An Interview with Karin Slaughter, Author of Broken

Karin Slaughter is a fascinating author. Not only does she tell amazing stories with characters with great depth and good plot twists, but it's the way she writes them that makes it appear effortless

But what I think most people, including me, first notice about her is the level of violence in her books which would not be surprising were it a thriller by a man but, well, there's just something different — intriguing really — about a female writing about violence on women.

And yet, as we talk about the interview and as she addresses at her Frequently Asked Questions section of her own web site, she thinks it makes perfect sense: if women are more often the victim of violence than men, why shouldn't female writers be addressing that?

Good question. Read on to learn more about her and check out her books — you can thank me later.

How did the idea for this story develop?

I wanted to talk about rural poverty. We hear a lot about people struggling in big cities, but folks who live in small towns, where there really aren't any safety nets, are really struggling. So, the character of Allison Spooner came to mind, and of course since she's in the first chapter of a thriller, something bad happens to her, but her death has meaning throughout the book because it shows a side of life that people don't normally glimpse. Here's a girl who is doing everything right, working as hard as she can, and she still can't raise herself up.

You've done books focusing on pediatrician Sara Linton and ones on
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Will Trent. Why did you decide to have them meet?

I didn't want to spend the next thirty years writing about bad things happening in the same small town — not least of all because people would begin to wonder why anyone still lives there! The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is to the state what the FBI is to the nation, so Will Trent can go anywhere in Georgia to investigate crimes, which broadens the victim pool to almost ten million people. Sara, as a coroner, can also lend her expertise to solving these crimes. Bringing the two together gave me a way to tell new stories.

Article Author: Scott Butki

Scott Butki was a newspaper reporter for more than 10 years before making a career change into education... then into special education.

He reads at least 50 books a year and has about the same number of author interviews each year and, …

Visit Scott Butki's author page — Scott Butki's Blog