Fans of Karin Slaughter's Will Trent series know his boss at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Amanda Wagner, is a ball buster. Criminal takes readers back in time to show why Amanda is so hard on Will--and how she used to be quite a different person.
Slaughter's story alternates between the mid-1970s, when several prostitutes disappear and are feared dead, and the present, as a similar outbreak of disappearances unfolds. Amanda was a rookie Atlanta cop investigating the original crimes and fears the original perpetrator is back, but she keeps Will away from the case, much to his frustration. Turns out she has very good reasons: discovering the truth could destroy him.
Fans of the series might lament that this book's focus isn't on Will and his budding relationship with Sara Linton, the heroine of many of Slaughter's previous novels, but they should soon appreciate her choice in giving Amanda a fleshed-out history that will change notions about a character who's often been seen as unpleasant. One of only two females in the police department in 1975, 25-year-old Amanda was far from the confident woman she is today, at times too meek in her reaction to maddeningly sexist colleagues. But this makes her arc realistic, as she eventually finds her footing when she realizes she's good at her job.
While Will is somewhat on the periphery, the story is ultimately about him. Fans know his childhood in foster homes was tough, but the additional details Slaughter reveals in Criminal are even more shattering. --Elyse Dinh-McCrilllis, freelance writer/editor, blogging at Pop Culture Nerd