Busted: A Novella (Will Trent series) (The Will Trent Series) Audio CD – Audiobook, June 24, 2014

In "Busted," Karin Slaughter's new e-novella you'll get to meet Maw-Maw, a bird-like octogenarian, a big time bigot who weighs in at a scant hundred pounds who is described by the main character Will Trent as "the most adorable racist (he) had ever met in his Life." And cagey like you wouldn't believe.The thing is, in "Busted" Maw-Maw and every other character becomes memorable for one quirk or another. The people populating this action packed shoot-em-up may not score high on a plausibility profile but there's no doubt every last one of them jumps off the page with verve.The story starts mid-morning about an hour outside of Atlanta when Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Trent, who's working undercover, pulls his Indian Chief motorcycle into the Lil' Dixie Gas-n-Go for a frozen Slurpee and ends smack dab in the middle of an armed convenience store robbery in which a number of not-so-pleasant villains end up facing mortality in a variety of ways, including death by run-away motorcycle.Trent, a.k.a. Bill Black, spends the remainder of that hectic day facing a number of outlandish situations, uncovering clues that ultimately are the pieces to the puzzle that reveal who was behind the crime at the Lil' Dixie.Slaughter has a wiseacre sensibility with a new wisecrack in almost every other paragraph. The story is as action-packed as a summer blockbuster. There's lots of noise, mayhem and metal-crunching pandemonium to keep a solid grip on your interest and imagination. The story is soaked through with unpredictability. I thought "Busted" as good as Slaughter's previous e-book short "Thorn in My Side" was disappointing."Busted" is filled with guesswork. It's a fun read and a story that until the very last twist remains at least one step ahead of you.In a word: Unpredictable

Special Agent Will Trent is on his way to start an undercover assignment in Macon, Georgia when he stops for a frozen coke at a gas station. He becomes a witness to a violent robbery and shooting of a policeman. Forgetting his undercover status he jumps on his powerful Indian Chief Dark Horse motor cycle and chases the gunman through crowded streets and onto the highway. He stops the gunman taking over another car and a hostage by sliding his bike at the gunman and nearly killing himself as he skids along the highway surface.All of this action takes place in the first chapter. It takes a very skilled author to set such a pace so quickly. After that we meet Trent's boss Amanda and his partner Faith as together they investigate murder, shootings and robbery in a town, just south of Atlanta, renowned for crooked officials, including the Chief of Police. They quickly find that it is also the sort of town where crooked family connections abound."Busted" is a short novella where Karin Slaughter has been able to spin an exciting and satisfying tale in a relatively few pages. A preview of Slaughter's next book in the very popular Will Trent series Unseen: A Novel (Will Trent) is included, where Will eventually starts his undercover assignment. I have already pre-ordered that book which is due to be released at the beginning of July.

GBI Agent Will Trent is working undercover in the guise of ex-con Bill Black, on his way to Atlanta to meet with his PO when he stops at a gas station to get an Icee. But the self-serve machine is running somewhat slow. He's still there when a robbery takes place and he's got to balance maintaining his cover while stopping the thieves without having a gun, bringing all sorts of unwanted attention to himself with the action involved.His boss, Amanda, and partner, Faith are on hand to help unravel a much larger story directly related to the robbery. It's amazing how much action and convoluted twists this short story packs. At one point all of the characters being talked about while putting together the big picture feels somewhat overwhelming until more facts are learned. But through that we also get a feel for how difficult it is for the agents to solve the crime. Everything takes place in one day.Maw Maw is a character you won't soon forget - in a good way.The Bill Black guise is used in the next novel, Unseen, which I was lucky enough to read early as an ARC. You won't be hampered in reading Unseen without reading this story first, but the combination of content, length of the story and the price make this a good purchase.Fans of the author/series might find this helps with their "fix" to read the next installment while waiting for Unseen's July release. Those new to the series won't have a problem reading this without reading any of the other books.

While Detective Will Trent was hovering beside the "Icee" machine, waiting impatiently for the decrepit old machine to spit out his favourite drink, his reverie was interrupted by the arrival of a local cop. The gas station where he had stopped was run-down, as was a lot of the surrounding county. But Will was undercover as ex-con, Bill Black – when the cop asked was that “his” machine outside, Will grunted; it didn’t do to talk to a cop when you were a criminal.But suddenly all hell broke loose – a brazen day-light robbery, a shooting, and an old pick-up truck with a wounded man fleeing the scene – Will took off after the truck on his bike after dialling 911. The results of the next few hours were chaotic; with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on the scene, the bodies were mounting. So much for being undercover! What would happen? And who were the latest criminals to enter Will’s life?Another brilliant novella by Karin Slaughter. The usual gripping tension, with a plot tidied up nicely in a short space of time. I found this to be a really entertaining read and in no way lacking because of it being a novella. Highly recommended.

If this had been my 1st taste of Karin Slaughter I wouldn't have bothered again. The pathetically over hammed storyline is almost embarrassing. I will have to think good and hard before I splash out on a "proper" book from this author - just in case she has totally lost the plot and will be churning out rubbish like this from now on.

