Ranking Karin Slaughter’s {MUST READ} Grant County Series

I am pained to admit that I only discovered Karin Slaughter in the last year or 2. As a self-confessed #thrillerlover, I don’t know how I had never read any of her books prior to 2020. If you’re a regular around here though, you know my motto: Better late than never! Even though I started on book number 19…..I decided to go back and start from the beginning with her Grant County series, that consists of 6 books. I thought for today’s post, I’d share with you my ranking of the books in the series, in case you also have never read these books before! 

What is the Grant County Series about?

Set in the fictional town of Heartsdale, Georgia, (in the fictional Grant County) the narrative takes place from the perspective of three main characters: Sara Linton, the town’s pediatrician and part-time coroner; her ex-husband, Jeffrey Tolliver, who is chief of police; and his subordinate, detective Lena Adams. The series includes Blindsighted, Kisscut, A Faint Cold Fear, Indelible, Faithless and Beyond Reach (also called Skin Privilege). 

Blindsighted

Blingsighted setup this series really well I thought. We were introduced to all the main characters, with their complex history and relationships. Karin also let us know that she is not shy when it comes to gore and death….she remains consistent with this through all 20 books! Full review over HERE.

Kisscut

Kisscut sees Jeffrey and Sara trying to reconnect after all their history, in the middle of a really sad case. The case had a lot going on, and I felt personally, like this one was too ‘busy’ for me. I couldn’t understand the motives and I didn’t get closure. My hope or thought was that the storyline from this book would appear again in a future book, but so far that is not the case.

A Faint Cold Fear

A Faint Cold Fear was definitely a better read for me than Kisscut, BUT it was also really painful and sad. It also gets Lena involved with a character who will become a pivotal part of this series later on.

Indelible

Indelible was an action packed book! One that started off literally with a bang and so much tension and suspense….I would have loved to see this one turned into a movie. We learned a lot about Jeffrey’s history, his relationship with Sara…his friends and family life….and this also comes into play in the future. This was definitely one of my favourites of the series! 

Faithless 

I feel like I ebbed and flowed with this series, and Faithless did not grab me as much as the previous books. There was an interesting plot, but I found this book to be a bit more predictable and also I didn’t buy the motive for the murders. What I do enjoy with each passing book though, is Jeffrey and Sara. I love me some Jeffrey and Sara and in this book, Sara is really in a bad space with Jeffrey, when the past comes back to haunt them.

Beyond Reach

I’m not sure if I am emotionally ready to talk about Beyond Reach, because this is the final book of the series…

Leaving emotion aside, I felt like this book was a bit uncharacteristic of Karin’s writing style. My biggest criticism, was that I felt that there was a lot of repetition in this book. This is not something I have ever accused her of before. I understand though, because I think she was stalling…trying to avoid what she knew was going to be the end of this series….and the obliteration of our hearts. 

We learnt a lot about Lena in this book and her past….and she gets Jeffrey and Sara entangled in this mess of a situation. I found the book to be a bit predictable, but also not. There were things that surprised me, new revelations about Lena’s life especially. BUT I need to add, I also read this book, purely for the ending.  So I’m not sure that I was savoring the ride, when I was trying to speed through it at break-neck speed. 

How do I rank the books of the Grant County series?

In order of preference:

1. Blindsighted
2. Indelible 
3. Beyond Reach
4. A Faint Cold Fear
5. Kisscut
6. Faithless

A note on potential topics and triggers in these books: fundamentalist religion, abortion, violent rape and domestic abuse.

Final words…..

If you’re an avid thriller lover, and not afraid of reading about really violent acts against women, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Grant County series! Karin is the Queen of Thrillers in my opinion and I plan to read every book she’s ever written!

Do you have any female thriller authors that you can recommend?