Snatched

Snatched
Author: Karin Slaughter
Dell, 2012
73 pages

While driving to work earlier this week, I heard an interview with Karin Slaughter on NPR, and I realized I had this novella in my Kindle queue, so I decided to go ahead and read it. It was my first time reading this Atlanta, Georgia-based author, and also my first Kindle Short. Hopefully it won't be my last of either.

Will Trent is an investigator with the GBI or Georgia Bureau of Investigation. (According to her Wikipedia entry, Slaughter has written six full-length books featuring Trent. Criminal is the most recent, and it was just released in July.) As Snatched opens, he's reluctantly participating in a sting operation in men's restrooms at the Atlanta airport when he overhears a brief conversation between a man and young girl in one of the bathroom stalls. Something doesn't feel right to Will, and this feeling is heightened when he and the girl briefly make eye contact and then loses one of her shoes as the man rushes her away.

Following his instincts, Will tails the two as they make their way through the airport, on the train, and to the airport exit. When he finally catches the man, the girl is gone without a trace. What follows is a nail-biting investigation to find the girl, with emphasis on getting the man to talk. It's a quick, engaging read, and yes, I do want to read more Will Trent now. Snatched also includes the first part of Criminal. So the novella was a great marketing idea and yes, I'll probably take the bait. :)