This is the 6th installment of the Grant County Series.Started: 9/24/2007
Ended: 10/18/2007
>>>>>>>>>>WARNING-SPOILERS AHEAD<<<<<<<<<<
Synopsis:
In a stifling jail cell in a hardscrabble Georgia town, Detective Lena Adams sits in stubborn silence: bruised, angry, and the only suspect in a horrific murder that left a woman incinerated beyond recognition. Lena was found beaten and in shock at a high school football field where a torched Cadillac Escalade held the remains of an unknown victim. A hundred miles away, Police Chief Jeffrey Tolliver has gotten the call that his young detective has been arrested. Jeffrey's wife, pediatrician and medical examiner Sara Linton, has little patience for Lena or her dramas. Fighting a heartbreaking malpractice suit, struggling to pick up the pieces of a shattered career, the last thing Sara needs is to see Jeffrey playing Lena's knight in shining armor. Sara cannot guess that within days she herself will be at the center of a bizarre and murderous case. For Lena has fled back to the place where she grew up hard, careening back through the shadows of her past and into a shocking underground world of bigotry and rage. The man who raised her is slowly killing himself with drugs. The man who beguiled - and beat - her is reaching out from prison. And now only Jeffrey and Sara can free Lena from the web of lies, betrayal, and brutality that has trapped her - as this powerhouse of a novel races toward its shattering climax…and a final, unforgettable twist.
Characters:
Lena Adams: Detective; stubborn & quick tempered; blatant disregard for her own safety; long history of questionable behavior; ex-boyfriend is an asshole white supremacist doing time in jail (Ethan); 35 y/o; traveled to Reese after she received a call that her uncle had fallen off the wagon and was back to using drugs; found injured at a crime scene and became the prime suspect of arson & murder; manipulated Sara in aiding her escape from the hospital; on the run and wanted; eventually she turns herself in to the Reese police department, only to have the judge let her out until trial; turns out she had incriminating evidence of Reese's corrupt law enforcement and made a deal to keep her mouth shut if they let her go
Sara Linton: Pediatrician; part-time coroner for Grant county; owns and runs the Heartsdale Children's Clinic (presently closed); raped when she was an er intern in Atlanta; can't have children; being sued for malpractice after one of her patients dies from leukemia; re-married her ex-husband Jeffrey about 6 months ago; self-confidence at a low due to her pending legal problems and how her local townspeople have ostracized her; asked to perform autopsy on remains of unidentified corpse in Reese by the sheriff; holed up in a dump of a motel, while her husband assists the local law enforcement; in the process of adopting a child; fearful of raising a child when her husband holds such a dangerous job
Jeffrey Tolliver: DEAD: Chief of Police; mad at Lena and himself for allowing her to get them mixed up with Reese's local neo-Nazi gang problems and drug trafficking; killed in an explosion caused by a bomb placed in his mailbox; dies in Sara's arms
Becky & Jim Powell: Suing Sara for malpractice after their son, Jimmy (age 6), dies from leukemia
Buddy Conford: Sara's personal attorney
Melinda Stiles: Attorney counsel for Global Medical Indemnity Insurance; Sara's other attorney; insurance company finally decides to settle with The Powells awarding them $1 million dollars
Sharon Connor: Attorney representing The Powells
Dr. William Harris: Oncologist; Jimmy had been referred to him by Sara
Nelly Morgan: Office manager of the Heartsdale Children's Clinic
Tessa Linton: Sara's sister; in Atlanta counseling homeless people
Cathy & Eddie Linton: Sara's parents; Driving cross-country on vacation
Sibyl Adams: DEAD:Lena's twin sister; lesbian; at age 8, was blinded by her uncle Hank when he hit her drinking and driving; raped and murdered; later revealed that she was accidentally blinded by her mother when she pulled out of the driveway where Sibyl was playing
Hank Norton: Lena's uncle; raised his two nieces when their parents passed away; ex-junkie but apparently has fallen off the wagon; owns and runs a bar on the outskirts of Reese; bar has been closed down by ATF because bartender was caught selling meth; found nearly dead,naked, beaten & strung-out on drugs in his back yard by Sara & Jeffrey; turned out he was forced back onto drugs by Clint because he had witnessed Jake Valentine & Fred Bart's involvement in the local drug trafficking ring; lied to Lena & Sibyl about their mother's apparent death and role in Sibyl's accident that resulting in her blindness; wanted to protect their mother's memory; still continues deception with Lena that her mother is dead
Jake Valentine: DEAD: Sheriff of Reese; young, tall & lanky; not earned respect from his deputies, especially Don; had a younger brother that died from a drug overdose 6 years ago; turns out Jake is corrupt, an actual skinhead drug trafficker running millions of dollars worth of meth through Reese; younger brother was also involved but got hooked on meth; has a swastika tattoo on the top of his head and a tattoo of his blood type on the inside of his arm (symbolizes rank of general in white power movement); Lena discovers tattoo on his arm when Sara is tending to an injury to his side; Jake holds Lena & Sara at gunpoint inside Hank's house; ordered Charolette's death to send a message to others to keep their mouths shut; ordered Clint to get Hank hooked back onto drugs; had married Myra, who was the baby sister to the Fitzpatrick brothers; was planning to setup Fred Bart to the GBI as the mastermind of the meth trafficking ring in Reese; after Fred found out about the double crossing he handcuffed Jake to Lena and setup a meth lab in Hank's house rigged to explode; before explosion that would kill him, Lena sawed off Jake's hand to escape
