Customer Reviews

Undone

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

The last novel Sara was in Beyond Reach should have been called Shattered for what it did to the readers-- very few novels have that shocking of an ending. We now know what the writer is capable of -- it was merciful of her not to bring Sara back in the last book. I only opened her last book Fractured reluctantly. A year was not enough to get over it. Apparently Karin Slaughter had not gotten over it yet either, because she sauntered off to a different area of Georgia to reprise the deeply flawed characters of Will Trent and Faith Mitchell from Triptych.

This book, Undone, brings all of these characters together in Atlanta.

Will and Faith are locked in a stormy partnership, part-friendship, part-bickering sibling style. They come to police work from wildly divergent backgrounds, Will after being raised in the orphanage in Georgia, Faith after struggling most of her life after having given birth to a child at the age of 15. Will struggles with dyslexia that makes it virtually impossible for him to read without the aids he has built into his life. Faith works on coming to terms with two heath issues that present themselves immediately in this book: diabetes and pregnancy, which bring her right into Sara's new world, the ER in Grady Hospital in Atlanta. Sara left Grant County when she discovered that she could no longer survive in the places where Jeffrey had ever been.

Karin Slaughter is a master of characterization. This is a description of Will and Faith's boss, Amanda Wagner: "She favored monochromatic power suits with skirts that hit below her knee and stockings that showed off the definition of what Will had to admit were remarkably good calves for a woman he often thought of as the Antichrist."

This book is a thriller to its very core. Karin Slaughter is a master of this genre and brings to her books a gritty realism that is brilliant and earth-shattering.

Like many other readers, I was very surprised by the ending of Slaughter's Grant County novel a couple of books back in which a series lead character - Jeffrey Tolliver - was killed, leaving his counterpart Sara Linton a grieving widow.

Well, Sara's back in this novel, along with Slaughter's other parallel series duo from the GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) Will Trent and Faith Mitchell.

I have very mixed feelings about this book, to be honest. I think Slaughter's a tremendously talented writer; I also think it was a very gutsy move in the earlier book to kill off Jeffrey. She probably knew this wouldn't sit well with many of her fans, and judging by that book's review on this site, she was right. But she did it anyway.

I think that's also a very artistic choice, because now we'll never know if a lead character's safe in any book she writes going forward, and that certainly adds dramatic tension to the story. A lead character can actually die... think about that! You KNOW when you read a book featuring Mitch Rapp, Jack Reacher, Lucas Davenport, Harry Bosch, or any of the others that no matter HOW bad the situation is in which they find themselves, they're ultimately going to emerge from the other end alive.

You can't say that any longer about a Slaughter character, can you?

Also on the upside, the plot of this book was very clever and cunningly executed; I was surprised at the denouement. The clues were there, but even though I'm a devotee of this genre, I hadn't figured it out.

However, I do have some nits to pick.

First of all, to set the background, Slaughter writes very strong female characters. Some are appealing, some not. That's fine; no problem. In the Tolliver/Linton series, Sara's appealing, Lena's a pain in the tukus (though I happen to like her). In the GBI series, Faith, Angie and GBI honcho Amanda are all also tough as nails. Actually, I think this gives one some insight into Slaughter's own personality, interestingly enough. Faith and Amanda are both very appealing in their own ways, while Angie's a demon in a dress.

In the Tolliver/Linton series, Jeffrey kept Lena on a strong and short leash, which made for a very interesting dynamic. But in the GBI series, Will Trent is completely p-whipped by Angie. Now, that works for a while, but here's where the problem arises for me.

Trent is already a case of "damaged goods", being dyslexic and emotionally stunted due to his background as an orphanage veteran. To be honest, I have a hard time believing he's as disabled as he is and yet still managed to go through training to become a peace officer - with firearms privileges at that - or even have passed a driving license test. If you can't read, how do you pass the written test for a license?

But even putting that aside, we've now seen him in three books, and his obsession with Evil Angie is starting to become tiresome, to be honest... particularly as it was used in a pretty manipulative and unbelievable fashion to delay the revelation of a vital clue in this story. She's a cop, and would endanger a potential victim just to play mind games with him? And even after that, he wouldn't boot her butt out the door for good?

PUH-LEEZE!

This is the same problem I have with the "Beauty Killer" trilogy by Chelsea Cain. Enough with the total wimpdom of the character, with no progress over a series of books covering an appreciable time frame. In order to stay interesting - and believable - characters have to change over time just like real people do. None of us are frozen in amber.

