Anyone who is shocked by the nightmare rise of the far right Alt-right and their Nazi ideology should read this well researched addition to the Will Trenton series with Dr Sara Linton, both members of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) by Karin Slaughter. Slaughter pokes beneath the surface to examine the rise of this contemporary phenomena with the authentic creation of the kind of unhinged characters, mainly men, that are part of this unsavoury movement, their arrogance, their need to control women, and the depth of their racism and antisemitism. The survivalist and cultish nature of many such groups attracts young lost, naive young men in search of male role models in their lives, attracted by the glamour of military men, and fighting a cause akin to their very own holy war. The author hones in on critical issues such as the large number of disaffected ex-army men returning from war, the scapegoating of immigrants, the private militias, and the political climate that underpins the growth and legitimisation of the far right. Despite me wanting this story of white supremacist domestic terrorism to have no basis in reality, unfortunately Slaughter's chilling scenarios do not feel that far fetched at all, given what has been happening in our real world.
Michelle Spivey is shopping with her 11 year old daughter, Ashley, when she is abducted. Spivey is a vital scientist working at the Centre for Disease Control, and the authorities are struggling to find her and no-one knows why she has been taken. Will and Medical Examiner Sara are virtually living together, although Sara's mother, Cathy, is having problems accepting Will as part of their family. Whilst they are spending time with Sarah's family, bombs go off at critically important sites in Georgia, including the hospitals, leaving many dead and injured. Will and Sara head towards the scene, only to find themselves held up at a apparent traffic accident scenario that feels off, which culminates in Sara's abduction and Will being injured. A devastated and traumatised Will is helped by his close friends and colleagues, Amanda Wagner and Faith Mitchell, collaborating with the FBI to locate Sara and Michelle. Will goes undercover, as he and the GBI race against time to try and prevent a unknown far right domestic terrorist plot indicated in the chatter picked up by the intelligence agencies.
This is a violent and brutal read, including the horrors of paedophilia, rape, child murders and biological warfare, but none of these factors felt out of place in this compulsive and riveting story. For me, there was only a minor issue in the novel that jarred, and that was the retelling of same scenes from the viewpoints of Will and Sara that served little purpose, but this did not really mar my reading experience. Slaughter could not have written a more relevant and informative novel on the unspeakable nightmare that is the rise of Alt-Right groups in the US and elsewhere. She demonstrates her understanding of the kind of people that run these groups, the militias, the involvement of ex-army men, and the huge numbers that are attracted to such groups and their despicable ideology. A brilliant, if desperately disturbing read, that I highly recommend. Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.