Scan barcode
thebrunettebookjunkie's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
veraann's review against another edition
4.0
What a ride this series was with the ending dropping my jaw to the floor. The series as a whole is on the dark side, but not only because the normal gruesome murders you will find in a mystery/thriller. It is because the characters are all flawed to give them a realistic and often frustrating feel. Whether I loved or hated the character at this point I was invested and interested in reading about them.
This book kept me on edge and wondering what was going on. I did have a suspicion on who was behind it all, but when it came it still wowed me. I still did not like Lena, but I was not as disgusted with her and was partly rooting for her. Jefferey and Sara come to her rescue yet again and they seem to be finally gained the trust for one another, but of course not without other problems.
The last book in this heartbreaking series, if you are looking for HEAs and everything tied in a nice package in the end then you won't want to read this. If you want some flawed to frustration characters and interesting cases then go ahead and pick it up. I am on to the Will Trent series where I hear we get to see some more from these characters at some point and what may happen to them after this ending.
This book kept me on edge and wondering what was going on. I did have a suspicion on who was behind it all, but when it came it still wowed me. I still did not like Lena, but I was not as disgusted with her and was partly rooting for her. Jefferey and Sara come to her rescue yet again and they seem to be finally gained the trust for one another, but of course not without other problems.
The last book in this heartbreaking series, if you are looking for HEAs and everything tied in a nice package in the end then you won't want to read this. If you want some flawed to frustration characters and interesting cases then go ahead and pick it up. I am on to the Will Trent series where I hear we get to see some more from these characters at some point and what may happen to them after this ending.
bruingirl22's review against another edition
I see why so many people vowed to never read another Karin Slaughter book after this came out. I felt the ending was needlessly cruel and manipulative. I’m still a big fan and will definitely revisit the series in the future, but I doubt I’ll reread this particular installment; it’s just too painful.
lauracatmiller's review against another edition
5.0
Probably the best book with the most devastating end to a book, movie, show, story, etc. I have ever experienced. But the book and the entire series was fantastic and Karin Slaughter is by far my favorite author.
I’ve read all of Karin Slaughters standalones, novellas and this series. Now I just need a few pallet cleanser books before I start the Will Trent series!
I’ve read all of Karin Slaughters standalones, novellas and this series. Now I just need a few pallet cleanser books before I start the Will Trent series!
kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
Sixth and last in the Grant County thriller series revolving around Dr Sara Linton and her husband, Police Chief Jeffrey Tolliver, and one of his detectives, Lena Adams.
My Take
Ah, jesus. I wish I’d never started this series. That ending. Ah, jesus. When I first started Grant County, I loved it. It was so homey and small-town with some fascinating characters. By the time I finished the series, it had gone progressively downhill in terms of grimness. Slaughter’s writing is great! But I get too involved in my characters and their lives…and I’m still crying.
It was a difficult read tension-wise, as I couldn’t figure out where Slaughter was going with the story, as she ducked and wove back and forth in time, dribbling out those red herrings, tossing in the misdirection. Too, Slaughter had started at the end of the story, leaving me too involved with a need to know how it got to this point; I needed to know why, who dunnit…
The beginning of the story certainly didn’t help, as Sara’s professional life is being destroyed. It dragged a bit, heightening the tension, killing me with wanting to know what was happening. And I never saw it coming.
Using third person multiple point-of-view means we got to see what was happening from Sara’s, Jeffrey’s, and Lena’s perspectives, and Slaughter does a great job of keeping us unbalanced about Lena's reasons, with the one bright note of Sara realizing how much she loves Jeffrey, how much he’s grown up in the past ten years.
There are so many unexpected truths that end up being revealed. Jesus. So many that your feelings about the various characters — especially Hank! — will get flipped over end over end.
The Story
Detective Lena Adams is under arrest for murder, an arson fire that burned a woman to death. And she isn’t talking. She is, however, escaping.
Sara had thought heading to Reese with Jeffrey would be an escape from her own problems, a vicious downward spiral so directly opposed to Sara’s past.
The players are vicious, but they made a mistake going after Hank.
The Characters
Dr Sara Linton is the resident medical examiner and pediatrician who remarried her ex-husband six months ago. Tara is her sister and working as a counselor for homeless people in Atlanta. Eddie and Cathy Linton are her parents and on a two-month trek across America. Emma “Granny Em” (her maternal grandmother) had been all in favor of women going to college, in spite of her time.
