Waterhouse and Zailer (Culver Valley Crime)
psychological thriller
Series · thriller
Will Trent
The Will Trent series by Karin Slaughter has 15 known books (15 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with Triptych (2006). This Is Why We Lied is the latest book with a fully recorded publication date.
- Books
- 15 known books (12 novels + 3 novellas)
- Published
- 15
- First published
- 2006
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Thriller
Start here: Triptych (2006)
— then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Triptych
Triptych (2006) is the novel that introduced Will Trent to readers, structured as a killer's shell game of shifting viewpoints. At 512 pages it opens the series before Sara Linton has entered the story, centering instead on Will's GBI partnership with Faith Mitchell and his difficult history with Angie Polaski. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Triptych - Book 2:
Fractured
Fractured (2008), the second entry at 464 pages, is one of the two early Will Trent novels -- alongside Triptych -- that don't yet feature Sara Linton, who joins the series the following book. It continues Karin Slaughter's Atlanta-set procedural focus on violence against women and institutional rot, driven by Will's obsessive observation and near-perfect memory. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fractured - Book 3:
Undone
Undone (2009, 592 pages) is the pivotal entry that merges Will Trent with Karin Slaughter's earlier Grant County series, bringing the newly widowed medical examiner Sara Linton to Atlanta. From here on, Sara's slow-building relationship with Will becomes the emotional spine of the series, alongside his volatile partner Faith Mitchell and demanding boss Amanda Wagner. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Undone - Book 4:
Broken
Broken (2010), the fourth entry at 402 pages, continues the merged Will Trent/Grant County universe that began with Undone the year before. Sara Linton, still adjusting to her new life in Atlanta, remains central to the ensemble around Will, Faith Mitchell and Amanda Wagner. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Broken - Book 5:
Fallen
Fallen (2011) runs 432 pages as the fifth Will Trent novel, part of Karin Slaughter's unflinching run of Atlanta procedurals about violence against women and inherited trauma. Will's severe dyslexia and near-perfect memory -- the tension at the core of his character -- continue to shape how he works cases other GBI agents can't crack. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Fallen - Book 6:
Snatched
Snatched (2012) is a short novella, at just 26 pages, slotting in between the novels Fallen and Criminal. Like the other Will Trent novellas, it's an optional extra best read by publication date within the main sequence. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Snatched - Book 7:
Criminal
Criminal (2012, 448 pages), the sixth novel, is one of the series' most significant entries: it excavates Amanda Wagner's history in the 1970s Atlanta Police Department and reveals the secret of Will's own parentage, deepening the mystery of his abandonment as a baby that has run beneath the series since Triptych. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Criminal - Book 8:
Busted
Busted (2013) is another of the series' short novellas, slotting in just before the seventh novel, Unseen. Like Snatched and Cleaning the Gold, it's an optional extra within the main publication-order sequence rather than a numbered entry. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Busted - Book 9:
Unseen
Unseen (2013, 439 pages) is the seventh Will Trent novel, continuing Karin Slaughter's forensic-precision approach to the Atlanta-set ensemble built around Will, Faith Mitchell, Sara Linton and Amanda Wagner. It followed the novella Busted the same year. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Unseen - Book 10:
The Kept Woman
The Kept Woman (2016), the eighth novel at 560 pages, arrived after a three-year gap following Unseen. It continues the merged Will Trent/Grant County saga's focus on institutional rot and violence against women, with Sara Linton's relationship with Will still central to the emotional core of the series. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Kept Woman - Book 11:
Cleaning the Gold
Cleaning the Gold (2019) is a 112-page novella co-written with Lee Child, crossing Will Trent over with Jack Reacher for a case set at Fort Knox. It slots in between the novels The Kept Woman and The Last Widow, and is the series' only crossover with another author's character. Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cleaning the Gold - Book 12:
The Last Widow
The Last Widow (2019, 472 pages), the ninth novel, followed the Reacher crossover novella Cleaning the Gold the same year. It continues Slaughter's forensic, high-stakes Atlanta procedural style, with Will, Faith Mitchell and Sara Linton facing another case shaped by institutional threat. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Last Widow - Book 13:
The Silent Wife
The Silent Wife (2020) is the longest novel in the series at 664 pages, arriving as the tenth entry. It keeps to the series' hallmark structure -- graphic, forensically precise Atlanta crime fiction built around Will's obsessive case-solving and his relationship with Sara Linton. Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Silent Wife - Book 14:
After That Night
After That Night (2023, 495 pages), the eleventh novel, came three years after The Silent Wife. It continues the long-running ensemble Karin Slaughter built around Will Trent -- Faith Mitchell, Amanda Wagner and Sara Linton -- in the same unflinching Atlanta procedural mode that has defined the series since Triptych. Alternative text for cover: Cover of After That Night - Book 15:
This Is Why We Lied
This Is Why We Lied (2024, 464 pages) is, as of curation, the most recent Will Trent novel, the twelfth in the main sequence following After That Night. It caps a series that by this point spans twelve novels, three novellas and an ABC television adaptation, built around Will's obsessive observation, his hidden dyslexia and his relationship with Sara Linton. Alternative text for cover: Cover of This Is Why We Lied
Key facts about the Will Trent series
The Will Trent series has 15 books on our list. Since all 15 are out now, you can read the whole list today. 12 are novels, while the rest are 3 novellas.
