Beyond Reach (Grant County #6) – Karin Slaughter

Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: Dell
Pages: 507
Release Date: July 31, 2007

Haven’t read the previous novels? Check out my reviews for Blindsighted, Kisscut, A Faint Cold Fear, Indelible, and Faithless!

With over 13 million copies of her books sold in twenty-two countries, #1 internationally bestselling author Karin Slaughter delivers “crime fiction at its finest.”
Now she returns to Grant county, Georgia where the lightning-fast plot, vivid forensic detail, and heart-stopping suspense will thrust readers into the darkest corners of their own imaginations—and push Slaughter to the top of the national bestseller lists.Sara Linton—resident medical examiner/pediatrician in Grant County, Georgia,—has plenty of hardship to deal with, including defending herself in a heartbreaking malpractice suit. So when her husband, Police chief Jeffery Tolliver, learns that his friend and coworker detective Lena Adams has been arrested for murder and needs Sara’s help, she is not sure she can handle the pressure of it all. But soon Sara an Jeffery are sitting through evidence, peeling back the layers of a mystery that grows darker by the day—until an intricate web of betrayal and vengeance begins to unravel. And suddenly the lives of Sara, Lena, and Jeffery are hanging by the slenderest of threads. 

When I started the Grant County series, I knew where the story would ultimately finish after having read a few of the Will Trent novels. It’s a truly devastating ending that still got to me despite knowing how it would finish.

Slaughter dedicated a lot of her time developing Sara and Jeffery’s relationship. They’re both hard-headed and headstrong, so they clashed often. This also helps to explain their divorce. But, by the end of the series Sara and Jeffery have grown and learned how to be with each other again in a much healthier way.

Everything comes to a head in Beyond Reach. Jeffery receives a call informing him that Lena has been arrested. Both Jeffery and Sara travel to her aid, thus beginning a mystery embroiled in Nazis, drugs, and corruption.

Throughout the novel, Slaughter establishes a dark tone. While all her books could be described as dark, Beyond Reach takes it to another level as Slaughter delivers a foreboding atmosphere rife with foreshadowing.

The last chapter is Slaughter at her best as she wraps up the story while giving readers the one-two punch that will destroy them. Beyond Reach has one of the most gut wrenching endings I’ve ever read.

Overall, I’m glad I decided to read the Grant County series. This series is a testament to Slaughter’s writing ability. Not only does this series deliver tightly woven mysteries, the character development is some of the best you’ll find.

Have you read Beyond Reach? What did you think?