Police Chief Jeffrey Tolliver finally won back his sweetheart, and they’re getting ready to adopt a child. Detective Frank Wallace plans to retire in a few weeks.
Detective Lena Adams is her own worst enemy. Jeffrey is her boss. Sibyl is the blind twin sister murdered six years ago at the start of the series in Blindsighted, 1. Nan Thomas, the college librarian, had been Sibyl’s lover and later, Lena’s support. Calvin Adams, their father, had been a cop killed during a traffic stop.
Ethan Green, a.k.a., Ethan Allen White and Ethan Allen Mueller, was the controlling jerk of a “former” neo Nazi and Lena’s former boyfriend now in Coastal State Prison, leading his own vicious gang and where Applebaum is a guard. Evelyn Marie Johnson had been Ethan’s black girlfriend who was murdered horribly. Greg Mitchell became Lena’s boyfriend again.
Reese, Georgia, is…
…the incredibly poor county seat for Elawah and Lena’s hometown where her uncle Hank Norton lives, their sainted mother’s brother, a drug addict who barely kept it together. He owns a bar in Reese. Their mother, Angela Adams, had died shortly after giving birth. The Harley-riding Deacon Simms had been Hank’s bartender for over thirty years.
The Reese PD
Sheriff Jake Valentine is too young to be in charge, having been a deputy for all of two days. Myra Fitzpatrick is his loved wife and a schoolteacher. Jake’s baby brother died of a drug overdose; another brother, David, had been killed in a knife fight. Donald Cook is one of the sheriff’s deputies, not too bright and quite unaware. Al Pfeiffer is the former (perverted) sheriff who quit after his house was firebombed.
Charlotte Warren Gibson is Hank’s neighbor; he’s her AA sponsor. She’s married to Larry Gibson who loves and adores her, and they have three children. Fred Bart, a dentist, is the coroner. Judge Avery. The Elawah County Hospital is where Darla is a nurse, and the Adamses spend so much time. Ben Carver had been Lena’s first. Mr Barnes owns the busy Home Sweet Home Motel; Junior is a night clerk; and, Rod is on days. “Swallowin’” Sue Kurylowicz is the assistant principal at the school. Joseph Smith is the CEO and president of Whitey’s Feed & Seed.
The Brotherhood of the True White Skin is…
…a neo-Nazi organization headed up by Carl and Jerry Fitzpatrick. Jeremiah Todd had been its founder and a Holocaust denier, in spite of having helped liberate Dachau. Boyd Gibson took a bad turn, partly due to the abuse he suffered as a kid from his father, Grover; Ella had been their abused mother. Clint Jones is a thug and Jerry’s man. “Harley” appears to be one of the masterminds.
Heartsdale, Georgia, is…
…the town in which Sara’s clinic and the police station are based. Buddy Conford is Sara’s personal lawyer and Melinda Stiles is counsel for Global Medical Indemnity. The Grant Institute of Technology is the local college. Clem Waters had been the mayor of Heartsdale years ago.
The Heartsdale Children’s Clinic is/was…
…Sara’s practice. Nelly Morgan is the office manager. Beckey and James Powell’s son Jimmy died of leukemia. Sharon Connor is their shark of a lawyer. Dr William Harris, a friend of Sara’s, is an oncologist in Atlanta.
Nick Shelton is an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and a friend. Bob Burg is a former agent, squeezed out by budget cuts. Amanda Wagner is a hostage negotiator.
The Cover and Title
The cover is stark with a metallic silvered blue background and a wavery black silhouette with has his hands and body up against the rain water glass, conveying fear and the unknown. A white info blurb is at the very top. The author’s name is in an embossed black just beneath it. At the bottom is the title, also embossed and in white.
The title is a fatal warning for Hank, Lena, Sara, Jeffrey, for all of us, it’s all getting Beyond Reach.
My Take
Ah, jesus. I wish I’d never started this series. That ending. Ah, jesus. When I first started Grant County, I loved it. It was so homey and small-town with some fascinating characters. By the time I finished the series, it had gone progressively downhill in terms of grimness. Slaughter’s writing is great! But I get too involved in my characters and their lives…and I’m still crying.
