Karin Slaughter | THE GOOD DAUGHTER
You know that feeling of FOMO? When your friends go to a movie that you weren't into, but then realize that you love. Or when everyone talks about that TV show that came on years ago and you finally realize you've been really missing out. That's how I feel about Karin Slaughter. Being that I have been an avid reader since I was in middle school, I have always seen her name while perusing Barnes & Noble and Amazon. For some reason, I am not great at reading series, so I had never tried to get into her stuff and now I am kicking myself for it. Thanks to William Morrow, I got a copy of THE GOOD DAUGHTER, a standalone from Karin Slaughter before it was released. I am now a fan. A huge fan at that. What is my first Slaughter novel surely won't be my last.
Plot:
Review:
This one starts off with so much tension and darkness, it's unbelievable. With an epilogue running close to forty pages of tense violence and unspeakable crimes, I was nervous and excited to find out where the other 460 pages took me. I was not disappointed.
The plot for this one is insane and dark and extremely violent. I was surprised at how vivid the imagery was and how many people just were brutalized within the first 100 pages. This novel is not for the faint of heart. Slaughter writes scenes with not only amazing imagery, but also addicting long chapters, as if it wasn't hard to put down to begin with. While I really enjoyed the idea of having Slaughter start off the novel with the insane night that changed the Quinn family forever, I was really curious to see where this would go as this is a rather long novel. At a whopping 500 pages, every paragraph, sentence, and word had a purpose. With so many large and small storylines jam-packed into one novel, I was eager to find answers and clues as I read along anxiously. One thing I find remarkable about Slaughter's writing is how she is able to create such a vivid plot and go back and forth between the past and present time all while building these incredibly deep and unbelievably realistic characters. This novel is not only suspenseful, but I was pleasantly surprised with how emotional and heartfelt it was as well. With something so dark, it was so enjoyable to follow these characters throughout everything as the storyline starts to overflow with palpable tension.
Let's talk about them. So, I quickly found myself just absolutely loving the Quinn family. The good, the bad, the sad, and all of the quirks in between. Slaughter did a wonderful job making this a really character driven novel. Building characters like this is something I find fantastic as a reader. I loved the sassiness and the quirks of these two brave and deeply wounded girls grow up to be just pure badass women. Every character had so much personality, that I was surprised to find myself laughing at some really great one-liners from so many as I read such a dark and twisted novel. With every line of dialogue and every action, these characters really jump off the pages and get right in your face to make their presence known.
As I was nearing the end of this one, I had so many questions and confusion surrounding the plot as I knew certain things were put in this one to keep me guessing and to remember 300 pages later. I was right. The last half of this one is pure terror and dark revelations. I was surprised to get answers for things I didn't even realize were a mystery as people showed their true colors and things were being thrown at me left and right as I neared the end. Without giving too much away, I was really happy with the multiple endings to different storylines with this one and honestly, I didn't guess any of them. Slaughter did a fantastic job ending this novel with peace, but also making you remember that these are situations and the violence in this doesn't just go away. The past 28 years have built these two remarkably strong and beautiful women into who they are today and those scars don't ever leave. I connect with that because as a reader, this is a book that won't ever leave me. Thank you for that, Karin Slaughter. I cannot wait to see what you do next.
*Special thanks to William Morrow for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Plot:
Two girls are forced into the woods at gunpoint. One runs for her life. One is left behind…
Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn's happy small-town family life was torn apart by a terrifying attack on their family home. It left their mother dead. It left their father – Pikeville's notorious defense attorney – devastated. And it left the family fractured beyond repair, consumed by secrets from that terrible night.
Twenty-eight years later, and Charlie has followed in her father's footsteps to become a lawyer herself – the ideal good daughter. But when violence comes to Pikeville again – and a shocking tragedy leaves the whole town traumatized – Charlie is plunged into a nightmare. Not only is she the first witness on the scene, but it's a case that unleashes the terrible memories she's spent so long trying to suppress. Because the shocking truth about the crime which destroyed her family nearly thirty years ago won't stay buried forever…
Review:
This one starts off with so much tension and darkness, it's unbelievable. With an epilogue running close to forty pages of tense violence and unspeakable crimes, I was nervous and excited to find out where the other 460 pages took me. I was not disappointed.
The plot for this one is insane and dark and extremely violent. I was surprised at how vivid the imagery was and how many people just were brutalized within the first 100 pages. This novel is not for the faint of heart. Slaughter writes scenes with not only amazing imagery, but also addicting long chapters, as if it wasn't hard to put down to begin with. While I really enjoyed the idea of having Slaughter start off the novel with the insane night that changed the Quinn family forever, I was really curious to see where this would go as this is a rather long novel. At a whopping 500 pages, every paragraph, sentence, and word had a purpose. With so many large and small storylines jam-packed into one novel, I was eager to find answers and clues as I read along anxiously. One thing I find remarkable about Slaughter's writing is how she is able to create such a vivid plot and go back and forth between the past and present time all while building these incredibly deep and unbelievably realistic characters. This novel is not only suspenseful, but I was pleasantly surprised with how emotional and heartfelt it was as well. With something so dark, it was so enjoyable to follow these characters throughout everything as the storyline starts to overflow with palpable tension.
Let's talk about them. So, I quickly found myself just absolutely loving the Quinn family. The good, the bad, the sad, and all of the quirks in between. Slaughter did a wonderful job making this a really character driven novel. Building characters like this is something I find fantastic as a reader. I loved the sassiness and the quirks of these two brave and deeply wounded girls grow up to be just pure badass women. Every character had so much personality, that I was surprised to find myself laughing at some really great one-liners from so many as I read such a dark and twisted novel. With every line of dialogue and every action, these characters really jump off the pages and get right in your face to make their presence known.
As I was nearing the end of this one, I had so many questions and confusion surrounding the plot as I knew certain things were put in this one to keep me guessing and to remember 300 pages later. I was right. The last half of this one is pure terror and dark revelations. I was surprised to get answers for things I didn't even realize were a mystery as people showed their true colors and things were being thrown at me left and right as I neared the end. Without giving too much away, I was really happy with the multiple endings to different storylines with this one and honestly, I didn't guess any of them. Slaughter did a fantastic job ending this novel with peace, but also making you remember that these are situations and the violence in this doesn't just go away. The past 28 years have built these two remarkably strong and beautiful women into who they are today and those scars don't ever leave. I connect with that because as a reader, this is a book that won't ever leave me. Thank you for that, Karin Slaughter. I cannot wait to see what you do next.
*Special thanks to William Morrow for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
Rating: 5/5
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