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The
Last Widow
by Karin Slaughter delves into a potent subject. Although
a fictional story, it is rooted in reality. The recent rise
of domestic terrorism is brought to life with the return of
her beloved characters, Sara Linton and Will Trent, who have
returned from a few years hiatus.
The book opens with the kidnapping of Michelle Spivey, a scientist
from the Center for Disease Control, who appears to have vanished
in thin air. One month later, two blasts shatter Emory University
in Atlanta, Georgia. Hearing the blasts, Medical Examiner
Sara and her partner Will, an investigator with the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation, rush to the scene but stop when they
encounter the aftermath of a three-car collision. Realizing
something is amiss, Sara tries to alert Will. But the men
in the cars beat Will to the ground and whish Sara off to
a mountain encampment of the Invisible Patriot Army, a White
Supremacist paramilitary unit. Readers will experience through
Sara’s eyes the sense of panic, fear, and the horror
of these merciless terrorists. Using time as a tension tool,
Slaughter allows readers to understand there is a ticking
time clock to stop this group from executing a deadly plan
that could kill thousands. Will and Sara put their lives on
the line to save each other and their fellow citizens.
This novel correlates white nationalist domestic terrorists
and those with US military-backgrounds. “I wanted to
show how these men come home from war feeling disenfranchised,
broken, and discarded by their government. They took an oath
to uphold the Constitution; yet, take another oath to support
these groups. I read a survey of service people who were in
Afghanistan that stated about 58% felt the war was useless.
They felt that lives were lost over nothing. I think it is
the most horrible thing a country can do is send out our military
for something that turns meaningless. We are not taking care
of our Vets enough, which is a recurring theme in all the
wars. They feel abandoned, isolated, and angry.”
This explosive thriller has many twists and surprises. The
plot draws readers into the world of White Supremacists, a
frightening scenario that is unfortunately all too real.
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