Quick Facts
Biography
Karin Slaughter (born January 6, 1971) is an American crime writer, whose first novel Blindsighted (2001) became an international success, was published in almost 30 languages, and made the Crime Writers' Association's Dagger Award shortlist for "Best Thriller Debut" of 2001. She is the author of sixteen novels, and her most recent novel, The Kept Woman, was published in 2016. Slaughter has sold more than 35 million copies of her books, which have been published in 36 languages. Her books have debuted at #1 in the United Kingdom, Germany, and The Netherlands.
Fractured, the second novel in the Will Trent series, debuted at number one in the UK and the Netherlands, and was the number one adult fiction title in Australia. At the same time, Faithless (Gottlos) published in Germany at number one.
Slaughter was born in a small southern Georgia community. Now residing in Atlanta, she is widely credited with coining the term "investigoogling" in 2006.
Slaughter is currently part of a "Save the Libraries" event that benefits the DeKalb County Public Library.
Publishing history
In 2009, Slaughter brought together characters from her two main series, Grant County and Will Trent/Atlanta, in her novel Undone, called Genesis internationally. Will Trent and other characters from that series work a case set in Atlanta with Sara Linton, of Grant County.
Also intertwining the characters Will Trent and Sara Linton from her two series is her book Broken, published in 2010. It is set in the fictitious Grant County.
Grant County series
Slaughter is best known for her Grant County series:
- Blindsighted, 2001
- Kisscut, 2002
- A Faint Cold Fear, 2003
- Indelible, 2004
- Faithless, 2005
- Beyond Reach/Skin Privilege, 2007
Set in the fictional town of Heartsdale, Georgia, (in the fictional Grant County) the narrative takes place from the perspective of three main characters: Sara Linton, the town's pediatrician and part-time coroner; her ex-husband to whom she is remarried, Jeffrey Tolliver, who is chief of police; and his subordinate, detective Lena Adams, Slaughter's most controversial character. The most recent Grant County novel was published in July 2007. The title was Beyond Reach in the US and Skin Privilege elsewhere.
Will Trent/Atlanta series
The Will Trent series, which takes place in Atlanta, features Georgia Bureau of Investigation special agent Will Trent and his partner Faith Mitchell. So far, Will has appeared in Triptych, Fractured, Undone, Broken, Fallen, "Criminal", the novella Snatched, Busted, and Unseen.
Other works
Like a Charm is an anthology, composed of short stories written by several thriller authors. Each story features a charm bracelet that brings bad luck to its owner. The times and places where the stories take place vary greatly, ranging from 19th-century Georgia to wartime Leeds. Karin Slaughter wrote the first and last stories.
Contributing authors are:
- Emma Donoghue
- Peter Robinson
- Fidelis Morgan
- Lynda La Plante
- Lee Child
- Mark Billingham
- Denise Mina
- John Harvey
- Kelley Armstrong
- John Connolly
- Jane Haddam
- Laura Lippman
- Peter Moore Smith
- Jerrilyn Farmer
Triptych (2006) is a novel with three interconnected narrators, set against the urban backdrop of Atlanta. Fractured (2008) continues the series with the character Will Trent from Triptych with a murder in Ansley Park.
Martin Misunderstood is an original audio novella narrated by Wayne Knight and is available from BBC Audiobooks America. Both the story and the narration were nominated for an Audie Award in 2009. The book was translated into Dutch and given away to over one million readers.