Kisscut by Karin Slaughter

I could not start this book fast enough and upon finishing it, I cannot wait to start A Faint Cold Fear, the next book in the Grant County series. Kisscut is just as addicting and dark as Blindsighted and I had no clue what I was getting into when the book started.

(Source: Kelsey Darling)

In the four months since Jeb was caught and died, Heartsdale has calmed down a bit. Sara and Jeffrey have gotten back together in an unofficial capacity, and Lena is dealing - not very healthy dealing, but dealing - with the death of her sister and rape and torture at the hands of Jeb. And then one Saturday night while Jeffrey and Sara are on a date at the roller rink, a teenage girl holds another boy at gun point. When Jeffrey is forced to shoot the girl, neither him, Sara, or Lena know that they are about to uncover something far more disturbing than any of them could imagine.

Trigger Warning: This post and book contain themes of child abuse, self harm, body mutilation, and death.

WOW! This book - man! I perused the the synopsis before I started, but did not really take it in, so as the plot unravelled, I was shocked. Unlike Blindsighted, this book starts with a bang. Just pages in, Sara is covered with blood from an unknown person and Jeffrey is trying to talk Jenny Weaver down from shooting Mark Patterson. From that point on, the entire book is filled with twists and turns that are heartbreaking, disturbing, and terrifying.

(Source: Giphy)

The thing about small towns, I have learned, is that they have a lot of secrets, and sometimes they are darker than you could ever imagine. In Heartsdale, the secret is almost unspeakable: a child sex ring run by two mothers. Throughout the book as more details are revealed, I kept trying to think of who could be involved. One of the girls fathers, Mark, the preacher. Hell, I even thought the wimpy detective Brad could have been involved. Want to know who I didn't expect? The grieving mother of Jenny Weaver, and the cancer riddled mother of Mark and Lacey Patterson. That's my own fault. Even when it was a known fact that Grace Patterson was involved, or at least a child molester, I never thought that Dottie Weaver could have been involved. I mean, she passes out when she sees the female castration that had been inflicted on her daughter. I wasn't wrong about thinking the preacher was involved though. After the amount of religious sex fiends from Blindsighted, I felt that there had to be one here too, especially with how involved the children were with the church.

This book really makes the reader think about the line between victim and offender. Mark Patterson, the boy held at gunpoint by Jenny in the beginning, is both. While it doesn't say how long Mark had been abused, he did have a "relationship" with his mother and had been forced to have sex with men and women as a child. However, in the end, he ended up pimping out Jenny and threatened to do the same to his sister if she ever told anyone what was going on. I don't know numbers, but I know I have heard it before and it is reiterated in the book: the abused do not always become abusers. However, in this case, Mark was headed that way. He even had a tattoo on his hand that marked him as a "girl lover," a term that I wish I never have to hear again.

(Source: Giphy)

While not a major plot point of the book, this novel also delves into the topic of abortion. Grace Patterson has a miscarriage, although I suspect she knew what she was doing as she was on multiple types of cancer medication that she knew would harm the baby. And Sara's sister, Tessa, finds out she is pregnant and considers abortion. Sara is disgusted with this at first, but eventually comes around to the fact that this is her sisters decision and she will have to support her no matter what. I love when books find ways to throw in social issues and make you think about them without you realizing it. Blindsighted and Kisscut also do this with the topic of homosexuality, as one of the victims from Blindsighted was a lesbian and Lena has a hard time dealing with this, even now that he sister has passed.

(Source: Giphy)

This book is extremely descriptive, so again, I do not suggest it for those with a weak stomach. But even with that, the Grant County series is shaping up to be one of the best thriller series I have read. The characters feel real and dynamic and you can see them growing throughout the books. The topics are real and powerful - these are things that are happening in the real world whether people want to think about it or not. And the low key love story between Sara and Jeffrey gives the reader hope, not only for love between the characters, but in the world as well. Karin Slaughter is seriously talented and I am so glad I have found this series.

Rating: 8/10
Author: Karin Slaughter
Series: Grant County (Book 2 of 6)
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Crime
Dates Read: January 29-31, 2020