I, for one, am totally done with Trent's being mesmerized by Angie. Time for him to develop as a character, move forward in some way, either admitting his total vulnerability to her and just giving up, or tossing her completely out of his life.

But something has to change. His unbelievable dyslexia coupled with his whippedness just makes him too static and boring a character to continue unchanged.

I am not the type to typically write reviews, but this book was so amazing that I decided I had to write something.

I started this book off after reading a new series of books that had nothing to do with mysteries or crime solving, I was taking a break from this type of book for awhile after finding myself growing tired of them. I decided to read this book after a long wait, because I really was curious to what would happen to Sara.

I was worried I couldn't get into the book, because of growing tired of this genre, but I found myself unable to put the book down after I purchased the book and finished it within days of buying it.

I have read all the Grant County and Will Trent books and I have been looking for to this one for a long time after the big surprise at the end of the last Grant County book.

When I first read she was combining the two series, I have to say I was surprised and not exactly excited with the decision. I didn't think the outcome would be lived up to either series on it's own, but I was actually surprised how it turned out and I found myself enjoying the book more than some of the others in the earlier Grant County series.

I thought Karin Slaughter did a great job of mixing the characters together in a believable fashion and I really felt connected to each one of them.

I do agree that Sara didn't get as many pages in the book as I would have liked her to have, but I don't think that made or broke the book. I keep thinking over and over how she could have gotten more pages and with what happened to her at the end of the last book, I really don't see a way she could have.

I feel Will and Faith brought enlightenment to Sara and hopefully that enlightenment will help her get back to her old life and make her a bigger part of the next book.

As for this book though, I thought Karin Slaughter did a good job of mixing the characters together, it's not always about who gets the biggest part in the book but the ones you found yourself loving and wanting to read more about and I found myself connected the most to Sara.

The mystery or crime in the book that needed to be solved was graphic, but not to graphic and had your heart aching for the victims. I don't want to put any spoilers here, but no matter how the victims acted, you still found yourself mourning for them.

As always the bad guy in the book was someone I didn't expect, yet right there in front of your eyes from the beginning.

I would definitely recommend this book if you have read any of the other books, I have to say I was very surprised by the ending once again like I was with the last book in the Grant County series.

I found myself almost unable to finish the book with the big twist at the end. I will admit I almost cried and any book that brings out such emotion in someone deserves 5 stars.

I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

I was glued to the first 3/4 of the book, then it all just fell apart. It was like Karin had some great ideas, then just ran out of steam and didn't know how to finish it!

The story didn't flow or make sense, & it was like another author decided to write the last few chapters. It stated the killer was a religious fanatic, but never tied up his beliefs. The anorexia? What was the point of that? It was put in like that was why he picked his victims- but then all of a sudden it was really irrelevant that they were anorexic. Same way the website was supposed to be a clue, but then it became redundant too. The FBI could never get the website password?? Who cares? -Well, no one other than the readers who kept hearing about a website that didn't even really mean much.

As for Sara & that stupid letter? Why bring it up the whole way through the book, then never tell us what it said? If you wanted the reader to be filled with suspense & buy the next book- bring the letter up during the last few chapters, rather than bore everyone about it for 2-3 hours of reading.

Man, I was really disappointed. All her books so far have been fantastic, but this one was a let down at the end. Am I going to buy another one of her books? Yes, but if the ending collapses like this one- then never again.

Did anyone else feel let down ?? Was Karin sick the last few days and ask someone else to finish it?

as with other reviews I had been waiting for this book to follow up on a character I had grown to love. Even after losing the character in the last book I could not wait to find out where fictitional life had headed. I was left disappointed. The thriller/crime aspect of the story was KS's usual grab you and go, but as someone who has followed the books and characters I felt more about Sara and even Lena was needed to satisfy me. And the vague references to a death in prison cullminating in an internet report were again not enough to satisfy me in relation to these characters. Maybe her next book will continue to fill in...

Undone begins a few years after the events described in Beyond Reach. Sarah Linton has moved to Atlanta, lives in a loft with two greyhounds, and is working as an ER physician. She crosses paths with Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Will Trent when she attends to a female patient who has been severely injured and tortured. As Will and his partner Faith track the killer, Sarah slowly begins to come back to life.

