Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter is an American author and one of the most successful crime writers of her generation, known for two connected series set largely in Georgia: the Grant County series, following medical examiner Sara Linton and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, and the Will Trent series, following a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent with dyslexia whose personal history entangles with his cases. The Will Trent novels were adapted into the ABC television series Will Trent, which premiered in 2023 and introduced her characters to a much broader audience. Slaughter's work is known for unflinching depictions of violence and trauma paired with careful, humane character work, particularly around victims often sidelined in the genre. New readers can start the Will Trent series with Triptych, though Sara Linton and other Grant County characters increasingly cross over into the same fictional world, so longtime fans often recommend reading both series in publication order for full context. Slaughter has also written numerous standalone thrillers and is a vocal advocate for libraries and literacy programs. She remains one of the genre's most consistently bestselling authors internationally.