When it comes to one of my favorite series and offered the opportunity to read the latest addition to said series, to say the least I was thrilled and thanking William Morrow and Net Galley for the opportunity. From the first book in the Will Trent series by Karin Slaughter I was hooked, finding the first novel to be excellent crime fiction with characters I was ready to invest in from Will, to Faith, to Amanda and delighted when he fell in love with Dr. Sara Linton and she became part of his story. With this novel Slaughter brings in a look at a past event in Sara’s life. Fifteen years before she was brutally assaulted and now testifying in a trial against a young man accused of assaulting Dani Cooper the situation seems to be linked to her own assault. Having promised Dani on Dani’s deathbed she would bring down the individual who assaulted Dani, Sarah with the help of Will and his partner Faith, begin to look into what came before and similarities to present events. While they use their FBI connections, the story is more fascinating as Sara is a main participant in discovering the clues and putting the case together as the three investigate. The topic is brutal but one to be told and gives voice to those whose lives have been torn apart by brutality as experienced by Dani, Sara and other women in the story. The twists and turns, the characters, the development of the story as Faith, Will and Sarah bring facts and names together makes this another excellent addition to the Will Trent series. Highly recommended and if read as a standalone I hope the reader says OK back to book one to learn all about Will Trent. Time to get hooked on an excellent series!

Getting a new Karin Slaughter book every year is always super exciting for me but getting a new Will Trent book makes it all the better. This series is hands down one of the best crime fiction series around and every time a new book is released they get better. A question I always get when a new book in this series is released is can it be read on its own? Yes, technically you can because the author does an excellent job of providing any pertinent background information but the series as a whole is so incredibly good I always say read the whole thing if you have time.

If you’ve read the author before you know she is unflinchingly dark in the stories she writes and this was particularly harrowing as it deals with brutal instances of sexual assault. It’s definitely difficult to read about at times but at the same time I couldn’t stop reading because the writing is so damn good. As disturbing as certain scenes are to read I always feel like her books are such important reads as she gives a voice to voiceless women and she does so with a particular brand of care and consideration. Her writing is so bold that it’s not the type of book you finish and forget about. I finished yesterday and still cannot get the characters out of my head. Speaking of the characters it was so amazing to be back in this world and see what Will, Sara, Faith and Amanda were up to. I have such a strong attachment to this group of people and it’s always a treat to check in with them. If you like your thrillers dark this one is a must read, so well written, so disturbing and so gripping. Highly recommended.

In this book Sara revisits some of her past demons and Will and Faith carefully navigate a connected case.

This is the second book that I have read in the series and a page turner for me for sure. And while the book has details and references that bring a reader up to speed with the past happenings and can be read as a stand-alone story, I thoroughly enjoyed the dynamic that Will Trent and Sara Linton have and will for sure be going back to find the previous books that I haven’t read in this series.

It was a great summer read with an engaging plot line that included many twists and turns, which I love. I can’t wait for more!

Absolutely perfect. No one writes crime like Karin Slaughter and this is one of her best storylines. It's dark, which is no surprise, but it's also emotional albeit less gritty and procedural as previous books in the series. I already can't wait to re-read it! All the stars in the world for Will and Sara.

Another late night staying up to finish a Karin Slaughter novel. Will Trent and Sara Linton are back at it, with this case landing a little too close to home. It opens with Sara testifying in a rape/murder case against a college boy whose family she knows from her own university days. After a shocking revelation, Sara must revisit the ghosts (and demons) of her past and what led to her becoming a medical examiner rather than the surgeon she had dreamed of being. They are thrust into a world of wealth and privilege and depravity - where money solves all problems and makes people disappear.

Another page turner by Slaughter - can’t wait to meet her in person in Tulsa and have her sign a copy for my library!

TW: rape, assault

I was SO excited to be approved for this book and it absolutely blew me away! I hadn't previously read any of the books in the series, but I didn't find that it hindered me from enjoying the story at all. There were so many layers to these characters and the secrets and twists just kept coming. Sara was so strong and I loved how her relationship with Will really helped her stand through some tough recollection and situations. I absolutely loved the inside look at police work as well as how all the characters were connected in a ridiculously tangled web. I stayed up way too late to finish this one and I can't wait for my friends to read it so we can discuss it!

I so appreciate being able to read an advance copy of the book thanks to NetGalley. I am a huge Karin Slaughter fan and this book definitely did not disappoint. I'm typically a quick reader, but I took my time on this one, devouring every last detail. The attention to detail with the plot and storyline was fantastic. I pride myself on being able to figure out the twist and the "whodunit" rather quickly and with this one I was way off. It took me until the last 1/4 of the book to figure out only a fraction of what was happening. Once I was like "Ah, that makes sense!", Karin went and threw me for a loop with a twist I didn't see coming. Once again, another great read from her!