Good story but feel cheated that it only comprises 60% of the book. The rest is two beginning chapters of other Karin Slaughter books, which I may well go on to read but I prefer to read an entire book from when I open it. If it feels too familiar when I start a book (because I read the first chapter months previously ) I just don't want to carry on and may ditch it. Maybe it's just me...

i presses buy in error and was too late to cancel. i desided to read it as a quick read at bedtime since i had purchased it anyway. i never buy short stories as i am an avid reader and feel they are a waste of time. this story has justified my thinking as it was one load of unrealistic rubbish. karen slaughter has gone down in my esstimation for this rubbish.

As a woman who enjoys murder mystery thrillers such as those by Tess Gerritson, Nikki French and Kathy Reichs, I was looking for a new author to add to my range. However, this was too much of what I would call a man's book. Too much shootie bang bang. The female characters were almost non existent even though they were the senior officers. It really didn't have much of a story. It starts with an undercover police office at a service station buying an ice drink. Robbery starts, goes wrong, some dead, discover, undercover man discovers 'who did it', and that was that. I knew from the first chapter that I was not going to enjoy it but persevered as it was a short story. Didn't get the point about the undercover policeman, nothing about his story or background, just that he happened to be there.Looks like Karin Slaughter is not going to be added to my future reading list.

I thoroughly enjoy Karin Slaughter’s novels as they never disappoint. The Will Trent character is a wonderful creation and although I have tried (and failed) to read the novels he is involved in in chronological order, it almost doesn’t make any difference as KS weaves in past history effortlessly into new stories.

I am a huge fan of Karin Slaughter and love Will Trent. This is another short story sandwiched between "Criminal" and the next proper novel, "Unseen". Will is central. Amanda and Faith, however, make disappointing cameos.The pace is fast - especially the car/motorbike chase (I am not a fan of chase scenes in books if I'm honest) - and I felt myself skipping over the text rather than taking it in.I think the identity of the perpetrator was supposed to come as a surprise. It didn't. Nor could I have ever got my head around the complex (but integral) family tree of the perpetrator unless I had got out my pen and paper and started drawing diagrams as and when the explanations came out.In conclusion, it's OK but not great. Can't wait for Unseen.

Ok... What can I say about this novella?Positives:A chunk of Will Trent whilst waiting for Unseen to come out in July... Great!Err... That's it for the positives!Negatives:Far-fetched & unbelievable plot & characters.Confusing amount of characters for such a short story.A feeling of 'What was that?' & 'Is that it?'And now I'm thinking that if this is a preamble to the new book, I'm maybe not that excited about it anymore.Overall:Definitely not Karin at her best. I don't think I will be buying into these marketing ploy short stories anymore no matter how tempting it is to get an extra helping of Will Trent & co.

Having just finished "Criminal" by the same author ( a brilliant read that I couldn't put down), I was really keen to read this short story that features the same characters. It starts well, but it just isn't her usual standard. Several characters are introduced in quick succession. I found myself getting confused as to who was who and what their relationship was to other characters. The short story format just didn't allow for fleshing out of the characters and their stories. And then, just when your Kindle tells you that you are only 60% through, the story rushes to an end. What follows next are extracts from "Unseen" and the aforementioned "Criminal". I felt robbed by this. My advice would be to nip out to the supermarket and pick up "Criminal" for £4 instead of downloading this!

Luckily Karin Slaughter can pull off novella's which not all writers can. We are quickly captured into Will Trents mystery and also placed into his new shoes as an undercover agent setting it up nicely for new book released in July.Did I think the evil person in this book was reeeealy evil. No. But it doesn't matter, it's the suspense that Karen Slaughter is so excellent at writing.And I'm definitely in suspense until her new book, the opening chapter packed a punch, to say the least!

Really enjoyed this, although it wasn't as good as Snatched it still was a fab read. Not as dark as the majority of her novels so if that aspect has ever put you off reading Karin Slaughter before then you will probably enjoy this one more. I loved that despite it being a short story it still had twists and room for the complex relationships between characters to shine through.The extract from her next book at the end is so gripping! I would even recommend downloading just for that!

I have enjoyed the book but I would have preferred if it had been longer.I intend reading Criminal after readi I the sample at the end of Busted I would recommend this short story.

Karin Slaughter's short stories provide good value for money. Better value than a magazine for word for word enjoyment. They are marketing ploys for her full novels but she can be forgiven for that. This story featuring Will Trent packs both cinematic action and solid detective fiction. If you have a spare 2 hours and don't want to start a novel you cannot go wrong with this short story.

I think I'm a rare reader who actually wasn't bothered when Geoffrey died and Sarah moved! I love Will Trent, his character and its development throughout the later novels are entertaining, cringeworthy at times and loveable too. This short story had the typical twists and turns one expects from Slaughter, but its never predictable and as usual just when you think you've figured it out you're wrong! Haha!

A great short book! Throws the reader into the middle of the action from the outset. The central character is an undercover cop in the wrong place at the wrong time - at least for the robbers who are turning over the convenience store!! It was very 'cinematic' to read, well written tight plot. If you like the Jack Reacher books you'll enjoy this. Bella-talk.blogspot.co.uk writes an entertainment Blog.

So sorry...really wanted to get into this book and I thought at times it might pick up....but no! The pace was good enough but just too unrealistic, predictable and too Americanised for my taste. So many parts needed expansion of the story, to make you feel you were part of the story...I just felt I was rushed and detached from it.....I did try!