I first picked up Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter, a few years ago after I read a review for A Faint Cold Fear, her third book. The book did sound interesting, so I decided to check out her books. Since these books were part of a series with the same main characters, I went back and started with the first book. I eventually picked up her second book, Kisscut, as well and just finished A Faint Cold Fear.

The books by Slaughter that I have read have all been set in the small Georgia town of Heartsdale and featured the same group of main characters. This book did refer back to things that had happened in the previous books, so I do think it is best to read them in order. Sara Linton is the town’s medical examiner and pediatrician. Her ex-husband Jeffrey Tolliver is the chief of police. Their marriage broke up several years previously after Jeffrey was unfaithful but they have since rekindled their relationship. Jeffrey wanted the relationship to be more serious and formal while Sara seemed content with the way things were. Sara’s parents and sister Tessa also lived in town and they weren’t exactly pleased that Sara was giving Jeffrey another chance. Jeffrey’s deputies also tended to turn up. Lena had been through a lot with the murder of her sister and her own brutal rape.

Sara was out with the very pregnant Tessa who was having a few mood swings when she got the call about a body being found on the college campus. Tessa talked Sara into taking her to the scene of what seemed to be a suicide. Tessa wondered off looking for a place to go to the bathroom and was brutally attacked. Sara and Jeffrey both felt guilty for not preventing what happened. It also made them consider that the student had been murdered. The next morning, another student was found dead. Again it looked like suicide at first, but evidence eventually pointed to murder. Lena had left the police force and was working security at the college, sticking her in the middle of what was going on. She was still struggling to deal with what had happened to her and she seemed to be doing some questionable things.

A Faint Cold Fear picked up several months after the end of Kisscut. Tessa had just found out she was pregnant in that book and she was very close to her due date when this book began. It was also mentioned how Lena had left the force seven months before. That was really the only thing that had happened between the books that was mentioned. I did wonder a bit about what had happened between the books, though I guess nothing too important had happened since nothing was mentioned.

Like the two previous books, A Faint Cold Fear had Sara having to deal with a death very early in the book. This time it seemed like a suicide, but there were one or two things that raised the possibility that it could have been murder. Tessa being attacked in the same general area added a lot of complications, especially with how Sara and Jeffrey both felt guilty. As the book progressed, more people ended up dead and Sara did autopsies on all of them. None of the deaths were described as they happened. Instead, the bodies were described in great detail once they were discovered. Tessa’s injuries were also described with a lot of detail. Those descriptions were graphic at times and not pleasant to read in any way. There will be entirely too many details for some readers. The first body had some strange injuries that Sara explained. I have no idea if her explanations were accurate and I really don’t want to know either. There were also descriptions of some of the autopsies that Sara performed that frankly I could have done without reading. That was more detail that I really wanted to know and those sections will probably turn some people off.

The plot for A Faint Cold Fear was dark, disturbing and even a bit twisted at times. That seems to be normal for Slaughter’s books. This was in no way a fun or pleasant book to read, though it was interesting. I did want to know how things were going to work out even though I felt the book had a rather depressing tone overall. This is not a fun book to read and it won’t appeal to many people. There was a lot going on that mostly ended up being connected in someway. The plot wasn’t too complicated, though I did feel like there was just a bit much going on at times, especially with everything connected to Lena. I get that she still had a lot of things to deal with, but I did get a bit tired of her receiving so much attention.

Sara and Jeffrey had a rather complicated relationship that they were still trying to work out. There actually wasn’t that much related to the relationship in A Faint Cold Fear, so it really didn’t detract from the other aspects of the book. They didn’t spend that much time together since Sara was in Atlanta with Tessa at the hospital a lot and when she was back home, she didn’t seem to want Jeffrey around. Jeffrey was still in love with her and he made that very clear while she was very evasive about what her feelings actually were. He wanted something more permanent between them while she seemed determined to keep him dangling until she was in the mood. It was like she was constantly testing him. The way Sara was acting related to their relationship did get annoying since she had willingly started having sex with him again.

Sara was an intelligent woman who could be very stubborn, especially when it came to Jeffrey. She was very good at both her jobs and had a tendency to push herself at times, like how she insisted on doing two autopsies as soon as she returned from Atlanta even though she’d had basically no sleep. I get that it was important to get them done, but it seems like it would have been wiser for her to get some sleep and then perform them. There were times when I found Sara to be very annoying and it wasn’t always easy to like her. Jeffrey had his own issues and he could be stubborn as well. He had screwed up big time with his marriage, but I did find him to be more likable overall.

Sara’s parents and sister Tessa were around in a few scenes. Tessa had annoyed me a bit in the previous books and she had been downright mean to Sara before, yet Sara was bending over backwards to keep her happy when the book started. The relationship between the sisters was a bit complex as well. Sara had worked in Atlanta before she returned to her hometown, and she did end up seeing a former boyfriend who was also a doctor while at the hospital. He wasn’t around enough to be developed or be important. Frank and Brad, the other cops who worked with Jeffrey, weren’t around much either and didn’t have much to do.

I found it very hard to like Lena. I felt that way even in Blindsighted before her attack. She had a nasty attitude in general that has just gotten worse. It was completely understandable that she was still having some issues related to the attack, but she wasn’t dealing with them. She really wasn’t even trying to deal with them, though she told herself that a few drinks would make herself feel better. She was very stubborn and refused to talk to a therapist. She was a bit irrational when a few things happened and she made some very questionable and downright horrible decisions. I felt like there was just too much attention given to Lena and I got to the point that I dreaded reading more sections focused on her.

Overall A Faint Cold Fear was a gripping mystery that kept my attention. Much of what happened was disturbing and the book was rather depressing. Because of that, and the graphic descriptions, this is not a book for everyone. People that have read and enjoyed Slaughter’s other books will probably like this one as well. I continue to be annoyed by Sara at times and I can’t stand Lena, but I did like the book for the most part. I’m still deciding if I want to read the next book in the series.

Karin Slaughter Book Reviews
Blindsighted ~ Kisscut ~

Recommended: Yes