I'm so thrilled that I was given the opportunity to review an early copy of the new Will Trent/Sara Linton book, After That Night. For all that don't know, this is my absolute favorite series. I love Karin Slaughter's books and compare every thriller to her storytelling!

This is Book #11 in the Will Trent series. Sara's complicated backstory has been teased since this first Grant County book and in After That Night, we finally get the details. Unlike the other books in the series, this book is all about Sara rather than a case that the GBI is working.

This story is a delightful slow burn. It's hard to tell how the different pieces fit together, but it's so satisfying once everything is explained. I liked learning more about Sara pre-Jeffrey, seeing Will go undercover as a rich asshole, Faith's willingness to fight for her friend, and Jeremy's role in this investigation. I did miss Amanda, who didn't appear until the end. After That Night is a very different feel from the previous Will Trent/Grant County books, but a thrilling read nonetheless.

If you're a Sara fan, I don't need to tell you to read this book. If this is your first book in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone. Karin gives enough information about the backstory to keep you in the loop. I always recommend reading the whole series starting with Blindsighted, but I think if you start with After That Night you'll be hooked and want to read them all.

As with all of Karin's novels, the story is disturbing, so it won't be for everyone. Check trigger warnings or DM me!

I love all the Will Trent and Dr Sara books but this one is one of my favorites. The actual mystery of who is raping and killing these women is a doozy with a wicked twist - but the fact that Slaughter gives us some background in Sara is great. We also get to see other supporting cast get some of their stories told too. This thriller went quickly , is so well written, and the characters really come alive. Def will recommend to everyone - an awesome read for readers of this series and newbies

The second book I put on my Best Book Of The Year list.

Karin Slaughter is one of my favorite authors. So any time she has a new book coming I get super excited. Especially if it's a Will Trent story.

This story was so intense I wanted to savor every word. The subject is graphic and painful to read at times. There are triggers in this story rape , mental abuse and living with the aftermath of being blamed for what happened. Shocking reveals just remind me why I love this author so much.

“She called it a profound opportunity, because change tells you who you really are. And she was right. After that night, my entire life changed. The person I was going to be was gone.

Sara and Will's relationship has finally progressed and I love it. Faith is still having a hard time dealing with there last case and Amanda has her doing grunt work. The closer the get to the truth in this case the more bizarre things get.

If your a long time fan of this amazing series jump on it now. If your new it will make you want to go back and start at the beginning its just that good!!

I hadn’t read a Will Trent novel for a while, but I was able to follow this eleventh book in the series even having skipped several that came before it.

In After that Night, Dr. Sara Linton has moved on with her life after a brutal attack fifteen years earlier that tore her life and her plans to pieces. Now she’s about to get married to Will, and she’s doing well in her career. Until one shift, when she has a victim who reminds her so much of her own attack. The more she and Will learn, the more it’s clear that there is some connection between her and Dani.

This is definitely a page turner, and while many things are hard to believe, it’s still enjoyable in a very dark way. This novel went into less horrific detail of what happened to the victims than other Karin Slaughter novels.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this book, which RELEASES AUGUST 22, 2023.

One thing about me is that I will read anything Karin writes. I have read a lot and she has yet to disappoint me. Very rarely do I read a book that has both alarmingly graphic crimes and relationships that make me go “aw” and cry a little, but whenever I do it is written by Karin.

I’ve loved Sara from the very start, and watching her and Will find each other in spite of all they’ve been through has been painful and heartwarming. And watching her finally have the potential for closure (if that can even really be used in this situation) with Will by her side, supporting her however she needs, is ✨bangs fists on table✨ give me all of it. I almost wasn’t even horrified by the story itself because I was so preoccupied with how intensely and fully these two knuckleheads love each other. It balances out so well with the often devastating reality of their jobs and the things our wide world of characters have gone through.

I’m new to the Will and Sara saga, but I had to jump on the opportunity to read a Karen Slaughter book. While I wasn’t invested in the side characters as much (my fault for not reading anything prior in the series), I quickly became interested in Will and Sara and am a fan of their characters.

Dr. Sara Linton is an emergency room physician at the busy Grady Hospital in Atlanta. Sara is testifying in a rape case for her patient victim, Dani Cooper. Through the trial, Sara’s own sexual assault from fifteen years earlier is connected. As a promise to Dani to seek justice and figure out who is truly responsible for her own assault, Sara and her team investigate into a possible “rape club.”

This was an explosive read full of disturbing and graphic scenes. Slaughter does not spare the reader details of sexual assaults- though I think it needed to be done to tell the story in such a poignant way.

