WE ARE ALL GUILTY HERE - Karin Slaughter


 It is atypical for me to rate a mystery/thriller with five stars, and even more so to give it to a book that probably needs a trigger warning, but this was SUCH a good book.

Set in the small town of North Falls, where everyone feels as though they know everyone else, two teen girls go missing on the Fourth of July some time during or just after the local fireworks display. Officer Emmy Clifton takes the disappearance especially hard, and personally, because she had turned one of the girls away at the festive event, likely making her one of the last people to see the girl before she disappeared. Evidence at the scene of one of the missing girls' bike, suggests that at least one of the girls is no longer alive.

And it gets even more difficult for Emmy when, during the course of her investigation, she discovers the bodies of the two girls - not just killed, but tortured.

Emmy digs deep, having made some very unpleasant discoveries about the girls and some of the people they knew, and makes an arrest, and a jury convicts. Fast forward twelve years and that same convicted man is released based on some irregularities and in a short time, another young girl goes missing with the same M.O. In the course of her new investigation Emmy will see her father die and her sister.

Hoping to find the missing girl still alive (although unlikely), Emmy digs deep into every possible connection in town, which brings to light a number of dark secrets that many people would prefer stay in the dark, including the appearance of a presumed dead sister.

I've read a few of the Will Trent books by Karin Slaughter and enjoyed them, but this book hits a grand slam. It feels topical (sadly), and the mystery (mysteries - there's definitely more than one mystery story here) is well defined, creating a clear goal for our protagonist. This story - plot, setting, conflict - is so well executed, it's an absolute joy to read. This is truly a page-turner - I didn't want to put the down, and was always eager to see what happened next.

But it's the characters that really round this out and make it 5 star worthy. And not just Emmy. Everyone who appears in the book leaves their mark on the reader, making the inhabitants of North Falls a collective character.

The relationships between the characters are quite likely to be on-going aspects of the series. There are things the reader learns that even Emmy doesn't yet know and that titillation lets us feel a little special.

Fans of Will Trent already know that Ms. Slaughter writes great characters, but this definitely seals it for me.

Exceptional. This book is exceptional.

But it does - or should - come with a trigger warning. The brutality that the dead teen girls faced prior to death is described in detail. Of course it sets up the killer as truly evil and the reader can't wait to see justice done, but it's definitely hard to read. I'm not squeamish - I've read some of the most disturbing horror - but this did make me cringe with discomfort.

But if you like hard-hitting thrillers, get in on this new series now!

Looking for a good book? We Are All Guilty Here is the first book in a new series by Will Trent author Karin Slaughter. It is a tremendous page-turner, full of great characters and hard-hitting action, well worth reading.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars

* * * * * *

We Are All Guilty Here

author: Karin Slaughter

series: North Falls #1

publisher: William Morrow

ISBN: 9780063336773

hardcover, 439 pages 


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