The history. Jeffrey. The Jeffrey Tolliver. The one who made me cry when he died. And now we got a glimpse of him – eight years ago in Grant County. Reading this somewhat made me want to re-read the Grant County series which I totally loved and what made me a Slaughter fan. This does not mean that I do not like Will because I do adore him too and I am deeply enjoying the Will Trent series.

Aside from that, let’s not forget that whenever there’s Jeffrey, we could sense that Lena will also be there. In this one, a light was shed as to Jeffrey and Lena’s relationship which I appreciated. However, I just have to say, I hate Lena. Period. The end. Sorry.

The different timelines. When the story changed perspective to Jeffrey, back to eight years ago, I had flashbacks of the previous novels. And yes, this had to be done to gain a better understanding of what had actually transpired those times.  It somehow felt surreal revisiting Grant County not just from memories but the story actually happening there this time.

The hunch. Did Jeffrey really do something like that intentionally? Is the image we have built of Jeffrey going to collapse? Honestly, that bothered me as I did not want any of my thoughts to happen and I believed that it was not Jeffrey. I somehow got this feeling that it was instead someone from their side. I did not think that it was the criminal himself but there's someone doing something bad, or something wrong purposely. I don’t know if I actually anticipated who was behind it all, but I was no longer shocked when it was revealed. Everything that was done made sense.

The crime. Horrifying and chill-inducing. This is how I would describe this 10^th installment. I could not imagine the terror all these victims faced. Honestly, the crime depicted here was just too much. And what gets me with Ms. Slaughter every time is the gruesome details. She describes it very vividly that I can always picture it myself – and that always gives me chills. 

Sometimes I think why some people are even capable of doing such stuff. But, in this world, you really never know. Certain people are extremes and have no sense of guilt or mercy.  And I applaud Ms. Slaughter for bringing such into her books and never once hesitates to show the evils of this world in a powerful way.

What I admired in this one is how Ms. Slaughter was able to show us how people, or women to be more specific, deal with such types of encounters in their life. The realization of the trauma and the suffering they would have to endure which will stay with them their whole life was something else. The depth and the effect of such crimes will forever stay with these victims and something that can never be erased – it is so heartbreakingly depicted in this one.

The relationship. I always enjoy reading the dynamics of the different characters in this series. The partnership of Faith and Will, the GBI team and Amanda's bossiness, and most especially that of Sara and Will. This brought back realizations from Sara and Will of their past. Their pasts, especially that of Sara, resulted to tensions to their relationship. We dove deeper into their relationship in this one. I was a bit heartbroken for Will but I’m glad they were able to work it out. I cannot wait to see what will happen to them next and how their relationship will grow more. As Ms. Slaughter said, there will be more Will and Sara stories. A love story weaved into terrifying crimes. 

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For new readers, do not hesitate, you can start on this one. However, if you want to dig deeper into this Slaughter world, go start reading the Grant County series first then dive into the Will Trent Series. I'm telling you, you will not be disappointed.