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There was a lot to be said for a man who, after forty years, still managed to hold your attention.
Oh nice line, Karin
She preferred the open spaces to the concrete sidewalks of the city, even while she admitted that it was nice living in so central a location that you could walk to the corner store or a little café if the mood struck you.
Same, Judith 😩
After decades of driving just about every highway and interstate in the country, he instinctively knew all the back routes, the doglegs and shortcuts.
Ew is he a truck driver?? I say ew bc apparently a ton of them are criminals who can’t work with people. Or are involved in trafficking
Henry had given her a thick historical romance for their anniversary. Judith had given him a new cooler to take to the golf course.
Awww this is so simple and comforting for some reason
what the woman who had killed her husband could possibly have to say.
Bet it was a mf drunk driver— I don’t remember what was mentioned in the Kept Woman but that’s the feeling I get.
anyone in law enforcement got the best and quickest treatment.
As they should. Their job is to serve and protect— that’s the least of the benefits that job should provide
The nurses at Grady saw car wrecks, shootings, stabbings, overdoses, and any number of crimes against humanity on an almost daily basis.
Ugh heroes. I could never be a trauma nurse. That has got to be one of the most taxing jobs in the world. I would be suicidal if I had to see firsthand all that awful shit people do to each other.
Faith Mitchell was an otherwise healthy thirty-three-year-old woman
No, not Faith!!!
all she could think about was the pleasure she would feel when she snatched this case right out from under this particularly galling ignorant hick.
Galling Galloway. I see what you did there, Karin
“So, this was done by someone with medical knowledge?” “Not necessarily. You can feel your own ribs with your fingers. You know where they are in your body.”
Me, feeling my ribs while reading the description on the last page
“It’s well below the gnat line,”
Lmao. Oh, Georgia.
“If they were both tied up and one of them managed to get a knife,
I think she used her teeth to saw the rope. Thus the tooth found (inside?) the rope
Pauline felt an explosion in her head. She collapsed to the pavement like a rag doll.
This sounds like a two person job. The person she was talking to could’ve been a woman— or that man she almost hit with her grocery cart in the store who told her to have a good day— and it sounds like someone else hit her from behind. Send like the person she saw sitting with her son was either familiar or non threatening enough for her to thank them for sitting with her son
And now, when she looked in the mirror and saw a new line on her own face, a new wrinkle, all she could think was that she was growing old without him.
The way I would spiral. The way I would fall into an addiction if I lost John. Oh my godddd this would be unbearable. Sara girl… I’m sorry
Could she go out in the field, carry a gun and round up the bad guys if her blood sugar was out of whack?
Damn, she’s way more concerned about her diabetes than I am with mine… should I be more worried about myself than I actually am???
Speeding ticket six months ago for going eighty in a fifty-five. Running a stop sign in a school zone last month. Failure to stop at a roadblock two weeks ago, refused to take a Breathalyzer, court date pending.”
Perp is possibly selecting female victims who have been negligent around children. I bet this guy has some mommy issues or gripe with women who remind him of a past caretaker who neglected his needs. Thus having victims repeatedly write the same statement to repent (the papers filled out in cursive “I will not deny myself.”) Maybe punishment for these women who choose to take care of themselves with money, massages, hair appointments, etc. instead of neglecting their own well being to put children first?
its father’s dark Latino looks?
So is it that dean of students guy from GA Tech in Fractured? Ugh I forgot his name
The nurses had been doing it long enough to know that there was a certain detachment needed for the job. The doctors weren’t as practiced. They would yell and scream at social services and make you think that for once, something was going to change, but then you found yourself right back in the hospital a year later,
😭😭😭😭 fuck the system. How could they fail so badly every single time?
The woman at City Foods this morning had been abducted right beside her car. Someone posing as a police officer could have easily fabricated a scenario to approach their vehicles.
firsthand, had herself been the victim of a horrific assault.
Oh my god??? Prayers for Sara bc she been through it too.
“Needles or straight pins,” Pete guessed. “He pierced each eyeball at least a dozen times.”
Are you fucking kidding me?? Okay so, the death penalty exists for sick people like this, but why is it so humane? I feel that the family members of the victim (or whoever is available if not the family) should be able to torture/kill the murderer the same ways the murderer tortured/killed the victim(s). I have definitely started to lean towards the eye-for-an-eye sentiment in regards to punishment for violent crimes. Like chain this fucker up and mutilate him. It’s literally the least we could do to bring justice whenever he inevitably gets caught.
