AFTER THAT NIGHT

By KARIN SLAUGHTER HarperCollins

Reading this thriller, which continues the story of Georgia investigator Will Trent and his fiancée, paediatrician and medical examiner Sara Linton, feels a lot like having old friends come to visit – especially as the author has concentrated on standalone books for the past two years.

The 11th book in the Will Trent series starts with Dani, a young woman severely injured in a car accident, being brought into the ER in Atlanta where Sara is on duty. Dani tells Sara she was raped but she doesn’t name her attacker before she dies. This triggers the trauma Sara endured when she was raped while interning as a paediatric surgeon in the same hospital 15 years earlier.

The story jumps ahead three years to Sara testifying in a civil case brought by Dani’s parents against the main suspect, the son of two doctors who were interns with Sara at the time of her assault. The suspect’s mother cryptically reveals to Sara that her and Dani’s attacks are linked.

Will and Faith, his Georgia Bureau of Investigations partner, have no authority in this case so they start their own clandestine investigation with Sara.

As with many of Slaughter’s novels, it’s disturbing and not an easy read, but the author is thoughtful in her handling of the treatment of rape victims. The book is written in a way that won’t alienate readers who are new to the characters, but knowing Will and Sara’s back stories makes it a far more emotional and absorbing read for those who’ve known Sara from her days in the earlier Grant County book series.

Whether you’re a Slaughter fanatic or not, it’s worth catching the Will Trent TV series on Disney Plus. It’s based on the books but isn’t as dark. – NATALIE CAVERNELIS