I wish the middle of the story had been more fast-paced. There were multiple scenes that dragged on and included too many unnecessary details (specifically with the side characters). I also felt that a few moments just weren’t believable. How does no one recognize Will in the bar scene when he is Sara’s fiancé? That being said, the ending was a bombshell, and tied up all the loose ends perfectly.

Check your trigger warnings for this one. Rape, murder, suicide, and ectopic pregnancy

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Fifteen years ago, now medical examiner Sara Linton was savagely raped, an act that changed her life forever.
Now, while on call in the ER, she tries to save the life of another young woman also a victim of a brutal attack. The woman’s dying plea is to find her attacker. Engaged to Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Will Trent, she enlists his and his partner’s assistance in investigating. In an unnerving reveal, Sara discovers a relationship to her own case and this leads to exposing a “club” of wealthy doctors who systematically plan the ruthless violation of young women.

This is a tautly plotted, dark thriller that explores an uncomfortable world of brutality and mysogyny. Slaughter pulls no punches with her language or descriptions of an uncomfortable topic. Along with this, she also displays a good sense of humor. The story is a tad long, but thoroughly engrossing.

This is the eleventh in the Will Trent series. I cannot believe it is the first one I have read! It worked well as a standalone, although I liked the protagonists so much, I would like to go back and read more of their history.

There are quite a few trigger warnings in this book including fairly graphic rape scenes and blatant, brutal treatment of women. Yet, there is the very tender and nurturing relationship between Sara and Will.

Fifteen years ago, Sara’s life changed forever when a celebratory night ended in a violent attack. However, Sara has picked up the pieces and remade her life. She’s a successful doctor and engaged to a man she loved deeply.

Sara believes she has left the past behind her, until one night everything changes. She’s working in the ER and a woman who was brutally attacked tells Sara she was sexually assaulted. As the investigation progresses, GBI Special Agent Will Trent draws an uncanny connection to the young woman’s assault to the one Sara faced years ago.

The past isn’t going to stay buried forever…

I was in a bit of a down word reading spiral and needed a good thriller to perk me up. This book did not disappoint. I loved a good medical thriller, and one of the main characters in this one is a physician turned medical examiner. I will admit that I did not realize that this book was part of a series. While I would have loved to get to know some of the characters more, I am not upset or feel that I was missing a ton by starting on this one. I had enough information to still have an enjoyable read. There were so many twists and turns – the big one at the end was my absolute favorite! This is a long book, but I did enjoy getting to spend the extra time with the characters. This is for sure a series I could see myself getting into and really loving.

If you are looking for a gripping and very entertaining thriller, then check this one out.

Thank you to the publisher, William Morrow, @Williammorrowbooks, and Netgalley, @netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I've seen a few one- and two-star reviews by people complaining that they don't understand the characters or what's going on, who then say they haven't read ANY of the previous Will Trent/Sara Linton books. Who starts a series at BOOK ELEVEN and is then pissed they don't know the back story? That is some bananas nonsense.

ANYWAY. This book was great. Disturbing, graphic, upsetting, and all of the other things I love about Slaughter and the world she's created. Highly recommend.

Twisted people on full display here. Revelations about Sara’s residency and attack at Grady and the other doctors surrounding her are integral to the present. Sick minds which our heroes finally take down. This will keep you up reading.

I was beyond pumped to get an early copy of this book (thank you @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks. @karinslaughter is a literal queen and my most favorite author - I had to drop everything to check in with Will and Sara. I was not disappointed! This series continues to deliver and while the topics are incredibly heavy, it doesn’t feel icky to read. (Definitely millions of trigger warnings!). Keep the Will and Sarah stories coming! We want to read about their wedding!

If you're reading this review, there's a good chance that you've already discovered the Will Trent series (this is #11). If not, stop immediately and go back and start at the beginning. Actually, go back and read the Grant County series first, which overlaps with and then continues on in the Will Trent series. If you're a fan of hardcore police procedurals with strong characters and twisty, but realistic plots, you will love these books. Karin Slaughter is a master at writing thrillers.

This book starts with Sara working in the Grady ER, where she loses a patient who tries desperately to tell the ER staff that she's been raped. Sadly, Sara is the only one close enough to hear her. Fast forward three years and Sara is testifying in a civil case against the girl's rapist. The rapist is a med student at Emory and the son of two doctors Sara not only knows, but went to school and competed with during her time at Emory. When the boy's mom, Britt, tearfully tells Sara in the bathroom of the courthouse that there's a connection between this girl's assault and the one Sara endured fifteen years ago. Not only does Britt insinuate a connection, but her comments cause Sara to wonder if they speak to a pattern and if there are more victims out there right now, or will be in the future. With no real evidence to go on, Sara turns to Faith Mitchell, Will's partner, and her fiancee Will to help her investigate Britt's claims.