“The wound was self-inflicted. It would’ve been fast. She didn’t suffer for long.” Sara felt the need to add, “Or much longer than she already had.”
Yep. I would’ve killed myself too. Especially after being blinded AND deafened. Unable to discern who I was telling my story to when I spoke. Not knowing if I was safe when god knows who found me. Yep. Goodbye world.
“Trash bags,” Will said. Sara could not breathe. “Anna,” she said. “We need to check Anna.”
Ohhh shit. At the Q&A, someone asked what the most interesting way someone died was (or most interesting/gruesome thing that was done to someone) that was medically possible. Karin said that she knew of a case where a body had been stuffed with like 20-28 trash bags and that had actually happened. However, in here, she reduced the number to 10 because she thought that people wouldn’t believe that I was medically possible and would call it unrealistic. I assumed the person irl had been made to swallow them or that it was put up their ass. I assumed it was based off of a man too for some reason. Shit, I guess I was wrong.
“I meant to say, we’ve never talked to the police before.” She patted her husband’s hand. “Henry got a speeding ticket once, but once was enough. When was that, dear?”
Sus… it was odd to me too at the beginning when Henry hit Anna with the car and said something like “oh god! How could this happen?” Yes, obviously shocking, but, he could’ve been alluring to “his could this happen” as in “how could she escape?”
Interesting that the family works/volunteers for the women’s shelter. I wonder if they see poor mothers there doing their best every day to try and get out of a bad situation, and in turn get angry at the women who either choose not to be in that situation (single, impoverished motherhood— although no one really CHOOSES that) or have appeared to be negligent of children OR just put themselves first whether they’ve chosen motherhood or not? Perhaps Judith is jealous of these women because she’s struggled with her own appearance throughout her life? Maybe Henry is already sadistic with a habit of hurting women and Judith chooses victims that she thinks deserve it?
I get it, not everyone can be the killer, but I gotta consider all possibilities. Because it IS a Karin Slaughter book after all.
“He traveled around quite a bit even before that. His father was in the Army for thirty years.”
Hmm. His father might’ve owned the “Art of War”(?) book or something. I know there’s one that details torture tactics used throughout history. Wonder if he saw it young and implements some of the things he’s learned
Tom smiled openly, his buckteeth jutting out like tusks on an elephant.
Damn girl, you don’t have to do it to em like that 🥲
Judith didn’t seem to like the easy rapport that was developing between the two. She quickly inserted herself back into the conversation. “Tom’s wife loves her flower garden.”
Good mother in law— making it known that her son has a wife lol
“My Lord,” Judith breathed, almost a prayer. “I hope she doesn’t.” “Mother—” Tom’s voice rose in surprise. “I know that sounds mean, but I hope she never knows.”
And I hope this family isn’t behind this. I want to like them and they sound sweet but Judith jumping in and trying to prove that they’re good people who have virtually no run ins with law enforcement made me somewhat suspicious of them all
Tolliver had been killed by a crude pipe bomb. Sara had been standing right there, seen it all happen, watched him die. Faith braced herself, opening up the autopsy files. The pictures were shocking, the damage horrifying.
Give Sara a break omggggg
Somehow, photographs from the scene had gotten mixed in: Sara with her hands out so the camera could document the blood spray. Sara’s face, caught in close-up, dark blood smearing her mouth, eyes looking as flat and lifeless as her husband’s photos from the morgue.
BROOOOOO what the hell
Of course Gretchen was right. She would’ve been better off asking a dingo to help raise her baby. She asked, “Did this happen when you were seeing me?” “After.” He looked down, watching his hand stroke her arm,
Ugh men are dogs. She was right to abort that baby when her husband was sniffing around other women before she got the abortion. She probably knew he had been cheating and decided an abortion would be the best thing to do. Unfortunately, a baby wouldn’t magically make him be faithful to the woman he married. Faith— you disappoint me too.
If she thought about it, thought that she could not see, did not know if she was being watched or videotaped or worse, she would lose her mind.
Wow. That is so defeating thinking that you’re making some kind of progress trying to escape but then you imagine someone is silently watching you struggle, laughing while you try and think you’re efforts are going unobserved. That’s a feeling I didn’t really consider. Ugh fuck being blind. That is so vulnerable and scary
Water, she thought. When had she last had water?
