Criminal

Slaughter’s latest brings to light heretofore-unknown aspects of the lives of Will Trent—an agent at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation—and his boss, deputy director Amanda Wagner. When a young college student goes missing, the circumstances surrounding the disappearance bring back memories of the first case Wagner worked as a young detective in 1975. What is the connection between the two cases and why has Wagner locked Trent out of the investigation? The answers exist, and Kathleen Early does an excellent job of revealing them as she narrates this complex thriller. Early handles the book’s numerous plot twists and shifts in time, pacing, and point of view with aplomb, delivering a compelling and enjoyable listening experience. Confronted with a large cast of characters, Early manages to give each character a distinct voice without falling into caricature or cliché. She is especially effective in her reading of sections of the book set in the 1970s in which Amanda and her partner fight the prejudice of their peers in order to be taken seriously as detectives. A Delacorte hardcover. (July)