Unseen by Karin Slaughter
UNSEEN
KARIN SLAUGHTER
Lena and Jared have been married for five years but their relationship is at crisis point due to a recent miscarriage and Lena’s inability to deal with her subsequent emotions. However, the shaky state of their marriage is the least of their problems as their house is invaded and Jared is critically injured.
When Sara Linton hears what’s happened, there is no doubt in her mind the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the woman she still holds responsible for the death of her husband. As much as she’d rather stay away, Sara heads to Macon to comfort Jared’s mother and is forced to confront her nemesis while memories of Jeffrey’s death rise to the surface.
review
Unseen is the seventh book in the Will Trent series and one I had been half dreading before its release because I knew Slaughter was bringing back one of the characters from the Grant County series – Lena Adams – a character I completely detest. Lena has always been completely self-destructive and I always felt she got far too much focus in the Grant County novels so I was relieved when she set off into the sunset with Sara Linton’s stepson.
As much as I disliked the idea of Lena appearing once more, I could see that things between her and Sara were far from resolved and that Sara definitely needed to find some closure regarding Lena’s involvement in Jeffrey’s death. The confrontation between the two women was as bitter as I was expecting but Sara learned a few home truths that took me a little by surprise and I was suddenly looking at Lena in a different way.
As the story began, it certainly appeared as if Lena was still her own worst enemy, deliberately sabotaging her relationships by constantly pushing people away and building walls around herself. However, much of Lena’s attitude is built on the belief she is genuinely doing the right thing even if her methods aren’t exactly conventional. As the book progresses, we get deeper into Lena’s life with Jared and it is easy to see that she does genuinely love him even if she has a hard time showing it. I unexpectedly started to feel sympathetic towards Lena and for once I began to believe that she was finally beginning to find some much needed peace.
Lena’s return also acts as a catalyst to push Sara and Will’s relationship to crisis point, something that has been sorely needed, as both of them have been skirting around a number of issues. The fear of losing Sara finally forces Will into being honest about his past, although we don’t get to witness this firsthand, and Sara learns to forgive. Will and Sara’s relationship moves to a whole new level as souls are laid bare, so let’s hope Slaughter resolves the situation with Will’s horrible wife in the next book.
The murder mystery is vintage Slaughter with lots of twists and a whole lot of gore but if you’ve read the previous books, it won’t come as a great surprise. As the investigation unfolds, Slaughter typically ends on a cliffhanger before delving backwards through the events in Lena’s life that led to her husband being shot, building the suspense steadily. Slaughter always has strong female characters in her novels and we are introduced to a whole lot more in Unseen, besides the usual suspects of Amanda and Faith. Amongst these women, we have Will, flaws and all, but I love him even more and am so glad he has Sara in his life.
Although the book could probably be read on its own, I definitely recommend reading the series in order as it will enhance your understanding of the characters’s backgrounds and provide a far richer reading experience.