I feel like this is the first KS book I’ve read that includes the victim’s thoughts and perspective. I think in the others, the victim and crime scene is only talked about during the investigation rather than in real-time
“Where in the Bible does it say something about a rib being taken from Adam to make Eve?” “Genesis.”
Ahhh, the OG book title
“Even if Sara’s right, she’s doing it again, trying to talk her way onto this case.” “She’s a coroner. At least, she used to be. She helped Anna at the hospital. It’s normal for her to want to know what’s going on.” “This is a murder investigation, not Big Brother,” Faith countered.
Will wasn’t a fan of multitasking, mostly because it was more like half-tasking. It was humanly impossible to give two different things your complete attention.
Welcome to the neurodivergent club
Amanda took her time stacking the photos into a neat pile. The lawyer said, “Not nice, Mandy.” “Them’s the breaks, Chuck.”
Huh? Is this a quote from a movie or something? What does she mean by that?
He had never been in a women’s restroom before. There was a comfortable-looking couch with flowers in a vase on the table beside it. The air had the scent of perfume, the paper dispensers were stocked and there was no water splashed around the basin so that you got the front of your pants wet when you washed your hands. It was no wonder women spent so much time in this place.
Honestly one of the few perks for being a woman. Having relatively clean restrooms— especially when they have sitting areas made for breastfeeding moms. The closest thing I’ve been to a men’s restroom was a unisex bathroom on the outside of a gas station in Leadville, Colorado. Actually the foulest thing ever and I KNOW it’s because men predominantly used it. An unflushed toilet, piss all over the still-lifted toilet seat, no soap, one exposed light bulb with a warm glow barely lighting up the bathroom, god knows what splattered on the walls behind the toilet. That shit looked like it was an inch away from being a crime scene. Men are so dirty & ghetto 😩
As rich as she was, Jackie denied herself all the time.” “Denied herself what?” “Food. Alcohol. Fun.” She gave a rueful laugh. “Friends. Family. Love.”
I wonder if the perp may have dated her? Or was her therapist? pastor? Someone who could get her to try something new or get her comfortable enough to let go. Giiiiiiiirl I don’t fuckin know
“My father said she had hurt herself on purpose. That she had put something down … there … to injure herself. To draw attention to herself because she missed our mother.” He angrily wiped his tears away. “My father was a judge. He knew everyone on the police force, and they thought they knew him. He said that Olivia was lying, so everyone assumed she was a liar—especially me. For years, I just didn’t believe her.”
I FUCKING HATE MEN 🗣️📢
Faith Mitchell didn’t strike her as particularly sentimental. Nor was she very smart—at least not about her health.
Um, ok Sara, rude…
“So there’s a baby. What the fuck do I care?”
Oh he’s so fucking dead
“Look at me,” she ordered, her voice low, like her words were something only they could hear. “Will, look at me.”
“LOOK AT ME! This isn’t you🥺” ahhhhhh lololol. It’s okay, it actually makes sense in this context. If I were Will, I probably would’ve beat that fucker to death too if no one stopped me.
“Better be careful where you walk next time.” And just like that, Will was the kind of cop he had never wanted to be.
It’s okay, Will. God will forgive you
“Faith, I’m not the enemy here.” Sara’s tone took on the annoying tenor of someone trying to be reasonable. “This isn’t just about you anymore. You have a child inside of you—another life you’re responsible for.”
Bitch I’ll fight you omg
Lol Libby I’m starting to see your point
“You’re not a coroner anymore, Sara. You’re not married to a police chief. He’s dead. You saw him blown to pieces with your own two eyes. You’re not going to get him back by hanging out at the morgue and shoving your way onto an investigation.” Sara stood there with her mouth open, seemingly incapable of responding.
Faith— oh my god???
he slept around the first time we were married—which I found out for myself when I came home from work early one day—and he had an illegitimate son he never knew about until he was forty.”
HAHAHA EXCUUUUUUSE ME??? Girlfriend is trauma bonded to her husband bc of how awful his death was. “Best thing to ever happen to me” giiiiiirl you’re giving him too much credit.
Sara checked on the baby again. “His name is Balthazar,”
Wtf… that sounds like an ancient demon
“A dyslexic half-wit with a temper problem and a fertile, fat diabetic who lacks a rudimentary understanding of birth control.”
Goddamn Amanda is mean as shit bro