It was a difficult read tension-wise, as I couldn’t figure out where Slaughter was going with the story, as she ducked and wove back and forth in time, dribbling out those red herrings, tossing in the misdirection. Too, Slaughter had started at the end of the story, leaving me too involved with a need to know how it got to this point; I needed to know why, who dunnit…
The beginning of the story certainly didn’t help, as Sara’s professional life is being destroyed. It dragged a bit, heightening the tension, killing me with wanting to know what was happening. And I never saw it coming.
Using third person multiple point-of-view means we got to see what was happening from Sara’s, Jeffrey’s, and Lena’s perspectives, and Slaughter does a great job of keeping us unbalanced about Lena's reasons, with the one bright note of Sara realizing how much she loves Jeffrey, how much he’s grown up in the past ten years.
There are so many unexpected truths that end up being revealed. Jesus. So many that your feelings about the various characters — especially Hank! — will get flipped over end over end.
The Story
Detective Lena Adams is under arrest for murder, an arson fire that burned a woman to death. And she isn’t talking. She is, however, escaping.
Sara had thought heading to Reese with Jeffrey would be an escape from her own problems, a vicious downward spiral so directly opposed to Sara’s past.
The players are vicious, but they made a mistake going after Hank.
The Characters
Dr Sara Linton is the resident medical examiner and pediatrician who remarried her ex-husband six months ago. Tara is her sister and working as a counselor for homeless people in Atlanta. Eddie and Cathy Linton are her parents and on a two-month trek across America. Emma “Granny Em” (her maternal grandmother) had been all in favor of women going to college, in spite of her time.
Police Chief Jeffrey Tolliver finally won back his sweetheart, and they’re getting ready to adopt a child. Detective Frank Wallace plans to retire in a few weeks.
Detective Lena Adams is her own worst enemy. Jeffrey is her boss. Sibyl is the blind twin sister murdered six years ago at the start of the series in Blindsighted, 1. Nan Thomas, the college librarian, had been Sibyl’s lover and later, Lena’s support. Calvin Adams, their father, had been a cop killed during a traffic stop.
Ethan Green, a.k.a., Ethan Allen White and Ethan Allen Mueller, was the controlling jerk of a “former” neo Nazi and Lena’s former boyfriend now in Coastal State Prison, leading his own vicious gang and where Applebaum is a guard. Evelyn Marie Johnson had been Ethan’s black girlfriend who was murdered horribly. Greg Mitchell became Lena’s boyfriend again.
Reese, Georgia, is…
…the incredibly poor county seat for Elawah and Lena’s hometown where her uncle Hank Norton lives, their sainted mother’s brother, a drug addict who barely kept it together. He owns a bar in Reese. Their mother, Angela Adams, had died shortly after giving birth. The Harley-riding Deacon Simms had been Hank’s bartender for over thirty years.
The Reese PD
Sheriff Jake Valentine is too young to be in charge, having been a deputy for all of two days. Myra Fitzpatrick is his loved wife and a schoolteacher. Jake’s baby brother died of a drug overdose; another brother, David, had been killed in a knife fight. Donald Cook is one of the sheriff’s deputies, not too bright and quite unaware. Al Pfeiffer is the former (perverted) sheriff who quit after his house was firebombed.
Charlotte Warren Gibson is Hank’s neighbor; he’s her AA sponsor. She’s married to Larry Gibson who loves and adores her, and they have three children. Fred Bart, a dentist, is the coroner. Judge Avery. The Elawah County Hospital is where Darla is a nurse, and the Adamses spend so much time. Ben Carver had been Lena’s first. Mr Barnes owns the busy Home Sweet Home Motel; Junior is a night clerk; and, Rod is on days. “Swallowin’” Sue Kurylowicz is the assistant principal at the school. Joseph Smith is the CEO and president of Whitey’s Feed & Seed.
The Brotherhood of the True White Skin is…
…a neo-Nazi organization headed up by Carl and Jerry Fitzpatrick. Jeremiah Todd had been its founder and a Holocaust denier, in spite of having helped liberate Dachau. Boyd Gibson took a bad turn, partly due to the abuse he suffered as a kid from his father, Grover; Ella had been their abused mother. Clint Jones is a thug and Jerry’s man. “Harley” appears to be one of the masterminds.
Heartsdale, Georgia, is…
…the town in which Sara’s clinic and the police station are based. Buddy Conford is Sara’s personal lawyer and Melinda Stiles is counsel for Global Medical Indemnity. The Grant Institute of Technology is the local college. Clem Waters had been the mayor of Heartsdale years ago.
