A review by checkplease
Faithless by Karin Slaughter

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

One of my favorites in the series. Something I’ve loved about Slaughter’s books is her interest in folding contemporary societal issues into her books, and she does so in a way that rarely feels hackneyed. Hers was the first novel, for example, that I read in which COVID masking and people’s attitudes toward taking precautions was a feature of the story.

Here, religious fundamentalism and male supremacy are front and center, with a focus on the ways in which women are harmed by male dominance. It’s interesting to read this 20 years later, where it still feels fresh in the time of Evangelicals forsaking their professed morals to support a political candidate whose life defies those values and the aftermath of the Dobbs decision. 

I appreciate how the Grant County books balance a continuation of the storylines of Jeffrey, Sara, and Lena with introducing a new case each time. I’ll miss them after I read the next one, which ends the series.