After That Night: A Will Trent Thriller

Bestseller Slaughter’s disappointing 11th entry featuring Georgia investigator Will Trent (after 2020’s The Silent Wife) traces the fallout from a sexual assault. Doctor Sara Linton (from Slaughter’s Grant County series) is working at Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital when 19-year-old Dani Cooper is admitted with fatal injuries from a car accident. Sara also recognizes signs of rape, which Dani confirms with her dying breaths. Having been raped herself 15 years earlier, Sara vows to bring Dani’s assailant to justice. Three years later, Sara prepares to go on the stand in a case against Tommy McCallister, who’s been charged with Dani’s assault; meanwhile, Tommy’s parents, multimillionaire doctors Britt and Mac McCallister, pressure Dani’s family into accepting a settlement that will keep Tommy out of jail. Sara enlists Trent—her fiancé—and his investigative partner Faith Mitchell to dig up information about the McCallisters, and they stumble on a bombshell piece of information that may reframe Sara’s own assault. Slaughter is hardly in top form here: the repetitive, protracted plot hinges on too many coincidences and easy confessions. Fans will hope for a return to form the next time out. Agent: Victoria Sanders, Victoria Sanders & Assoc. (Aug.)