By Timothy Scott
Special to THE DAILY

“Beyond Reach” was addictive and riveting. I found I could hardly put it down! Once again Dr. Sara Linton, accompanied by and freshly reconciled with husband Sheriff Jeffrey Tolliver, unravels an intricately tangled mystery while struggling with her relationship with Jeff. Trust me, you will not be able to guess this ending — and I’m not going include any plot spoilers in this review!

For those of you who, like me, are new to Karin Slaughter, Dr. Sara Linton is usually Slaughter’s central protagonist, whether willing or unwitting. “Beyond Reach,” however, opens with Detective Lena Adams occupying center stage and suspected of a dramatic murder. Presented throughout the novel with glimpses into her mind, I anticipated discovering tragedy and violence in Lena’s past. But even so, the darkness and pain entwined within the fabric of the person who is Lena are wrenching. A much-needed flash of sunlight, Dr. Linton’s strong moral reactions and fundamental good nature stand at odds with the brutality that finds Sara and Jeffrey in Lena’s outwardly sleepy Georgia hometown.

Trying to help Jeffrey locate and, hopefully, exonerate Lena, Sara once again finds she is in the thick of murder and mayhem. Jeffrey expertly plays his role of leading man as he confronts the worst among the many antagonists and gathers assistance from other law enforcement agencies. Meanwhile, veteran Slaughter fans will appreciate learning more about the enigma that is detective Lena Adams. She is self-destructive and vulnerable, yet absolutely as hard as nails, and the story helps explain Lena’s motivations and reactions as she struggles to finally come to terms with her unwelcome background.

“Beyond Reach” was my first Karin Slaughter novel, and therefore, my first exposure to these characters. Although it references past events, “Beyond Reach” stands alone as an independent novel. You will do no harm to the story line by starting with this one and then reading earlier novels in the series. Likewise, you will not find yourself lost or misunderstanding the characters or the plot. To be sure that I could trust my opinions, I read an earlier Karin Slaughter novel in this series before writing this review. Now I find myself wanting to read the remaining novels.

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