As Faithless begins, they are walking through the woods when Jeffrey tells Sara that he may have been exposed to hepatitis by his former lover. Through him, Sara could also have been exposed. She is distressed that he has hidden this from her and even possibly put her patients at risk. She walks away.

Pursuing her, Jeffrey trips over a metal pipe buried in the ground. They quickly realize what this means. Frantically digging with their hands, they uncover a coffin-shaped box in the ground. Inside is the body of a young woman. At the autopsy it is determined that she was pregnant and she didn’t die of suffocation in the box. She died of cyanide poisoning.

Abby Bennett’s family filed a missing person’s report. Jeffrey and his deputy Lena Adams go to question them. The multi-generational extended family is closely associated with a fundamentalist church, The Church for the Greater Good. One family member, Leviticus Ward, is the church pastor. The family owns a farm cooperative that functions as mission outreach from shelters in Atlanta. The foreman is a Bible-thumper who exhorts farm workers with fire and brimstone preaching.

The women of the family defer completely to the men, and the interview is delayed until all the men of the family have arrived. But eventually the victim is identified as Abby Bennett. A search of Abby’s room turns up a hidden matchbook for a local strip joint. As were other girls in the family, Abby was homeschooled and sheltered from many aspects of modern life. What’s her connection to a strip joint?

Meanwhile, Tessa, Sara’s sister has started attending The Church for the Greater Good and is urging Sara to join her. Concern over Jeffrey’s health remains a problem. Even though she is a police detective, Lena is trapped in an abusive relationship, and it is beginning to affect her job performance. Then Abby’s sister Rebecca goes missing.

When Blindsighted was first published, it was said to be the first in a trilogy. With such memorable lead characters, the series has fortunately outlived that early prediction. Faithless is the fourth Linton-Tolliver mystery. In this one, however, Sara Linton’s role is less prominent than that of Lena Adams. Lena’s professional life is only a piece of her part in this storyline; her personal life becomes important as the mystery plays out.

There are several plot lines woven through Faithless. The author does a good job of keeping them all balanced and not allowing one to assume prominence at the expense of the others. The religious-folk-gone-amok plot has been used before, but the author adds a twist that makes for an exciting and satisfying conclusion.

The violence rating of V deserves comment. Most of the gruesome stuff is off-scene, but there is one graphic scene that exceeds that mark and abortion is a significant thread. Plus the power of suggestion leaves an impression of yet more grisly violence. Readers who prefer less turmoil in their stories may want to think twice.

Karin Slaughter’s next book will be a standalone mystery, but her website promises she will be returning to Grant County in the future. Her fans will be glad not to have to bid farewell to Sara and Jeffrey. If you haven’t discovered this series yet, Faithless is a good introduction. Even better, start with the first and enjoy all four.

--Lesley Dunlap