After a morning training session, Agent Faith Mitchell was running late in picking up her baby at her mother's house. But, Faith's training went out the window when she found a bloody hand print on the door of her mother's house, a hostage situation inside, and her mother missing. When she forced to shoot men to protect herself, she found herself sitting on the sidelines of the investigation. But, Faith's boss, Amanda, and her partner, Will Trent, found a way into the investigation. It was Will who insisted that Dr. Sara Linton examine Faith, knowing Faith was diabetic, and she was crashing.
Faith's mother becomes the focus of the case for this fast-paced story, taking place in just six days. Evelyn Mitchell's past may have come back with a vengeance. The woman who had retired from the police force when members of her drug squad were found to be dirty, is now missing, with a lot of blood left behind at the scene. And, her long-time friend, Amanda Wagner, is hiding things from Will, making the investigation that much harder. Everyone seems to have secrets in a case in which lives hang in the balance.
While Karin Slaughter's Fallen is a thriller, with all the violence and connections to gangs and drugs, it's also a story of vulnerability. Will Trent, Sara Linton, and Faith Mitchell all show their vulnerable sides. But, there are surprises in this story of conflict between professional and personal lives. Karin Slaughter's characters have lives outside their work, sometimes complicated lives. And, readers return to read about these very human, flawed characters. But, in Fallen, those flaws and weaknesses, hidden secrets, could destroy a number of lives.
Karin Slaughter's website is www.karinslaughter.com
Fallen by Karin Slaughter. Delacorte Press. ©2011. ISBN 9780345528223 (hardcover), 387p.
*****
FTC Full Disclosure - Library book
Note - Karin Slaughter is guest blogger on Thursday, with her post about libraries. I hope you come back to read that guest blog.
