A review by wordsofclover
Skin Privilege by Karin Slaughter
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
it's going to take me a while to get over that ending.
What the actual f***
Skin Privilege is the last Grant County book and this time we follow police chief Jeffrey Tolliver and his wife Sara Linton as they travel to a neighboring town to help out police detective Lena who has been found at the scene of a crime. A woman has been brutally murdered, and the town itself is overrun with meth dealers. But with Lena on the run, and Jeffrey and Sara in the dark, can they figure out how to save her and themselves before it's too late?
For the last book in this series, the main investigation in this book was a little bit off in comparison to the other books. The kill and the reasons behind the brutality didn't feel as tight or as polished as some of the other crime investigations in the previous book, and I definitely feel like the author just wanted us to once again come back around to Lena and her life, and this seemed to be the best way to do it.
It probably didn't help enjoyment levels that Lena is the worst character in this book, and my least favourite in the book. Every time you think she's improving, she backtracks about 10 steps and this time she brought Jeffrey and Sara with her. She's right in this book when she says everything she touches turns to crap because god, it really does. She genuinely is the worst thing to happen to Jeffrey and Sara, even if it's unintentional.
And the ending. Omg that ending. I knew it was coming - there was so much foreshadowing throughout the book and a sense of dread, I knew it had to come. But in the last two pages. Right when they got the best news and they were at such a wonderful, pivotal point in their lives and they were so goddamn happy. I just don't see the point, I really don't. Yes, the series is dark and goes to places where you do wonder if an author should really go there but that doesn't mean the characters aren't allowed a scrap of happiness. It's honestly one of the worst, emotionally manipulative endings in a book I've read in a long time.
What the actual f***
Skin Privilege is the last Grant County book and this time we follow police chief Jeffrey Tolliver and his wife Sara Linton as they travel to a neighboring town to help out police detective Lena who has been found at the scene of a crime. A woman has been brutally murdered, and the town itself is overrun with meth dealers. But with Lena on the run, and Jeffrey and Sara in the dark, can they figure out how to save her and themselves before it's too late?
For the last book in this series, the main investigation in this book was a little bit off in comparison to the other books. The kill and the reasons behind the brutality didn't feel as tight or as polished as some of the other crime investigations in the previous book, and I definitely feel like the author just wanted us to once again come back around to Lena and her life, and this seemed to be the best way to do it.
It probably didn't help enjoyment levels that Lena is the worst character in this book, and my least favourite in the book. Every time you think she's improving, she backtracks about 10 steps and this time she brought Jeffrey and Sara with her. She's right in this book when she says everything she touches turns to crap because god, it really does. She genuinely is the worst thing to happen to Jeffrey and Sara, even if it's unintentional.
And the ending. Omg that ending. I knew it was coming - there was so much foreshadowing throughout the book and a sense of dread, I knew it had to come. But in the last two pages. Right when they got the best news and they were at such a wonderful, pivotal point in their lives and they were so goddamn happy. I just don't see the point, I really don't. Yes, the series is dark and goes to places where you do wonder if an author should really go there but that doesn't mean the characters aren't allowed a scrap of happiness. It's honestly one of the worst, emotionally manipulative endings in a book I've read in a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Racism