Kisscut by Karin Slaughter

 

Grant County, Georgia is still reeling from the serial killer who came to town last summer.  The police chief, Jeffrey wonders what he could have done to solve the case sooner.  His ex-wife, Sara, the town pediatrician and county coroner is affected as is Lena, the only female deputy who was a victim of the killer who survived.

But crime doesn't take a break because people haven't yet recovered.  One Friday night at the local roller skate rink, what should have been an easy night of teenage fun explodes with the end result being a thirteen year old girl dead, killed by police when she tries to shoot a boy.  When her body is examined, evil screams from the body.  This girl has been circumcized with the brutal surgery of backwoods countries in other parts of the world.

Who could have done such a thing?  As Jeffrey and Lena investigate they come to realize that evil has again been stalking their town.  This time it's a ring of pedophiles who have been victimizing young children for years.  Can Jeffrey stop the crime and catch the criminals before more violence occurs?

This is the second novel in the Grant County series.  It is unimaginable that such vicious crimes are occurring in what seems like such a placid rural town where everyone pretty much knows everyone else and their business.  The aftereffects of the first crime on Lena are vividly portrayed but the reader holds out hope that she can find her way back to normality.  The relationship between Jeffrey and Sara is tenuous but this couple may also find their way back to where they used to be.  This book is recommended for readers of mystery novels.