As with all Will Trent books, there are twists and turns the reader doesn't see coming. There are characters who are real and fallible, and yet you love them and root for them. There is harshness, as well as family strength and love. There is both darkness and light. Karin Slaughter has a talent for writing realistic situations, heroes, and villains and i never want to put her books down. I lost sleep over this one and highly recommend it!

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

After That Night by Karin Slaughter came along at the perfect time. I’ve been in a reading slump for months, rereading old favorites, going back to unfinished books to see if my interest would spark again, but not much luck with anything new. But then, a ray of sunshine: a new Will Trent book. So thank you, Karin Slaughter, because this was the first new book I have read in months, and it had reignited my interest in other new books. I just need a little Will and Sara.
The book has several time jumps. The first is three years ago, which I love because you get to see Sara coming across Will and just wanting to jump his bones and it’s like a little secret because don’t worry, future Sara, you will totally get to. Sara is listening to her sister complain about her husband (spoiler alert, they split up down the line but no one really misses him) but suddenly, there’s a kerfuffle in the emergency room – a young woman has crashed a car into an ambulance, trying to get to the ER. She has been assaulted and is in terrible shape. She tries to talk to Sara and explain what happened, and urges Sara to catch the man who did this to her.
We then flash forward to three years later. Sara is on the stand, trying to explain everything in layman’s terms to put the perpetrator of this crime behind bars. There is one major problem: she knows the parents of the boy on trial. She hung out with them when she was younger, and one took a fellowship Sara ended up turning down after being raped herself, something we had learned about in a previous book. When going to the bathroom, the mother of the defendant comes into the bathroom in a drug filled haze and begins to speak to Sara, giving out hints of information, making Sara believe that this case and Sara’s own case 15 years ago are connected. From there, it’s a tangled mess that Faith, Will, and Sara try to unravel with very little luck. With so little information, they can’t use the resources of the GBI, and it’s incredibly difficult for Sara to relive that time of her life.
But it is interesting to get the background on Sara’s life. In the current book, she and Will are engaged. We know about her past, and her former husband, but this was a new world that’s being opened, which kept me engaged. There were enough characters to wonder who did what, if someone was guilty, etc., but to also keep everyone straight. One thing I appreciate about certain authors – keep the names very separate, please, I’m begging you. I know life is rarely like that (my name is Ashley, after all), but having a Don and a Ron on the fringes of the book makes everything more complicated.
We’re introduced to several of Sara’s former friends, all doctors, who are now on the country club circuit, including the parents of the defendant Sara testified against. She fell out with them around the time of her rape, which obviously had long term consequences and took Sara off the course she had originally been on. However, this group could be connected to a current case, a past case, and perhaps Sara’s own, if they can only get someone to talk, and so at one point, Will does what he does best: he goes undercover. As a douche.
We’re talking MAJOR douche – the expensive clothes (sure, no problem), the gelled hair (ok, cool), the misogyny (…nope) and the faked #MeToo charge (barf). He fits right in with the rest of the group. One of the things I like best about Will is his ability to go undercover. Slaughter does this in a great way. Obviously, with a book, you can make the characters act completely differently while they’re undercover. But it’s not just that. To explain what I mean, think about a time when an actor played more than one character, such as the recently released episode Beyond the Sea on Black Mirror, or Orphan Black. Think of how completely their body language and speech changes – you know it’s still them, but it’s somehow not, and that’s how Will is written. Somehow it’s still him, but not him, and that’s an important distinction. He is still the character we love, but also this “other,” and it’s one of the reasons I enjoy the books where Will goes undercover, and why I always find them to be some of the most intense and interesting. And always, right there, is his love for Sara, which continues to be adorable. There is a very poignant moment between Sara and Will about the ring and I won’t spoil it, but it was so cute I wanted to cry.
Now if you’ve read a lot of Karin Slaughter, you know that her books can get very graphic, venturing into unbelievably dark territory. This was obviously very dark and twisted, but it wasn’t AS graphic as other books have been, and I was grateful for that. If you’ve read Pretty Girls, you know what I mean. This isn’t that.
Overall, I was really pleased with this book. I did see some of the ending coming (though I always like to point out that I don’t try to guess the endings of books) but it in no way spoiled it – there were too many other moving parts that were going on. Everything came together, as they do in Karin Slaughter books. Will and Sara continue to be adorable, Faith has her hands full with two kids (and Jeremy has some surprising issues in this book) and a boyfriend she thinks no one knows about (they all totally know), Amanda keeps asking about the wedding while simultaneously getting on Will and Faith for off-the-book investigations, so a lot of the same comforting characters you’ve seen before. 5/5