Undone (ARC) by Karin Slaughter

Publisher: Delacorte Press / Random House
Pages: 436

(Release Date: July 21, 2009)

From the Cover: In the trauma center of Atlanta's busiest hospital, Sara Linton treats the city's poor, wounded, and unlucky--and finds refuge from the tragedy that rocked her life in rural Grant County. Then, in one instant, Sara is thrust into a frantic police investigation, coming face-to-face with a tall driven detective and his quiet female partner.... In Undone, three unforgettable characters from Karin Slaughter's New York Times bestselling novels Faithless and Fractured collide for the first time, entering an electrifying race against the clock--and a duel with unspeakable human evil.

In the backwoods of suburban Atlanta, where Sara's patient was found, local police have set up their investigation. But Georgia Bureau of Investigation detective Will Trent doesn't wait for the go-ahead from his boss--he plunges through police lines, through the brooding woods, and single-handedly exposes a hidden house of horror buried beneath the earth. Then he finds another victim....

Wresting the case away from the local police chief, Will and his partner, Faith Mitchell--a woman keeping explosive secrets of her own--are called into a related investigation. Another woman--a smart, upscale, independent young mother--has been snatched. For the two cops out on the hunt, for the doctor trying to bring her patient back to life, the truth hits like a hammer: the killer's torture chamber has been found, but the killer is still at work.

Faith Mitchell can't believe her luck. First, she had to spend the entire day in a courtroom, then she passed out in the parking lot; and the icing on the cake was that her partner, Will Trent, brought her to the hospital. Faith hasn't told anyone yet, but she's pregnant. Not married and pregnant, again. Her son, Jeremy, was born 18 years ago when she was only 15 years old. She's a cop, just like her mom, but Mom may not be as understanding as when was the first time, after all, Faith isn't 15 years old anymore.

Will Trent grew up in foster homes and orphanages. He's had a hard life. It's all not sunshine and roses in foster families where he was hurt in more ways than one. The kids at the orphanage stuck together, becoming their friends and rivals. It's also where he met his wife, Angie. She was a cop in undercover drugs and prostitution. She's even more damaged than Will with a sick, sadist streak who tries to solve her problems with sex. Enough that Will would like nothing better than Angie to stay out of his life, she keeps walking back in and he keeps letting her.

Dr. Sara Linton was a cop's wife until he was killed. It was a stupid, useless death. Now, Sara carries around a letter from his killer, unable to open it; unable to throw it away. He wasn't the best husband; he wasn't even faithful. But, he had changed and they were happy. She's the doctor on call when the patient of a motor vehicle accident is brought in. But the victim is more than hit by a car; she's beaten, battered, cut, bruised, starved. And the most horrific of all, someone has literally ripped one of her ribs out of her body.

When Will sees the accident victim, he's outraged. How could anyone do this to another human being? He speeds to the site of the accident and makes a gruesome discovery. An underground cavern has been dug out, and more than one person has been kept there. So the hunt is on for another victim; when Will feels something dripping on his hands and glances up to find the other victim, lifeless hanging from a tree.

Faith and Will, partners in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, now are on the hunt for a killer. Amanda, their boss, is demanding action and answers, but the case is at a stand still. Other women have started to disappear. And there's a pattern, only single difficult successful women without attachments have been taken. They all belong to an anorexia chat room, enjoying anorexia as a way of life; all psychologically damaged. There are few clues to be followed. How many more women will have to die before the killer is caught?

Undone by Karin Slaughter is a psychological thriller that takes place over four incredible long exhausting days filled with questions and very few answers. It takes all the investigative prowess of Faith and Will with the help of Sara Linton to discover the answers to the questions that will help solve the case. It was a surprise ending that had me saying, how did that happen? It takes the ingenuity of Faith and Will, along with that of the women taken by the deranged killer for the case to meet it's end. And it all revolves around a homeless shelter.

Undone by Karin Slaughter gets it's title not only from the way the story is told, and lives that become undone, but also from the events in Sara Linton's life leading up to this story. She has become "undone" by the death of her husband. She no longer functions as she once was able. Working on this case helps her to come to grips the facts of her husband's death, to move beyond that life has given her and to move forward; hoping to once again to recapture happiness that life has to offer. It was an incredible taunt read, full of danger that demanded your attention. I would recommend this book to all those readers who enjoy a mad ride through unknown dangers. It's full of mystery, suspense, and all touching upon all the societal taboos of anorexia and orphanages. We'd all like to think that anorexia is being addressed in our society. We would like to believe that our world is safe for children, but it is not so. For more information about Karin Slaughter or her books, please visit her website. I received this book from Library Thing Early Reviews.

Here's the book trailer.