Special agent Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has returned to the ABC screens to close more case files. The ongoing season 2 of the police procedural drama is now taking inspiration from the sixth book in the best-selling series. Karin Slaughter, the author of the Will Trent novels, was initially worried about her masterpiece being brought to the screen.
However, her concerns were soon put aside following her meeting with Liz Heldens, the executive producer and writer of the series with Daniel T. Thomsen. And the result is now literally in front of our eyes—a magnificent crime drama raking in solid on-air numbers for ABC. Talking to Newsweek, Slaughter said:
“I talked to a lot of the writers on set, and they had a sign that says respect the IP, the intellectual property, and they understand that I’ve got 10s of millions of readers and they love the books, and they want to make sure they get the essence of that. So I felt very much included in the process, it’s felt very collaborative.”
Slaughter has thus far released 11 books and three novellas in the series, the latest being After That Night, released in June 2023. All the bibliophiles can bet their lives that reading a book is far better than slouching on a cough with your eyes glued to a screen. Even if you love watching the series, it’s worth catching the magic of the original material. Here is every Will Trent book and novella in order so you can savor the thrilling story in full:
1. Triptych (2006)
The first book in the Will Trent series, also known as the Atlanta series, Triptych deals with the case of young women dying at the hands of a serial rapist. To find the gruesome killer, the Atlanta homicide investigator Michael Ormewood along with Will Trent mix and mingle with the pimps and sex workers of the city’s housing projects. The book also features Angie Polaski, a vice cop who is the only woman Will has ever loved.
2. Fractured (2008)
The second book in the series, Fractured takes viewers to Atlanta’s most upscale neighborhood—Ansley Park. The case at hand now is of a girl who has been brutally murdered in a posh mansion, and her mother who killed her daughter’s attacker with her own hands in the hallway. When another teenage girl goes missing, Will Trent takes to the case, revealing shocking truths involving some of the wealthiest and most powerful families in the city.
3. Undone (2009)
Published under the title Genesis in the United Kingdom and Australia, Undone is a New York Times bestseller set around a hidden house of horror buried in the backwoods of suburban Atlanta. Karin Slaughter masterfully combines the poignant, personal tales of three enduring characters from her novels—Faithless and Fractured—who first clash in a thrilling race against time in Undone.
4. Broken (2010)
In Broken, a story of corruption, murder, and confrontation comes alive as some of Karin Slaughter’s most iconic characters make a comeback, and intriguing new ones are introduced. Special Agent Will Trent finds himself in Grant County, looking for answers regarding the death of a prisoner. While the police force looks into the murder of a young woman, Trent investigates the police department with the assistance of Dr. Sara Linton, the widow of the deceased prisoner.
5. Fallen (2011)
Nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award, the fifth book in the series centers around Will’s longtime cop partner Faith Mitchell, who is turned into a witness and a suspect in the case of her missing mother. Fallen features Will Trent and Mitchell’s undying spirit against police corruption, bribery, and even murder to bring the truth to light. Our heroes go against the higher order to cross the thin blue line and find Mitchell’s mother with help from the trauma doctor Sara Linton.
Novella—Snatched (2012)
Snatched, the first novella in the series, is based on Will Trent’s instincts as a police officer. While using the lavatory at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Trent hears a girl’s desperate, forlorn voice calling out, “Please, I wanna go home.” The child vanishes into the throngs at the busiest passenger airport in the world, and Will and his partner Faith then battle to find her and the nervous, irate man who snatched her.
6. Criminal (2012)
A masterwork of atmosphere, character development, and gripping suspense, Criminal explores a great deal of Will Trent’s background. Will is mysteriously removed from the case by his mentor and supervisor, deputy director Amanda Wagner when a local college student goes missing and the case that launched Amanda’s career resurfaces.
Novella—Busted (2013)
In the second novella in the series, Will Trent goes undercover as Bill Black as he is about to invade the most corrupt town in the most corrupt county in the new American South. Busted is a prequel to Slaughter’s seventh Atlanta novel Unseen, released in the same year. In the space of a few minutes, a young woman vanishes, a police officer is shot, a bag of cash flies across the floor, and the murderer escapes in a beat-up pickup truck while the story picks its pace.
7. Unseen (2013)
Continuing where Busted left off, Unseen sets a memorable standoff between noble heroism and the darkest wickedness, pitting investigators, lovers, and foes against one another. Will Trent’s undercover operation appears to be successful as he attracts the interest of a drug dealer; but, our hero eventually faces his inner demons. Despite being cut off from his beloved Sara, she unknowingly becomes embroiled in the same case that Will is working on following the shooting of her stepson, Jared.
8. The Kept Woman (2016)
The Kept Woman deals with the death of an ex-cop at a deserted building site that belongs to the most popular person in the community. Investigation of the area quickly reveals another victim who has disappeared, and evidence connects the case to Will’s turbulent history. The book reveals itself to be a deft fusion of clever psychological thriller and twisting police procedural that is wreaking havoc on Will and everyone around him.
Novella—Cleaning the Gold (2019)
The latest novella in the series, Cleaning the Gold follows Will Trent on another undercover assignment investigating a twenty-two-year-old murder. His suspect, Jack Reacher, an ex-military police officer, is at Fort Knox intending to take down a lethal criminal organization operating at the heart of America’s military. When Will Trent arrives, he quickly learns that there is a larger plot at work, which forces the two to work together instead.
9. The Last Widow (2019)
Will Trent and Sara Linton, a beloved duo, return in The Last Widow to investigate the case of a missing doctor. A scientist from the Centres for Disease Control is seized by unidentified attackers in a shopping center parking lot on a steamy summer night. A month later, the boom of a ground-shaking detonation devastates one of Atlanta’s busiest and most significant neighborhoods. When the assailants abduct Sara, Will goes undercover to rescue his love and prevent a massacre.
10. The Silent Wife (2020)
In this gripping thriller, Will Trent looks into the death of a prisoner caused during a riot at a state penitentiary. When the prime suspect inmate claims he was set up by a dishonest law enforcement team under Jeffrey Tolliver and that the real culprit is still at large, Will is torn whether to reopen the investigation and accuse the deceased police officer with a hero’s reputation of misconduct.
11. After That Night (2023)
After That Night brings back Will Trent and Sara Linton, this time delving into the painful past of Sara. Her life was turned upside down fifteen years ago after a joyous night out turned violent. Sara had rebuilt her life since then and moved on from the past, but one night while she was on call at the ER, a woman named Dani Cooper comes in, and it appears that her assault is uncannily linked to Sara’s.
12. This is Why We Lied (2024)
This is Why We Lied is set to be released as the 12th novel in the Will Trent series. The plot and other details of the novel are being kept under wraps, but readers will soon get to experience the magic Karin has created in her upcoming book. It will be released sometime in 2024, though an exact release date is still anticipated.