Kisscut - Karin Slaughter - 5 stars

This book was not a planned read at all for this month, but I was struggling with the last book for my WHINRTB 3.0 challenge, so I picked this one up. This is book 2 of the Grant county series and wow I am glad I did pick it up. However it is a very tough subject matter that a lot of people can't tolerate, relating to children, so keep that in mind when determining if you want to read this.
Synopsis
Saturday night dates at the skating rink have been a tradition in the small southern town of Heartsdale for as long as anyone can remember, but when a teenage quarrel explodes into a deadly shoot-out, Sara Linton--the town's pediatrician and medical examiner--finds herself entangled in a terrible tragedy.

What seemed at first to be a horrific but individual catastrophe proves to have wider implications. The autopsy reveals evidence of long-term abuse, of ritualistic self -mutilation, but when Sara and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver start to investigate, they are frustrated at every turn.

The children surrounding the victim close ranks. The families turn their backs. Then a young girl is abducted, and it becomes clear that the first death is linked to an even more brutal crime, one far more shocking than anyone could have imagined. Meanwhile, detective Lena Adams finds herself drawn to a young man who might hold the answers. But unless Lena, Sara, and Jeffrey can uncover the deadly secrets the children hide, it's going to happen again .

Wow this plot was dripping with action and excitement and was very gripping due to the subject matter. It had me on the edge of my seat many times not wanting to put the book down. It had many twists I did not expect. I could just feel myself filling with hate for the antagonists of this story and there are several to hate. This is an amazing plot/character driven book.

I think characters is what the author does best. They are all very well developed, believable and relatable characters. I was stuttering a bit with Jeffrey at first, he had to grow on me a bit but eventually I enjoyed his character. I love reading this series now and discovering more about Sara and Lena. It makes you understand them more if you have read The Will Trent series already.

I recommend this book/series for all Slaughter fans. She writes such riveting stories that will keep you glued to the pages from start to finish. If you love mystery and have not yet read Slaughter then read this series before you read the Will Trent series because there are spoilers for this series in the Will Trent series.