The Last Widow

Mild Spoilers about the series in general, but no BIG SPOILERS ——
4.5 stars for another great chapter in the Will Trent series!!

I am more than little sad that this series is almost over, at least as far as what has been published. If K. Slaughter is in the process of writing another book, that would be great news!

I have really enjoyed the development of all the characters in this series. The story of Will Trent is of course the center of it all, and what initially drew me in, because he really is such a character! Having worked with system impacted youth for many years, his character is particularly intriguing to me, and I may have actually had a few tears in my eyes at the end of this one, but I won't say why.....but in addition to Will's story, there is so much great historical context on feminism and racism in America and so much more, when we start learning about things like how Amanda became the badass, cold-but caring (even if it seems unlikely) GBI Chief Detective. Amanda's connections to Faith, and her even more twisty and intriguing connection to Will...and the one liners Faith uses to describe this connection in almost every one of the later books...I laugh and chuckle a bit more loudly each time, and find myself liking Faith so much more now than when we first met her! She has grown a lot, and now, I just want to text her and ask if she wants to go get a drink and hang out for a few. Throughout the series there is history and child welfare policy written into this series that I have enjoyed reading about, and if it ends after #10, I will be more than a little sad, as I think I already mentioned.

I found this “installment” in the series no less intriguing and interesting and well researched. The background information around the antagonists and their histories are just as almost as well developed as those of the main characters, even though we've only just met them, but yet- we see them, we know them and by the end we can clearly identify the childhood traumas, psychosis, mental illness, or triggers that led to their criminal behaviors and the “ride” has been oh so thrilling and intriguing. By the end I was just so angry with the antagonist and so sad for some of them, and so hopeful for our Will. “Our Will.” Yup. That's what I said. I'm attached and I can't go back, and it's too late to tell me he's just a character in a book, he's “ours” and I am a little worried about him, because just when things are looking up...

Always good to read more from Karin Slaughter, I love this series and these characters. That said this wasn't my favourite instalment from her, it just felt a bit disconnected for me. Totally a me thing though!

Prompt #26 from 2019 Pop Sugars Challenge: A book that's published in 2019

Book: The Last Widow Author: Karin Slaughter Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Police procedural Dates Read: 12/10/2020 - 02/03/2021 Format: Audiobook Other prompts: Rating: ⭐️⭐️ Parental Guidance: * Sex: 1/5 - very slight mention * Violence & Gore: 5/5 - the language surrounding violence, disease, and decomposition is very graphic * Profanity: 4/5 * Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking: 4/5 - drug use is a pretty prominent theme * Frightening & Intense Scenes: 5/5 - see violence and gore

I read this book to fulfill the prompt from the Popsugar 2019 Reading Challenge: A book published in 2019. (Yes, I know I'm behind. I didn't come across PSC until late 2019 and I'm playing catch up).

The majority of what I read is audiobooks. The first time I tried reading this, I got through about 5 minutes and let the book expire because it didn't hold my interest. I made myself check it out again, and again struggled to find interest in the story. The premise sounded great, and I've read books by Slaughter before that I really liked.

I didn't know this was the end of a series when I picked it up, but I don't think that would have made any difference. The backstories were pretty well explained, and didn't have much bearing on the story itself. After 2 hours in (the book is 16 hours long) I still wasn't sure if it was for me, but I was determined to stick it out. I finally finished it today. The last probably 3 or 4 hours were decent, but I still found myself checking how much time was left. Il read more standalone books, but I doubt I'll be revisiting Will Trent.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I read it out of order, and I can't wait to go back and read the other books in this series. Will Trent is a very likable character. I appreciated Sara Linton, but I found myself enjoying the chapters that were written from Will's perspective the most. I enjoyed the author's descriptive writing and deep knowledge of the subject matter.

Karin Slaughter knows how to draw in the reader! She develops her characters with so much depth and the plot is filled with lots of twists to keep you in suspense. If interested, I would definitely start with the first book.

Veel suspense, weinig verhaal.

Another solid addition to the Will Trent series. The suspense builds over the course of the story and the ending is satisfying. I enjoy the character development in this series which always causes me to give an extra star to my rating. Highly recommended for fans of this series.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital advance review copy.

Probably the best one yet by Karin Slaughter! Brilliant, brilliant book! I really couldn't recommend it highly enough. So well written and full of tension, that it was hard to put down (and I had to because I read it on The Pigeonhole app and they released a stave a day, so had to wait until each stave was released!).