Forget mine not (novel)
Forget mine not (title of the original edition: Kisscut ) is a crime novel by the American writer Karin Slaughter and forms the second volume in the Grant County series . The book, published in the original in 2002 and in German in 2004, is the second case of forensic scientist Dr. Sara Linton, followed by Don't Turn Around (2005), Shadow Flower ( 2006), Godless (2007) and Destroyed (2009).
content
action
The story begins with a scene that takes place on a hot summer in fictional Heartsdale, Georgia . On Saturday evening in the parking lot of the roller skating rink, where Linton and Tolliver try to revive their romance to the music of ABBA “Dancing Queen”, a relationship drama develops with a dangerous outcome. Jenny Weaver (13) threatens to shoot the good-looking killer Mark Patterson (16). However, before she can carry out the vigilante justice, Sheriff Tolliver is forced to shoot the girl and during the subsequent autopsy, forensic doctor Sarah Linton makes a shocking discovery on the victim. The girl has been abused several times, her clitoris has been circumcised and her vagina has been cruelly sewn up. Not just the young teenager, but also a dead baby who was found in a blood-smeared backpack on the toilet of the ice rink and who was initially assumed to be Jenny his mother (“At 28 weeks, Jenny Weaver's child would have been viable too If his mother hadn't tried to flush it down the toilet ”) are the beginning of an ominous development in the otherwise sleepy town. Incest , child pornography , crucifixion and torture of minors are suspected . Other unsavory details of human abysses come to light, in unprecedented crimes in which David Fine, the local child priest, and two elderly mothers are the main perpetrators. Officer Lena Adams, who himself once the victim of a rape was and is still suffering from the after-effects that are so strong that it is on the verge of suicide to commit, they come to the track. Jenny's mother, Dottie Weaver, plays a central role in this. Mark's underage and pregnant sister Lacy shows up one day at the children's clinic because she tries to hide from her brother. Mark Patterson had gone from being a victim of abuse to being a perpetrator and was actively involved in the abuse of Jenny. His role in the pedophile ring is to seduce the female victims, make them compliant, and desecrate them with the adult offenders of the ring, all of whom have a specific tattoo . Sheriff Tolliver takes them on a chase, but ends up losing them again. Video surveillance of a locker in which incriminating pornographic material is stored also fails. The criminals continue to camouflage themselves with their bourgeois facade and are covered by the church.
linguistic style
“ 'Dancing Queen', Sara Linton sang softly as she did her lap on the roller skate track. 'Young and sweet, only seventeen'. To her left she heard the violent clatter of skates and was able to turn to the side just in time to catch a child before it hit her. "
“ For the first time that night, Jeffrey was seriously considering pulling the trigger. He tried with all his might to convince himself that, despite her age, she was an undoubted danger to the boy who stood before her. If he only hit her in the leg or shoulder, she could still fire. Even if he aimed at her torso, there was a possibility that she would fire a shot using the last of her strength before sagging. The way Jenny held her Beretta, the boy would be dead before she was on the ground. 'Men are so weak', Jenny hissed and aimed at her target, 'You never do the right thing. You say you will, but then you never do. ' "
reception
Horror lurks behind the small town idyll of Heartsdale. When it comes to atrocities and bizarre abnormalities, Vergiss mein is in no way inferior to the first volume. Also in this fast-paced mainstream - thriller , which is written in a simple, sometimes vulgar, language, Slaughter takes another taboo subject before, which is portrayed in the graphic violence pornography. Frank Dudley, on the other hand, calls the plot “ badly constructed ”, “ implausible ” and the research on this novel is “ loveless ”. The main characters also have to struggle with their own kitschy love affair and with strokes of fate. Sarah Linton, who is also a pediatrician, is plagued by remorse because she has not noticed this abuse of her little patients. Tolliver also regrets that he had to kill the innocent Jenny with a final shot in the neck and mentally goes through all the options for action that he might have had in this situation. The antagonist, in the figure of the pedophile pastor, has an effect on the story " as exciting as a milkshake ".
Text output
- Karin Slaughter: Don't forget mine. Wunderlich, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2004, 446 pages, ISBN 3-8052-0731-X (original title: Kisscut. Translated by Teja Schwaner).
Web links
- Official homepage of the writer Karin Slaughter (German)
- Book launch by Karin Slaughter: Don't Forget Mine at Randomhouse
- Forget Me Not. Karin Slaughter. Clichéd small-town fare. Crime review by Frank A. Dudley on Krimicouch
Notes and individual references
- ↑ a b c d e f Don't forget mine. Karin Slaughter. Clichéd small-town fare. Crime review by Frank A. Dudley on Krimicouch
- ↑ Karin Slaughter: Don't forget mine. Wunderlich, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2004, p. 5, ISBN 3-8052-0731-X