The Heartsdale Children’s Clinic is/was…
…Sara’s practice. Nelly Morgan is the office manager. Beckey and James Powell’s son Jimmy died of leukemia. Sharon Connor is their shark of a lawyer. Dr William Harris, a friend of Sara’s, is an oncologist in Atlanta.
Nick Shelton is an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and a friend. Bob Burg is a former agent, squeezed out by budget cuts. Amanda Wagner is a hostage negotiator.
The Cover and Title
The cover is stark with a metallic silvered blue background and a wavery black silhouette with has his hands and body up against the rain water glass, conveying fear and the unknown. A white info blurb is at the very top. The author’s name is in an embossed black just beneath it. At the bottom is the title, also embossed and in white.
The title is a fatal warning for Hank, Lena, Sara, Jeffrey, for all of us, it’s all getting Beyond Reach.
veraasim's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
Omg… Finally reached the end of the Grant County series and I am torn!!! I mentioned in my previous reviews that I couldn’t wait for Sara to meet Will in the Will Trent series… but not like this!!! Now I feel bad for ever wanting to rush through this series just to get to the next one and see them get them. Wtf really. The foreshadowing that Slaughter sprinkled in some parts of this book did NOTHING to prepare me for that ending.
This final instalment started off with an opening that felt so symbolic. The poor Powell kid finally died, and it took me back to how Sara learnt that he had incurable leukaemia in the first chapter of the first book. Unfortunately the whole town has turned against her because of this, and I could really feel her sense of betrayal as she endured the deposition in the chapter. I wasn’t expecting such a turn of events, and it made me pretty sad.
Anyhow, this brings us to a different side of Sara that we’ve never seen before, one that is shaken and somewhat lost. Apart from this, this book also stood out amongst the rest of the series since our main cast is taken out of the familiar Heartsdale. And we also see Sara tagging along Jeffrey throughout his investigations. Just some things unique that I observed.
The plot is interesting (as usual) but with much more familiarity this time, with Lena at the centre of the shitstorm. Lots of twists and reveals as you can expect from Slaughter. The ending though!!! Gut-wrenching. The whodunnit part seems obvious but I wonder when we (the cast, really) will get formal closure. Also, I just realised that with the town’s betrayal, I’d totally expect Sara to just leave for somewhere less painful.
I should really take a break from Slaughter but I’m itching for the Will Trent series already…
This final instalment started off with an opening that felt so symbolic. The poor Powell kid finally died, and it took me back to how Sara learnt that he had incurable leukaemia in the first chapter of the first book. Unfortunately the whole town has turned against her because of this, and I could really feel her sense of betrayal as she endured the deposition in the chapter. I wasn’t expecting such a turn of events, and it made me pretty sad.
Anyhow, this brings us to a different side of Sara that we’ve never seen before, one that is shaken and somewhat lost. Apart from this, this book also stood out amongst the rest of the series since our main cast is taken out of the familiar Heartsdale. And we also see Sara tagging along Jeffrey throughout his investigations. Just some things unique that I observed.
The plot is interesting (as usual) but with much more familiarity this time, with Lena at the centre of the shitstorm. Lots of twists and reveals as you can expect from Slaughter. The ending though!!! Gut-wrenching. The whodunnit part seems obvious but I wonder when we (the cast, really) will get formal closure. Also, I just realised that with the town’s betrayal, I’d totally expect Sara to just leave for somewhere less painful.
I should really take a break from Slaughter but I’m itching for the Will Trent series already…
kmaywoodland's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
abbycree's review against another edition
5.0
I have no words. Im shook. This book is almost 20 years old. The series consumed me. The way my body physically reacts when any mention of Lena and Ethan comes up because I have known this trauma is unbelievable. Karin Slaughter has so expertly put to words the feelings and anxiety and everything else that comes with not just a domestic abuse relationship but the womans side as well. How hard it is to get away, how sick you feel when you think about how you loved that person. Even years later, the primal fear you subconsciously have at the mere mention of their name. Nothing in these books or this series is exaggerated, and I am so SO beyond shocked at this book, that ending, these characters are so real to me that I feel like I am grieving someone in my own life.
bertmarshall's review against another edition
5.0
I am sitting with tears in my eyes, completely heartbroken by this book