Kisscut by Karin Slaughter (Book Summary)

Purchase Kisscut by Karin Slaughter via Amazon: https://amzn.to/3DWeE2d

Both Dr. Sara Linton and police chief Jeffrey  Tolliver were not on duty that night at the skating rink when something happened:

Sara bumped into one of her patients, Jenny, who looked unwell on her way to the bathroom. When Jenny was gone, Sara noticed that she got streaked with blood. She assumed it was from Jenny.

Outside, Jeffrey saw Jenny pointing a gun towards Mark. Jenny swore that she would shoot Mark, and she asked Jeffrey to shoot her. Left with no choice, Jeffrey hit Jenny. Jenny died, and Mark was saved.

After that incident, Sara autopsied Jenny. They also discovered a mutilated baby from the bathroom – they assumed that Jenny had an abortion and Mark was the father, the reason why she was so mad at him – but none of it was true. It turns out that the baby does not belong to Jenny because her private part has been sewn shut. Sara could not imagine Jenny doing it herself because that procedure is so painful – there must be someone out there that did it to her.

They started investigating. They interviewed Jenny’s mom – Dottie Weaver, who ended up fainting when she saw a photo of Jenny’s private part. The police also talked to Mark about what happened between him and Jenny – but he wouldn’t confess to anything. They spoke to the pastor and also Jenny’s classmate. They learned that the pastor, David Fine, visited Jenny after their retreat because she appeared to be unwell. They learned from her classmates that she had already slept with multiple guys – including the three guys that were interviewed.

Sara noticed that Dottie had not claimed Jenny’s body, so she informed Jeffrey about this. Jeffrey and Lena (the detective) went to Dottie’s house to talk to her, but no one seemed home. They forcibly got inside the house and discovered that it had been repainted and was supposed to be set on fire. They also found Dave Fine, the pastor, in the scene. They arrested him.

Dave Fine confessed that they had sex in her room when she visited Jenny, and it was Dottie’s request. He claimed that Dottie took photos of Dave and Jenny having sex and threatened to expose him if he didn’t help her business. Dottie produces magazines that portray young kids with older partners. Dave Fine kept doing the deliveries, and he also kept having sex and posing for the magazines with Jenny. Dave claims that what he had with Jenny was not pure sex – that they care about each other.

Jeffrey threatened Dave Fine, and he later revealed where Lacey Patterson could be.

Lacey is Mark’s younger sister and Jenny’s best friend. She previously went to Sara’s clinic, looking sick, ready to tell her something – but Mark came along, and she ran. When she ran, a car picker her up and she has been missing ever since. No one knows who owns that car.

Dave Fine provided them the address, and they found Lacey Patterson, who was heavily drugged.

As for Mark Patterson, he is currently in a coma because he tried hanging himself. After telling Lena a part of what he’s going through, he turned himself. He confessed to her that he and Lacey had sex. He and his mom, Grace Patterson, also had sex. When Lena didn’t understand what he was going through, he hung himself and has been unconscious since then.

As for Grace Patterson, she died of breast cancer, but Lena visited her before she died. She moved the button for the morphine so that she would not die at ease. Lena thinks she deserves a painful death because she did to the kids.

 

THE TRUTH: 

Dottie Weaver and Grace Patterson knew each other even before moving to Heartsdale. There have already been rumors about the two involving (abusing) the kids in the ward.

Dottie ran away and brought Jenny with her – and her husband kept on looking for them but couldn’t find them since they changed their names.

Dottie and Grace both run a publishing business for an illegal magazine. Most of the time, it is Jenny and Mark in the photos. David Fine and Jenny posed for it too (he didn’t show his face, but chief Jeffrey recognized his wedding ring).

Jenny wants to kill Mark because she thinks it’s the only way to stop what’s being done to her.

Jenny’s private part was sewn shut because she wanted to be sure – she felt terrible about what she had been doing. When she started sewing her remote part, she screamed in pain, and Dottie continued sewing it since they were left with no choice but to continue what Jenny had started.

Grace Patterson had an abortion that night at the skating rink. The father of that kid is her own son, Mark. Jenny helped Grace with the abortion since Grace threatened her with telling Dr. Sara what she had been doing – Jenny looked up at Sara.

They still haven’t caught Dottie Weaver at the end of this book.

The End of Kisscut by Karin Slaughter.

• Purchase Kisscut by Karin Slaughter via Amazon: https://amzn.to/3DWeE2d