Georgia’s own Karin Slaughter published her first crime novel in 2001 and has enjoyed international success ever since, selling over 30 million copies of her books worldwide. I read one of her earlier novels, set in fictional Grant County. Fractured is set in Atlanta, more precisely Ansley Park, the upscale neighborhood that abuts Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta (and is the immediate neighborhood this library serves). Readers who are looking for local color and familiar landmarks may be disappointed, since Slaughter’s imagining of Ansley Park and Atlanta has a lot of poetic license in it (though she does mention the Varsity). The plot of Fractured involves murder, kidnapping, child predation, orphanages, private schools, illiteracy, and more. In fact, if anything, the plot is almost too intricate. If you're looking for a Southern-fried thriller with a contemporary twist, you may want to give Karin Slaughter a try.