Fallen (Will Trent, #5)

Title: Fallen (Will Trent, #5)

Author: Karin Slaughter

Published in: 2011

Date read: 5th March 2024

Score: 5/5

Genre: Crime, Detective, Thriller

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"Fallen" by Karin Slaughter is a gripping thriller and the fifth novel in her Will Trent series, bringing Special Agent Faith Mitchell's personal life crashing into a brutal criminal investigation.

The story begins with a horrifying discovery by Special Agent Faith Mitchell of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). Returning home, she finds her baby daughter locked in a shed outside, a trail of blood leading to her front door, and a dead man inside. Her mother, Evelyn Mitchell, a retired Atlanta police captain, is nowhere to be found.

Faith's professional training goes out the window as she charges into the house, finding a chaotic scene: a dead man in the laundry room and a hostage situation in her mother's bedroom. Faith herself is forced to kill two more intruders in the struggle, leaving her not only a witness but also a potential suspect.

As the situation escalates, Will Trent, Faith's partner at the GBI, is called in. He, along with GBI Deputy Director Amanda Wagner (a close friend of Evelyn's), takes over the investigation. They are joined by Dr. Sara Linton, now working as a trauma doctor, whose own complex relationship with Will continues to evolve amidst the crisis.

The immediate suspicion points to a connection with Evelyn's past. Evelyn was a key figure in a major police corruption scandal years ago, where her narcotics squad was implicated in skimming money from drug busts. Many believe this incident is a revenge plot by former gang members or dirty cops.

However, as Will and Amanda delve deeper, they uncover a far more intricate and personal motive for Evelyn's kidnapping. Clues from a nosy neighbour and Evelyn's own hidden life reveal a shocking secret: Evelyn has a previously unknown adult son, Caleb, from an affair decades prior. Caleb, who grew up in an adoptive family but later discovered his true parentage, has fallen into a life of crime and drugs. He harbours a deep, vengeful resentment against Evelyn, believing she abandoned him, and has orchestrated the entire kidnapping with his associates.

The race is on to find Evelyn, who is being held captive and brutally tortured. Faith must grapple with the shocking revelations about her mother's past and her own complicated family dynamics, while Will and Amanda navigate a dangerous criminal underworld. The novel culminates in a desperate and violent rescue attempt, where the characters face betrayal, sacrifice, and the devastating consequences of long-buried secrets, all while trying to save Evelyn's life from a son consumed by a thirst for revenge.

Comments:
Easily one of my favourite Karin Slaughter books of all. I could not put this down and I remember teaching lessons at school and drifting off in my mind trying to figure out what was going to happen next.

Books that we've read by Karin Slaughter (18):
Blindsighted (Grant County, #1) (2001), Kisscut (Grant County, #2) (2002), A Faint Cold Fear (Grant County, #3) (2003), Indelible (Grant County, #4) (2004), Faithless (Grant County, #5) (2005), Triptych (Will Trent, #1) (2006), Skin Privilege (Grant County, #6) (2007), Fractured (Will Trent, #2) (2008), Genesis (Will Trent, #3) (2009), Broken (Will Trent, #4) (2010), Fallen (Will Trent, #5) (2011), Criminal (Will Trent, #6) (2012), Unseen (Will Trent, #7) (2013), The Kept Woman (Will Trent, #8) (2016), The Last Widow (Will Trent, #9) (2019), The Silent Wife (Will Trent, #10) (2020), After That Night (Will Trent, #11) (2023), This Is Why We Lied (Will Trent, #12) (2024)