Triptych: A Will Trent Novel

I read Karin Slaughters Grant County series last year and loved it, so I decided to give the Will Trent series a shot, and I’m so glad I did. Ms. Slaughter manages to disturb and entertain at the same time in this first book. I’m looking forward to spending more time with the lovable weirdo that is Special Agent Will Trent.

The storyline was a little predictable. What I really love are the characters they are rich and pull you right in. There are certain some very graphic scenes, so if you are sensitive or have triggers with violence or sex, this isn't probably the detective novel for you.

Triptych is a spin off series of Karin Slaughter's Grant County series. These books move us out of Grant county and into the big city of Atlanta. Where we meet Special Agent Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.A triptych is work of art, that is divided in three parts. And when the three parts are put together, they form a complete picture. Much like the artwork, this book is told in three parts, and when they are all put together, they form one complete picture.Part one introduces us to Atlanta Detective Michael Ormewood who is called away from watching the Super Bowl game to investigate the murder of a prostitute in a very unsavory part of town. It was a brutal death, she had been beaten and her tongue had been removed. This is the last thing Michael needs, another high profile case to add to his already stressful life. Trying to live on a cops salary is hard enough but he is having to raise and educate his special needs son. His marriage is failing and his mother - in - law truly hates him, blames him for his sons condition. The last thing he needs is problems at work, And that's exactly what he sees with Will involved in his case. And Will wants a closer look at this case because it has similarities to two other cases that he thinks may be connected. John Shelley, is an ex con. In part two we learn he has served the last twenty years in the Coastal State Prison. He was convicted of the murder and rape of Mary Alice, a young girl John wanted to be more than friends with. Through flashbacks we get the story of how Mary Alice was killed after attending a party with John at his cousin Woody's house. Woody is the local stoner and drug dealer. He has fast become John's best friend and his dealer. When John wakes up the day after the party in bed with a very dead Mary Alice, all the evidence points to John.After his parole, John just wants to live his life and not bother anyone. He has a job, a place to live, and he just wants a small TV to watch football games on. When he tries to rent to own a TV, what he finds out about his credit, spins John's whole world out of control. And starts to point him toward the person who may be trying to set him up to fail and go back to prison. Or it just might finally answer some questions John has had for many years.In part three, we learn more about Will, and his relationship with detective Angie Polaski. They grew up together in the Atlanta Children's Home. Both have come up through the foster system, surviving the best they could. There is a definite reason Will behaves the way he does, and we get a small peek into his and Angie's childhood. It's not pretty.Angie had met John while working undercover. She liked him. Felt he was a nice, honest guy, even knowing what his arrest record said about him.Will and Angie start to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Finding connections to people who should not know each other. And when it all comes to a conclusion it's pretty intense.I love this new character Will. And this is a great addition to the Grant County series.

It’s 2006. More than 20 years earlier a 15-year-old girl had been viciously raped, murdered, and mutilated in an Atlanta suburb. Her date that evening, John Spence, also 15, was tried as an adult and sentenced for 22 years to life in a maximum security prison. John has now been paroled and is attempting to eke out an existence with a job in a car wash. Meanwhile, two young teenage girls have lost their lives in a shockingly similar manner to that in the old case — but the police have not made the connection.Enter Will Trent, disability and allEnter Agent Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Will works in a special autonomous GBI unit and reports directly to the director, Amanda Wagner. A functional illiterate due to profound dyslexia, Will has nonetheless acquired both a college degree and a doctorate in criminology. He is regarded as one of the bureau’s finest investigators.A brutal rape and murder, with more to comeSoon after Will has inserted himself into the case of the two girls another, similar murder occurs. But the victim is a 40-year-old prostitute. Then a young girl, a potential witness to the prostitute’s murder, vanishes. While trying to sort out the coincidences and inconsistencies among these several cases, Will works principally with two local detectives. Neither trusts him. Then, as he looks into the murder of the prostitute, Will is shocked to encounter his on-and-off-again lover, Angie Polaski. They have known each other for 25 years, ever since they met in the Georgia Children’s Home, both products of extreme physical abuse at a very young age. Angie is now a cop, working undercover as a prostitute on the Vice detail.As the investigation proceeds, Will, Angie, and the other two local police officers stumble about in a welter of confusing clues. We know that eventually they’ll link the two-decade-old rape and murder to today’s cases — but they don’t know that until nearly the very end.A rip-roaring novel of suspenseThis is a rip-roaring novel of suspense, a thriller to keep you on the edge of your seat. If you’re a mystery fan and not put off by graphic descriptions of violence and sex, you’ll love this book.By the way, the title, Triptych, refers to a work of art consisting of “three canvases hinged together to make one image when it was open, another image when it was closed.”About the authorKarin Slaughter is one of America’s most gifted mystery novelists. She’s also one of the most successful. Since the publication of her first novel in 2001, Slaughter has written six books in the Grant County series, ten in the Will Trent series, and six standalone novels. Triptych, the inaugural effort in the Will Trent series, helps make clear why more than 35 million copies of her books have been sold in 36 languages. I’ve reviewed several other novels she’s written: Kisscut (#2), A Faint Cold Fear (#3), Indelible (#4), and Faithless (#5), all in the Grant County series; Broken (#4) and Unseen (#9) in the Will Trent series; and the standalone novels Criminal, Blindsighted, and Pretty Girls. I’ll keep coming back for more.