Start with Triptych, since it opens the publication order in 2006. Fractured is book 2, from 2008. Undone is book 3, from 2009.
Broken is book 4, from 2010. Fallen is book 5, from 2011. Snatched is book 6, from 2012.
Criminal is book 7, from 2012, while Busted is book 8, from 2013. Unseen is book 9, from 2013.
The Kept Woman is book 10, from 2016, while Cleaning the Gold is book 11, from 2019. The Last Widow is book 12, from 2019. Since the list above shows all 15, you can find the rest there.
Each title links to its own page, while the list keeps them in date order. Each book page shows its dates and editions.
This Is Why We Lied is the latest book with a full release date, out on 20 August 2024. The catalogue marks it as ongoing, yet no next book has a date so far.
The books came out between 2006 and 2024, while their length runs from 26 to 664 pages. That is a run of 18 years.
Karin Slaughter has 31 books on our list. Additionally, they write Grant County and North Falls. We shelve the books under thriller.
About the Will Trent series
Will Trent is a special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and one of crime fiction's most distinctive detectives: abandoned as a baby, raised brutally in Atlanta's foster system, and severely dyslexic in a job built on paperwork. He compensates with obsessive observation and a near-perfect memory for what people say and do, closing cases other agents can't while hiding the reading disability he is sure will end his career. Around him Karin Slaughter builds a ferocious ensemble — his volatile partner Faith Mitchell, his damaged childhood-sweetheart Angie Polaski, his icily demanding boss Amanda Wagner, and, from the third book onward, medical examiner Sara Linton, whose slow-building relationship with Will becomes the emotional spine of the series.
Slaughter's Atlanta is graphic and unflinching: these are procedurals about violence against women, institutional rot and inherited trauma, written with forensic precision and real emotional cost. Triptych (2006) introduced Will through a killer's shell game of viewpoints; Undone (2009) merged this series with Slaughter's earlier Grant County books by bringing the widowed Sara Linton to Atlanta, and every novel since has deepened the merged universe — including Criminal, which excavates Amanda's 1970s APD past and the secret of Will's parentage. Twelve novels, three novellas and an ABC television adaptation later, Will Trent stands as Slaughter's flagship series and one of the definitive American thriller runs of its era.
Frequently asked questions
How many Will Trent books are there?
Twelve novels, from Triptych (2006) to This Is Why We Lied (2024), plus the novellas Snatched, Busted and Cleaning the Gold.
What order should I read the Will Trent books in?
Publication order, starting with Triptych. For the complete saga, read Karin Slaughter's six Grant County novels first — Sara Linton's story flows directly from Grant County's ending into Undone (Will Trent #3).
Do I need to read Grant County before Will Trent?
No, but it is rewarded: Will Trent's books spoil Grant County's ending, not the reverse. Spoiler-averse readers should do Grant County 1-6, then Will Trent.
Is there a Jack Reacher and Will Trent crossover?
Yes — Cleaning the Gold (2019), a novella co-written by Karin Slaughter and Lee Child, teams Will Trent with Jack Reacher at Fort Knox.
When is the next Will Trent book coming out?
No new Will Trent novel is currently announced. Karin Slaughter's recent releases launched her separate North Falls series, beginning with We Are All Guilty Here (2025).
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