Don Cook: Reese deputy; older; ran against Jake for Sheriff and became bitter when he lost election; took over as Sheriff after Jake's death
Frank Wallace: Senior detective ; about to retire from the force at year's end; poker buddy of Eddie Linton
Nick Shelton: Friend of Jeffrey's; works for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI); supplied Jeffrey with info/history of the Skin Brothers
Ethan Green: Lena's ex-boyfriend; asshole white supremacist who physically and mentally abused Lena; has a swastika tattoo on his heart; 24 y/o; busted carrying a concealed gun while on probation (Lena framed him); doing time in the state prison; contacted Hank to manipulate Lena in coming to visit him in prison; threatens Lena that he will be out soon and that they can be together again
Angela Adams: Lena's mother; died due to complications 13 days after giving birth to her twins; in actuality, after her husband was killed she got hooked on meth from Fred Bart; gave her daughters up to Hank since she could not care for them; was in & out of jail for 20 years; Hank fabricated her death to protect her daughter's memories of her; one day she begged money from Hank to buy drugs and on her way out, accidentally hit Sibyl with the car, blinding her; became a maid at the dumpy motel Jeffrey & Sara stayed at in Reese; Jeffrey came to the realization that she was Lena's mother
Calvin Adams: DEAD:Lena's father; cop; killed on duty when he pulled over a car and the person shot him; was killed before he knew Angela was pregnant
Charlotte Warren-Gibson: DEAD: Sibyl's closest friend growing up; teacher; married with 3 children; called Lena to inform her that her uncle had fallen off the wagon; revealed she was lovers with Sibyl when they were younger before Sibyl left for college; a recovering alcoholic; Hank was her AA sponsor; tried to commit suicide a few years back; later discovered that she was the woman found in the Escalade, burned to death; was killed because she knew too much and Jake wanted to send a message to others to keep their mouths shut
Larry Gibson: Charlotte's husband; brought in Hank's drug box, claiming it was his wife's when he reported her missing to the sheriff; box contained Lena & Sibyl's actual birth certificates that stated Hank was their father (Angela had faked the certificate to ensure Hank could care for her girls)
Boyd Gibson: DEAD: Was thrown through Sara & Jeffrey's motel window with a pearl-handled knife (Lena's) jutting out of his back; white supremacist with a red swastika tattoo on his arm; worked in Hank's bar as the bartender and was caught selling meth; later spotted looking for something in Hank's bar when it was torched; killed by Clint
Bob Burg: Nick's ex co-worker at the GBI; corrupt; caught
Al Pfeiffer: ex-sheriff of Reese; run out of office and town by neo-Nazi gang that firebombed his house; moved out to an isolated and remote mansion in the Okefenokee swamp; rumored to be corrupt
Skin Brothers (aka The Brotherhood of The True White Skin): neo-Nazi gang symbolized by a red swastika; run by 2 brothers (Carl & Jerry); produce & deal methamphetamines
Jerry Fitzpatrick: runs Skin Brothers; extremely wealthy and secluded at his compound in Keene, New Hampshire
Carl Fitzpatrick: runs Skin Brothers; in jail for killing 2 cops when he was seventeen; over the years has gained control of the neo-Nazi gang inside prison while his brothers controls gang outside
Carlos: Sara's morgue assistant in Grant Co.
Myra Valentine-Fitzpatrick: Jake's wife; short and fat; works at local high school; baby sister to the Fitzpatrick brothers; takes refugee at the New Hampshire compound after her husband is killed
Grover Gibson: Larry & Boyd's father; alcoholic; beat wife and kids
Deacon Simms: DEAD: Lena found his naked, beaten corpse in Hank's attic with his swastika tattoo carved off his body; 60 y/o; was AA friend's with Hank; corpse was part of Jake's plan to setup Fred Bart as the meth trafficking ringleader
Clint Jones: DEAD: Thug with a red swastika; got Hank hooked back on drugs; killed by Fred Bart via a gunshot between the eyes
Fred Bart (aka Black Mask): Reese's local dentist and coroner; sleazy and bald; killed Charlotte on the football field by pouring lighter fluid all over her and then setting her on fire while she was tied-up in the backseat of the Escalade; caught and left to deal with the retributions of the Fitzpatrick brothers
Harley: Drug boss; took Deacon's motorcycle for himself after the old man was killed
My Review:
I really enjoyed this installment and was caught off-guard on several plot twists, most notably the ending where Jeffrey is killed. I like Slaughters's writing style as she goes back and forth in time and shifts perspective to illuminate the experiences of the different characters, adding to the mounting suspense. I have to admit I was very sad and shocked reading Jeffrey's death. After six books, you become invested in these characters and their lives, and it was just heartbreaking closing this book. RIP Jeffrey Tolliver, you will be missed!
Book Score: 9.5/10
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