Beyond Reach (Grant County, Bk 6)
Author:
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
Author:
Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
Over the course of some fine, even brilliant, novels, Karin Slaughter has explored a relationship triangle among Heartsdale, Georgia police chief Jeffery Tolliver; medical examiner and pediatrician Dr. Sara Linton, Jeffery's (now and again) wife; and detective Lena Adams. Damaged by a rough and terrifying childhood, Lena has a pattern of getting herself into jams, and Jeffery is called upon to extricate her from most of them, often putting himself in danger. The situation is one that Sara finds untenable, resulting not only in tension between herself and Jeffery but open hostility between Lena and Sara.
BEYOND REACH commences with Lena once again at the center of a disaster. She is discovered in her hometown of Reese, sitting on the football bleachers of the local high school, near a burning van that contains the charred remains of an unknown victim. Lena refuses to provide any explanation for what has occurred, even as she is hospitalized for observation. When Jeffery is notified of the incident, he immediately begins the three-hour drive to Reese, accompanied by his wife. This could not have come at a worse time for Sara, who is involved in a vicious medical malpractice case that threatens to derail her career.
The mystery deepens, however, when Lena, reacting violently to the arrival of Sara and Jeffery, manages to escape from police custody with their apparent help. At this point, Slaughter utilizes a unique narrative method. She follows Sara and Jeffery in the present time while alternating with Lena's story, which begins three days previously, chronicling the events that ultimately lead to her being found, bruised and uncommunicative, at what appears to be a murder scene.
As the twin trails of Slaughter's narrative unfold, much of Lena's heretofore unknown background is revealed. The answer to the ultimate question --- What possessed Lena to return to her hometown, a place full of unhappy memories and nightmares? --- provides the keys not only to her past but also to the maelstrom of the present.
Even as she attempts by any means possible to force Sara and Jeffery to leave her to her own fate, Lena succeeds only in drawing them into a series of violent encounters that can, and will, end badly. By the time the two narratives again intersect, an ironic nobility is demonstrated and a resolution of sorts is had. As has been noted elsewhere, however, the end of one tale is only the beginning of another.
The pacing of the plot and narrative is simply breathtaking. Slaughter's descriptive powers reach new heights here and are unitized to particular --- and sometimes peculiar --- effect in the midst of several dark passages that gaze unflinchingly into the stark result of violence. The conclusion is so abrupt and unexpected that it will bear re-reading a number of times, even as you scream "NO!" during the course of doing so. BEYOND REACH, Slaughter's best work to date, hints of even greater brilliance to come.
BEYOND REACH commences with Lena once again at the center of a disaster. She is discovered in her hometown of Reese, sitting on the football bleachers of the local high school, near a burning van that contains the charred remains of an unknown victim. Lena refuses to provide any explanation for what has occurred, even as she is hospitalized for observation. When Jeffery is notified of the incident, he immediately begins the three-hour drive to Reese, accompanied by his wife. This could not have come at a worse time for Sara, who is involved in a vicious medical malpractice case that threatens to derail her career.
The mystery deepens, however, when Lena, reacting violently to the arrival of Sara and Jeffery, manages to escape from police custody with their apparent help. At this point, Slaughter utilizes a unique narrative method. She follows Sara and Jeffery in the present time while alternating with Lena's story, which begins three days previously, chronicling the events that ultimately lead to her being found, bruised and uncommunicative, at what appears to be a murder scene.
As the twin trails of Slaughter's narrative unfold, much of Lena's heretofore unknown background is revealed. The answer to the ultimate question --- What possessed Lena to return to her hometown, a place full of unhappy memories and nightmares? --- provides the keys not only to her past but also to the maelstrom of the present.
Even as she attempts by any means possible to force Sara and Jeffery to leave her to her own fate, Lena succeeds only in drawing them into a series of violent encounters that can, and will, end badly. By the time the two narratives again intersect, an ironic nobility is demonstrated and a resolution of sorts is had. As has been noted elsewhere, however, the end of one tale is only the beginning of another.
The pacing of the plot and narrative is simply breathtaking. Slaughter's descriptive powers reach new heights here and are unitized to particular --- and sometimes peculiar --- effect in the midst of several dark passages that gaze unflinchingly into the stark result of violence. The conclusion is so abrupt and unexpected that it will bear re-reading a number of times, even as you scream "NO!" during the course of doing so. BEYOND REACH, Slaughter's best work to date, hints of even greater brilliance to come.
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