Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter

Author: Karin Slaughter
ISBN # 0099421771
Publisher: Arrow Books
1^st Published: 2001
392 pages

The sleepy town of Heartsdale, Georgia, is jolted into panic when Sara Linton, paediatrician and medical examiner, finds Sibyl Adams dead in the local diner. As well as being viciously raped, Sibyl has been cut: two deep knife wounds form a lethal cross over her stomach. But it's only once Sara starts to perform the post-mortem that the full extent of the killer's brutality becomes clear. Police chief Jeffrey Tolliver - Sara's ex-husband - is in charge of the investigation, and when a second victim is found, crucified, only a few days later, both Jeffrey and Sara have to face the fact that Sibyl's murder wasn't a one-off attack. What they're dealing with is a seasoned sexual predator. A violent serial killer…

To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t overly impressed – my expectations were high and Blindsighted failed to hit the mark. Surprisingly enough, on paper, this should have thrilled me on every level as it has all the basics covered; solid storyline; engaging characters; good pace, but it was completely lacking in red herrings, meaning that when the murderer was introduced, it was fairly obvious just whodunit. After that, it was pretty easy to predict other plot points, such as future victims, and even to hazard a guess at the motives behind it all.

It’s an easy and enjoyable read, but if you like something that will tax your brain a little and keep you guessing, this isn’t it. On the other hand, if you like being able to work it all out ahead of the other characters, this’ll be right up your street.

Seeing as this is a debut novel, and not having read any further into the series as yet, there’s a fair chance that Slaughter (excellent name for a crime thriller novelist!) improves as it becomes more familiar. I hope that’s the case, because there was actually enough here to pique my interest and I may well pick up the next one, Kisscut, at some point in the future, even if it’s not my top reading priority.

Rating: 6