic, she doesn't mince words.. Really worth a read.

The Silent Wife should come with a warning; once you start reading you’ll discover huge chunks of time missing, due to just not being able to put down and stop reading!

This is another excellent and all engrossing police procedural book by Karin Slaughter. It’s centred around Will Trent again, so it’s great to catch up with familiar characters from previous books.
The book begins with a prison riot and onto the possibility of a serial killer targeting women. As always there are twists and surprises galore, the prose is descriptive and shows in-depth knowledge of the American police and judicial system.

Some parts of pretty gruesome and heavy reading, but not gratuitously so as these bits are generally during crime scene forensic descriptions or autopsies. If you’re of a more delicate constitution, you can always skim on by - the equivalent of hiding behind a cushion during gory parts of a movie!

With many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for the opportunity to read this ARC, in return for an honest and unbiased review.

I really tried with this one but, after months of struggling, I'm giving up at only 55% completed. Unremarkable serial killer story, a cast of wholly unlikeable pricks sniping at each other, and dull police procedural does not a fun novel make. I've enjoyed Slaughter's work in the past but this was completely unengaging, unfocused, and totally lacking in drive or purpose. It has a killer opening scene (literally!) but the rest of the novel never lived up to that unfortunately. The Silent Wife is a really boring book.

I read the last two books in the Will Trent and Sara Linton series, so I was excited to receive an ARC of this book.

A convicted pedophile claims he was framed by local police 8 years ago, led by Sara’s dead ex-husband Jeffrey, for brutally attacking a young woman and leaving her with life-altering injuries. Jeffrey’s integrity is exceedingly being questioned when several new cases with the same modus operandi come to light, with young women being attacked, killed, and left in the woods.
Now GBI investigators Will and Amanda are tasked with reopening all similar murder cases to determine whether Jeffrey and his team convicted the wrong man all those years ago, or whether the new murders are copycat killings. Sara (as a doctor and pathologist), Faith, Will and Amanda also visit the victims which have survived similar attacks in the hope of learning more about the killer. Understandably, the case takes its toll on Will and Sarah’s relationship.

The book has a great storyline and a very interesting and contemporary case, with lots of twists and turns. Even though I figured out who the murderer has to be early on, and there were a few plot holes, it didn’t take away from the story or the suspense.
As several others have pointed out, this book is excessively violent, which shocked me on several occasions.

There are flashbacks to the Grant County series, when Sarah’s first husband Jeffrey was still alive. The reader gets insight into their marriage troubles and life together, as well as Jeffrey’s incredibly hard job of managing a police department and unpredictable police members such as Lena, while solving cases. I liked that no knowledge of the Grant County series was necessary and it made me want to dig into that series next.

Karin Slaughter’s books are always very well-written and suspenseful and I read this book in less than a day.
I’m looking forward to reading the next Karin Slaughter novel and to starting her Grant County Series as well.

What can I say..... Yet again another superbly disturbing brilliant read from Karin Slaughter. Brilliant to go backwards to the good old days whilst brilliantly including in all of the new favourite characters.
Recommend this title 100%. But be warned it is not for the faint hearted and does address serious dark details.
Bravo Karin bravo.
Thanks for the ARC

I absolutely loved Karin Slaughter's Grant County series, however after the death of Jeffrey at the end of this series I found it difficult to read another of Slaughter's novels. I was so devastated by the fact that she had killed off Jeffery I found it hard to connect with the Will Trent series. However, this novel has definitely rekindled my love of Karin Slaughter's writing and plotting and I aim to re read the Grant County series and read the Will Trent series for the first time.
In The Silent Wife forensic pathologist Sara Linton and Agent Will Trent are investigating cold cases and the book moves between their present day investigations and the original investigations undertaken by Jeffery and his team. I absolutely loved revisiting Grant County and Jeffrey and this was the highlight of the book for me. However it was also a great introduction to Will , Faith and the relationship between Will and Sara.
There are graphic descriptions of violence towards women in this book so be aware of this before reading. However I feel that Karin Slaughter really highlights the lifelong trauma experienced by women after violence against them and the prevalence of this violence against women in our society.
Highly recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC.

This book has just the right ingredients: the relationship with Sara and Will, a bit of Faith, Lena, a reminiscing about Jefferey all intertwined with a good old whodunnit plot plus the gory bits. I sort was losing interest with Grant/Atlanta series a bit and maybe because there wasn't much cohesion in the last book and the relationship for of turned whiny than moving it on, I just wanted the characters to TALK to each other. The throwback to Jefferey was excellent and showed Sara from a different perspective and how she's matured since then, along with letting Will in on her life before. I couldn't put it down and when I did I felt a sense of contentment. The author did right by Sara and Will and finally Jeffery. And as much as Lena is a pain in the ass - I'd love to see some Faith/Lena showdowns.

Really enjoyed reading this book, couldn't put it down, must admit its one that I would happily pick up again and read,
Overall I would recommend to anyone to read it, can't wait to get it on my page and let my followers know what I think about it! Kept me guessing that's for sure! Cant wait to read more from this author!