Criminal

The Washington Post: In addition to being an exhaustive and gimlet-eyed social history of modern Atlanta, especially its flawed criminal justice system and law-enforcement agencies, Criminal is the kind of hold-on-to-your-hat, nail-biting story Slaughter has become world-famous for. It's also the grisliest good-thing-it's-not-true crime novel I've read since Hannibal Lecter bestrode the American publishing landscape. —Richard Lipez