Book review: Karin Slaughter revisits familiar territory — but this time it's personal

Irish Examiner

6 days ago

Readers familiar with Karin Slaughter's Grant County and Will Trent series, or her three standalone thrillers, will be delighted with this, the first of a new series. It's set in the fictional North Falls, a small town where everyone seems to know everyone else and is reminiscent of the rural Georgia scenery of her Grant County.
Emmy Clifton belongs to a family which has dominated the town for decades. Her father Gerald is the sheriff and, when we first meet her, she is a young police officer struggling with a failing marriage to a husband who is a useless parent to their young son. Another challenge she is facing is her mother Myrna's failing health.
Two teenage girls, Madison and Cheyenne, go missing the night the town is celebrating the Fourth of July with a fireworks display. For Emmy, the quest to find them is personal. Distracted by a row with her husband, she turned Madison away when she sought help; the teenager is the stepdaughter of her best friend Hannah, and Emmy has known her since she was little.
As Emmy investigates, she quickly realises that, like most teenagers, the girls have secrets, but they are not the only ones, they are surrounded by adults, including members of her own family, who are not always telling the truth. When the bodies of the girls are found, the murder investigation intensifies.
'We Are All Guilty Here' by Karin Slaughter
The novel jumps forward 12 years to the present. Emmy is divorced, she's become her father's deputy, and her son Cole has become a police officer. Emmy and Hannah's friendship has not recovered. She and her father have consoled themselves with the fact they succeeded in catching the killer — but did they?
He is released from jail when a new witness comes forward. Shortly afterwards, another girl disappears.
In this second part of the novel, Slaughter introduces a new character, Jude, an FBI agent known for her success in hunting down child predators.
She appears to be taking a surprising interest in the latest disappearance, arriving in North Falls to help find the teenager. Readers will be surprised to discover her motivation.
Emmy begins to wonder if she and her father locked up the wrong man. That's painful for her as she admires her father so much. When the original suspect is released, it forces her and those working with her to revisit the original investigation.
Emmy is driven by instinct and very much influenced by her father. Gradually, she begins to suspect that maybe someone pointed the police in the wrong direction 12 years before, and is trying to do so again. As each layer is peeled away, the suspense builds up.
As fans familiar with her work expect, Slaughter does a great job developing the characters and their lives, so readers feel they know the Clifton family and community of North Falls. The Clifton family are as messy as they are fascinating, and hopefully we will learn more about some of them in future novels in the series.
Slaughter's writing always reflects real life, this time touching on sexual assault, child abuse, and exploitation. She is adept at exposing the complexities of relationships, between family and friends, and exploring how misunderstandings develop.
In this novel, she exposes how easily tensions can develop between parents and teenagers as the young people try to become independent.
The novel ends in an interesting place for several characters, which means its sequel will be eagerly anticipated. For now, enjoy this absorbing read.