Thank you Blackstone Publishing / Netgalley for the ALC and Bibliolifestyle & William Morrow Books, #partner, for the finished copy of Girl, Forgotten in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: William Morrow / Blackstone Publishing
Published: August 23, 2022
Summary:
From the New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her comes an electrifying thriller featuring newly minted US Marshall Andrea Oliver as she investigates a cold case with links to her father’s past.
A small town hides a big secret.
Who killed Emily Vaughn?
A girl with a secret. Longbill Beach, 1982. Emily Vaughn gets ready for the prom. For an athlete, who is smart, pretty and well-liked, this night that should be the highlight of her high school career. But Emily has a secret. And by the end of the evening, that secret will be silenced forever.
An unsolved murder.
Forty years later, Emily’s murder remains a mystery. Her tight-knit group of friends closed ranks; her respected, wealthy family retreated inwards; the small town moved on from her grisly attack. But all that’s about to change.
One final chance to uncover a killer.
US Marshal Andrea Oliver arrives in Longbill Beach on her first assignment: to protect a judge receiving death threats. But, in reality, Andrea is there to find justice for Emily. The killer is still out there—and Andrea must discover the truth before she gets silenced, too.
My thoughts:
Karin Slaughter is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Her books are just so complex and thrilling and I find I cannot put them down once I start them. I loved Pieces of Her when I read it a few years back and was ecstatic when I heard there was a sequel coming…it quickly became a highly anticipated read not only for August, but of the summer – and let me just say it totally delivers!
Of course, I’m going to start with my usual two cents about reading this series in order. While this book can be read as a stand-alone, so much happens in Pieces of Her that lays the foundation for Girl, Forgotten, especially when it comes to Andrea and her mother. And it’s just an amazing book on top of that, but that’s up to you…and don’t forget, there is the Netflix series and it is pretty true to the storyline.
While I loved Pieces of Her, I almost loved this more a tad bit more. It’s a very multi-layered mystery with twists and turns that kept me guessing all the way through – and I loved that! While it is dark, it’s not as graphic as some of the author’s previous books, though I will say there is one scene at the doctor’s office with Emily that is just horrific – but more in an old-school, misogynistic behavior way than anything else. It’s cringe-worthy and it just goes to show how well the author is at pointing out society’s bad behaviors.
This book pulled me in right away, and once I started it, I could not put it down. Karin Slaughter’s writing is so captivating that I find myself completely immersed in her stories and this one was no different. I managed to finish this in less than 24 hours. Between the engaging story, the close attention to detail and the fully fleshed out, multilayered characters, I was all in and I loved it. The multiple timelines and two perspectives worked so well here and I found myself equally engaged in it all – I just wanted answers to everything. Even the setting – the small town is itself a character and that plays into the story.
As with most thrillers/mysteries, I’m hesitant to say too much about the plot for fear of giving anything away, but I will say that the characters really do make this book. There are some really good characters and some really bad ones, and I loved that I was all over the place with who I thought had killed Emily Vaughn – never once coming close to figuring out the right person, by the way! And the way this one ends almost leads to me to think that we have not seen the last of US Marshall Andrea Oliver, which makes me one very happy reader!
Bottom line – if you love Karin Slaughter’s books or you love a good small-town mystery full of secrets and suspense, I highly recommend this one.
Audio thoughts:
I binged this audiobook – and it’s almost 16 hours but it was so good! It’s narrated by Kathleen Early and she did a fantastic job bringing this book to life. Her pacing and intonation were spot on and she infused just the right amount of tension and emotion into her voice as needed. I have listened to other Karin Slaughter books and Kathleen has narrated them – she just gets the nuances of Karin’s writing.
Books in this series:
- Pieces of Her
- Girl, Forgotten
Pieces of Her is sitting on my shelf glaring at me because I haven’t picked it up. I need to do I can read this series!
Author
Yes…I really think you should read Pieces of Her first!