2008: #18 – Triptych (Karin Slaughter)

Book #18 was Triptych by Karin Slaughter. The back of the book reads:

In the city of Atlanta, women are dying–at the hands of a killer who signs his work with a single, chilling act of mutilation. Leaving behind enough evidence to fuel a frenzied police hunt, this cunning madman is bringing together dozens of lives, crossing the boundaries of wealth and race. And the people who are chasing him must cross those boundaries too. Among them is Michael Ormewood, a veteran detective whose marriage is hanging by a thread–and whose arrogance and explosive temper are threatening his career. And Angie Polaski, a beautiful vice cop who was once Michael’s lover before she became his enemy.

But another player has entered the game: a loser ex-con who has stumbled upon the killer’s trail in the most coincidental of ways–someone who may be the key to breaking the case wide open…

I thought this was brilliant, and I’m going to try to express that without giving too much away! When you start the book, it’s like a giant jigsaw puzzle that you’re trying to put together without the picture. When the pieces started falling into place, I almost felt betrayed, because you’re set up to like one character and then you begin to see that he’s not what he appears to be. It’s been a while since I read a book whose title was so apropos. By the time the final picture is revealed, you’ve been left breathless.

Page count: 512 | Approximate word count: 128,000

2007: Fool Moon (Jim Butcher)
2006: Incubus Dreams (Laurell K. Hamilton)
2005: The Big Bad Wolf (James Patterson)