2 Bloggers 1 Series - Grant County #2

 

So this month Stormi and I continued on with the Grant County series.  I was excited to dive in but will admit this book fell a tad bit short for me - but not a lot.  I am still enjoying the series and have no doubt it's one we will continue on with even though we are taking a break from it next month.  So read on to see what I thought about it and then hop over to Stormi's at  Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! to see what she thought as well.

TITLE: Kisscut (Grant Co. #2)

AUTHOR: Karin Slaughter

PUBLISHER: Harper Collins

PUBLISHING DATE: 2002

PAGES: 448

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: Saturday night dates at the skating rink have been a tradition in the small southern town of Heartsdale for as long as anyone can remember, but when a teenage quarrel explodes into a deadly shoot-out, Sara Linton -- the town's pediatrician and medical examiner-- finds herself entangled in a terrible tragedy.

What seemed at first to be a horrific but individual catastrophe proves to have wider implications. The autopsy reveals evidence of long-term abuse, of ritualistic self-mutilation, but when Sara and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver start to investigate, they are frustrated at every turn.

The children surrounding the victim close ranks. The families turn their backs. Then a young girl is abducted, and it becomes clear that the first death is linked to an even more brutal crime, one far more shocking than anyone could have imagined. Meanwhile, detective Lena Adams, still recovering from her sister's death and her own brutal attack, finds herself drawn to a young man who might hold the answers. But unless Lena, Sara, and Jeffrey can uncover the deadly secrets the children hide, it's going to happen again... 

MY THOUGHTS: So let me start by saying I'm not a reader who really pays much attention to trigger warnings and such.  I guess because I read a lot of horror, I expect bad things.  In fact, the only trigger warning I really care about is "Did the dog die?"  or any type of animal abuse.  Well, that is pretty much the only thing this book didn't contain.  I mentioned to Stormi several times while buddy reading it that this book definitely has an "ick" factor.

On a night off at the local skating rink (oh I remember those days), Sara and Jeffrey are trying to have date night which is cut drastically short when Sara find a dead baby and Jeffrey has to shoot a teen in the parking lot.  And the book just rolls on from there.  As local law enforcement works to piece together the parts of a very messy and very secretive puzzle, the reader learns just how scary small towns can actually be - and trust me, I grew up in one so I know.  We also get to see the fallout from what happened to Detective Lena Adams in the last book and while I most definitely have some empathy for her and her situation, I often wanted to slap her and I really hope her character arc goes through some serious development in the next book.  

I don't want to give a lot away but this book is your typical police procedural with a lot of characters and various relationships built in.  We see more of Sara's sister in this book and I'm kind of curious where things head with her in the next installment.  I am still enjoying the series and despite the length of the books, I find myself flying through them pretty quickly so this is a series I recommend.  It's just probably not for the squeamish.  

RATING:  4 PAWS