I made the mistake of reading another Will Trent book not knowing there were many in the series. I now have started from the beginning and what a start! Incredible characters, professional writing but it is the plotting and structure that put this book in a separate category.Angie, who plays a much more minor role in the later books, stars with Will as we learn their beginnings. the story is gritty, a rough read in parts but entirely realistic if not somewhat sugar-coated. It epitomizes the old saying, "One half does not know how the other half lives." In this case it's those trapped with all their hopelessness, lawlessness and casual vice. Will and Angie star, another policeman has a huge supporting role but the real hero is John, the long-suffering, innocent man convicted of a crime he did not commit.Many have noted the depressing view of life presented here. Crime, broken marriages, prostitution, kids gone down the dark path, drugs, helplessness, suffering. It's all here but so is redemption and this is what ultimately wins out.

Triptych: (Will Trent Series Book 1) (The Will Trent Series)  I came across Patricia Cornwell by accident a few years ago and couldn't wait for each book to come out. Sadly, I think the fire has gone out of the Scarpetta series and this has left me with a big hole to fill in my reading. Karin Slaughter's Triptych was offered at a reduced price by a book promotion and I dithered a bit before buying it. I've now bought all the Will Trent series and am working my way through them.Wonderful writing, great atmosphere and suspense - and truly remarkable twists and mis-directions that I didn't see coming but were there all along if you paid attention. If you liked the early Scarpetta series then I'm pretty sure you'll love these, too. Triptych: (Will Trent Series Book 1) (The Will Trent Series)

I like Jack Reacher novels and have ventured beyond Child's short stories into the joint efforts made with other writers. Kathy Reichs turned up trumps after reading their FAKING A MURDERER and CLEANING THE GOLD had been enjoyable so it seemed a reasonable choice.I was not disappointed. Irritated. But not disappointed.Kindle app on my tablet and similar provision made by my local library means I get to choose font size for comfortable reading. Unfortunately this book produced images intended to look like newspaper extracts and these could not be altered. I was guilty of anticipating further such irritations after 3 and let it spoil several chapters until Slaughter began her retrospective timelines and revealed the Villain early.The Villain but not the extent of his villainy which was drip fed. And she has created a story where it is a question of whether the various strands will come together in time for the innocent to be saved and the guilty to perish. Meanwhile the innocent show dark sides.I don't understand how Trent and Polaski got through screening for even basic training to join the police and how they even survived childhood to be on the right side of the law.If they are on that side.One book may not be enough to determine. These characters may be too fractured to sustain an interest for me. Got another book out of sequence to judge.Still it was more than a run of mill stand alone. 5/8 of a 4th star.

If this is your first Karin Slaughter book and you enjoy crime this series is for you!! If you have read any other of her books you will NOT be disappointed with this first book in the Will Trent series! She does not hold back with detail and realistic characters that you will want to save and love. As for the plot it is fast paced, gripping, even somewhat hard to read at gruesome parts. So many twists and turns from the first chapter that will pull you straight in!!Thankyou Karin

My first and last by this author. As a fan of (good) crime fiction, I found this profoundly disappointing. I can see that she is popular, but not with me! The writing style is so poor, clunky, no attempt to tell a story other than by rather badly written chunks of prose. Good writers do this through their characters rather than but needing this kind of social history. I can read some books that describe violence (see Val McDermid) but I found this unpleasant and gratuitous. I think it was the poor quality of the writing that I disliked the most. I will have to search further for a new series to satisfy my crime quota!

It’s like peering through a filthy shed window, desperate to see what’s inside, to get a proper look at what all those shapes and shadows really are. The trouble is you’re armed only with a cotton bud with which to slowly clean away the grime and as you do the true picture gradually reveals itself. When you finally see it you want to tell the world. To warn everyone of the truth that you’ve seen, but nobody can hear you screaming because you’re trapped inside the glass box of “the reader”.