It is hard to review Undone objectively, because like many of her readers I was very angry with Karin Slaughter at the conclusion of Beyond Reach. Although Undone is marketed as a Grant County novel, the only connection to the series is Sarah - Undone feels more like the start of a completely new series. As a standalone novel Undone is Slaughter's best work in years. The atrocities inflicted by the bad guy are truly horrific, and the book is painfully suspenseful throughout its 400+ pages. As with her portrayal of Lena, Slaughter proves herself masterful at creating complex characters who are deeply wounded and personally flawed, but able to exorcise some of their demons through their work.

The only thing that bothered me about this book was the ending. There was a Batman-style cliff hanger at the end that left me feeling that I was being manipulated into buying the next book. After sticking with Slaughter following Beyond Reach I thought as a reader I deserved better. However, if I put myself in the shoes of a new reader who had not read any of the previous Grant County novels I imagine that I would not be so bothered..... like I said, it is hard to be objective.

I've been a pretty harsh critic of Slaughter in the past. I haven't particularly liked some of her other books, but I actually did like BEYOND REACH even though it managed to anger many of her other fans, and was looking forward to UNDONE.

Slaughter doesn't fail to disappoint me with this new effort and I don't mean that in a good way. She truly loves to brutalize her female characters and does so to maximum effect in this one. The whole thing concerning the trash bags is really awful, and doesn't even play a meaningful part to the story. Also, as another reviewer pointed out, there is far too much internal reflection among the characters. After a while, they just became whiney babies and I'd had enough.

I also can't help feeling that there is something missing here. I can't put my finger on it but it's as if something was edited out of the story that would have made it a more interesting thriller - in other words, it would have made a bit more sense. Plus, I had a hard time believing Trent could be in the position he's in and not be able to read or tell left from right. Yes, I realize its fiction, but still...

Having said that, I was interested in the book and thought Slaughter did a clever job of making even the victims here unlikable. That's not an easy thing to do. But for those "Grant County" fans who are thinking this is Sara's story. You will be disappointed. She is really a side character here.

Is it just me or are most mystery novels overpraised by both critic and readers alike? I thought Slaughter's FRACTURED was one of the best thrillers I've read in years---I read it on vacation and one night stayed in my hotel room to finish it---but this new one, UNDONE, seems like a miss to me. Slaughter is a master plotter; she has a real gift for laying out a series of surprises, and she full-bodied and believable heroes and heroines, but it may be that she loves them too much. In UNDONE, there are pages and pages of Faith's cranky inner angst, but after a while, I just wanted Slaughter to get back to the book's core mystery, which, in the end, didn't make much sense, and was really too silly for words. I closed the book wishing that talented writers such as Slaughter would stop locking themselves into series characters. I guess that's where the money is these days, but I fear it can lead to self-indulgence and navel-gazing, for both the character and its creator. How about trying a stand-alone book, Ms. Slaughter?

Not her best book by a long shot. Slaughter does a great job with making you care about her wonderful characters -- damaged, human, likeable, complex -- but the story seemed lacking. There were none of her trademark twists or shockers. And while we're usually educated on some fascinating subgroup -- skinheads, meth heads, spousal abusers, etc -- the book's education on anorectics just didn't do it for me. The minimal gore seemed far-fetched (garbage bags?). And weirdly, there was WAY too much talk on the value of real estate in the greater Atlanta area. It just served as a distraction.

Still an enjoyable read -- but she's been slowly becoming one of my favorite authors and this book won't have me rushing out to buy the next.

This novel joins the widowed Dr. Sara Linton with GBI Agents Will Trent and Faith Mitchell in the hunt for a sadistic serial killer. The pregnant Mitchell faints and Trent brings her to Linton's hospital. Shortly thereafter a brutally tortured woman struck by a car as she wandered on an isolated road sets the three on a troubling investigation. As more women disappear, the trio grapple with personal demons while racing to solve the case.

I found the story engrossing and enjoyed the sparks between Trent and Linton. The violence and cruelty level is high however so parts are definitely not for the squeamish. I deducted a star since I was able to quickly determine who the killer was but was interested enough to follow through. It would be nice if the Angie character would just permanently disappear and if something would develop between Sara and Trent. I found Mitchell's pregnancy annoying--hello, she is over thirty and sexually active...ever hear of birth control or safe sex? The surviving victims were unbelievably cold and crude. The buffoonish local cops also strain credibility as do Amanda's insults. However, this is a riveting novel, tightly written, cleverly plotted and well worth the read.