Karin Slaughter is one of my ALL-TIME favourite authors.
The Will Trent series is one of my absolute favourite crime series.
And The silent Wife is now one of my favourite books of 2020.*
*(I am aware I’m overusing the word favourite, but I have no regrets!)
It’s fair to assume that this is going to be a very positive review/blog post. In fact, I would entirely forgive you if you stopped reading my words right here and went and picked up The Silent Wife instead. Go, go, go… You can thank me later 😀
Book Blurb:
From the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author comes a gripping new crime thriller featuring Will Trent and Sara Linton
He watches.

A woman runs alone in the woods. She convinces herself she has no reason to be afraid, but she’s wrong. A predator is stalking the women of Grant County. He lingers in the shadows, until the time is just right to snatch his victim.
He waits.
A decade later, the case has been closed. The killer is behind bars. But then another young woman is brutally attacked and left for dead, and the MO is identical.
He takes.
Although the original trail has gone cold – memories have faded, witnesses have disappeared – agent Will Trent and forensic pathologist Sara Linton must re-open the cold case. But the clock is ticking, and the killer is determined to find his perfect silent wife….
Great sounding blurb, right?!?!?! But it doesn’t really do the book justice.
I loved The Silent Wife – it was dark, a tad gory, gutsy and utterly gripping. Clever, clever writing.
Personally, and this really is just my personal view but I wouldn’t recommend jumping into The Silent Wife without reading the previous books – I am sure you could. Karin Slaughter is a great writer and The Silent Wife certainly could be read as a standalone, but you would miss so much of the backstory. And I LOVE the backstory that she has carefully crafted and created over the years. I feel like I know the characters, the places and all the daily drama as well as all the big cases that populates the series – I am invested.
Karin Slaughter is an auto-buy author for me, not just because she writes some fascinating and surprising crime plots (AND SHE DOES), but it is her great characterisation that keeps me coming back for more. I love following Will and Sara and Faith and Emma and Amanda and even Lena. AND. And it’s a big AND – Jeffrey is back. The Silent Wife features chapters set back in the past, the story follows a clever dual timeline as we track down the killer. I am so sorry if I am making no sense – and I probably won’t to anyone that hasn’t read some of the previous books. But JEFFREY.
If you are thinking what!?!?! I will try and reign in the crazy enthusiasm and simply write – The Silent Wife is a great book that is well written, well paced and features some fantastic characters. READ IT. READ IT NOW – so we can discuss.
I know I haven’t written much about the plot, but The Silent Wife doesn’t disappoint. I have read most of Karin Slaughter’s books and I’ve yet to be let down – she writes some intense, dark and detailed stories that always make me want to read one more chapter, one more page, one more word… and her latest offering doesn’t disappoint.
Apologies for my ramblings! I feel like my post is less of a review and much more of a ramble about why you should read not only The Silent Wife, but the WHOLE Will Trent series.
I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it a lot.
Have you read it? Are you a Will and Sara fan? Are you planning on reading it soon?
I received a copy of The Silent Wife for review by the publisher, which was all arranged by the fantastic blog tour organiser – Thank you!

I am so impatiently waiting for the audiobook! Your loving this book makes me SO happy, Jules💜
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I’m sure it will be great on audiobook! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did 😀 😀 I look forward to your review.
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Thanks so much for this blog tour support x
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Thank you Anne, I loved being invited on the tour for this one!
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I read The Last Widow and enjoyed it very much and their is nothing wrong with a review that is full of enthusiasm- it actually says a lot about how good the book is ❤️
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Thank you Tessa, The Last Widow was another book I loved 🙂
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I need to catch up on the series! I love this series, your review is fab and so enthusiastic! X
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Thank you, Zoe. It is one of my favourite series and has been for YEARS – it does make me feel old thou when I have been reading these since the very beginning. I am sure I had Blindsighted (her 1st book) in hardback in 2001! I would love to try and squeeze in a re-read…
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Don’t it does to me! I remember it coming out and blitzing the book lol I want to, maybe near the end of the year we could try and squeeze it in together? X
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Yes please! That’s a great idea 😀
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Awesome! Be great to meet everyone all over again! X
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WHAT??? Jeffrey is in this book. OMG, I need to read it now!! Great review. Jules. I am also a huge Karin Slaughter fan and have read all her books, sooooo, this one just got added to my July reads.
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Yay! Happy reading, I can’t wait to hear what you think 🙂
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Soon, I hope.
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Fantastic review! I definitely love the sound of this one… I need to work on catching up with the Will Trent series!
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Thank you, Yvonne – I LOVE her books 🙂
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I’ve read and loved a couple of her stand-alones and can’t wait to finally meet Will Trent! xx
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He really is one of my favourite characters! 🙂
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I haven’t read anything by Karin Slaughter yet but having read your review, I THINK I GOTTAA! Because DAMN IT SOUNDS SO FUCKING INTERESTING! 😍😍😍😍
A very beautifully and structurally written review, Jules. Loved it. (But then I love everything you write sooo….🤷🏻♀️❤️🌻)
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Thank you Rain 😀 xxx
I love her books, she wrties smart, gritty and quite dark thrillers plus her characters are just the best!
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I love Karin Slaughter’s writing! Unfortunately I haven’t read the previous books in this series so I better start off with those before reading The Silent Wife but I love your enthusiasm for this book!
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Thank you Darina, it’s a great series – smart, quite dark and times and very clever.
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This sounds so good! Glad you enjoyed it so much!
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Thank you – she is one of my favourite authors 😀
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This is not my go-to genre, but this cover is very intriguing. Fabulous review!
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Thank you, Lu! 🙂
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I love backstories too, and Karin is so good at creating those lives! Fab review! x
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Thank you, Meggy! xx
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