Reviews

Criminal by Karin Slaughter

natasha666's review against another edition

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4.25

I loved hearing from Amanda and how she became the person she is today. 

jennamy's review against another edition

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5.0

My favorite in the series, so far.

karen1214's review against another edition

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5.0

This book has two stories that go back and forth throughout the book. One has Amanda and Evelyn in 1975 looking for a serial killer. The present day story is Will, Faith & Sara trying to find out who is killing girls in the same manner as in 1975. This author expertly weaves both stories together with shockers along the way. Another heart stopping read.

kristenmag14's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5 stars rounded up

mrsbooknerd's review against another edition

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2.0

If I had picked this up as a casual reader who hadn't read any of the others in the series then I'd have stopped reading less than quarter of the way in.

The novel was split into two time frames, 1975 which was an original investigation ran by Amanda Wagner and Evelyn Mitchell, and the present day with Will Trent, Sara, Faith, Amanda etc etc
The sections based on the present day were quite good with the continuing relationship between Will and Sara developing from the previous book, Fallen. I felt that these sections were really underdeveloped in that we were just told that it was Will's father behind the murder, there was no subtlety or anything, just BOOM, a murder and then 'Oh it must be Will's dad...'. Also, what began to to annoy me was that everyone is always keeping secrets from everyone else. You can keep the identity of the killer hidden from the reader without having to keep your characters in the dark too. If I was Will Trent I'd have MAJOR issues from all my friends and colleagues constantly lying to me...

In contrast there was a lot of time spent on 1975 where the original murders were committed and Will's father was arrested by Amanda and Evelyn initially. In these sections I felt that there wasn't enough progression, Slaughter spent too much time telling me about the segregation of Black and White officers and Male and Female officers and not enough about the murders. Evelyn and Amanda spent too much time wondering about connections and suspects when I felt that the pages could have had them actually doing something. Considering 1975's events made up the majority of the book and paved the way for present day revelations it just didn't really go anywhere.

I think that if I wasn't a little bit in love with Will Trent then I wouldn't have finished the book at all, though I did like that it gave us a real insight into his life rather than the hints that Slaughter has given through the series this far.

lizward92's review against another edition

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3.0

Yeesh this was a rough one to get through even by Karin standards. Did I want to read about kidnapped women getting their eyes and mouths sewn shut? No I did not. Fuckin hell. Taking another break for a light hearted book before diving back in to Will Trent.

joannaclement's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

courtneyferguson's review against another edition

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5.0

This book had everything I’ve come to expect from Karin Slaughter. I don’t want to spoil much, but the development of Will and Amanda’s relationship in this novel made me fall even more in love with the two of them. Amanda especially was humanized in this book-the glimpses into her past and the revelations about her connections to Will made my heart ache.

mermaid_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I loved the way Amanda and Eveylyn’s story was developed - it felt cinematic. 

sleepytimebooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0