Fans of Karin Slaughter know before they open one of her books, that it will be a page turner, so they will need to set aside a couple of hours, because they will not want to put it down. There will be grisly murders, a mystery and a surprise towards the end. Very rarely, but occasionally as in this one a HEA, of sorts.

This book takes place in the small Georgia town of Pikeville. The story opens 28 years ago, when after their home was torched, because their father is the town's notorious defense attorney, the dilapidated farm house that they have temporarily moved in to is invaded by two mask men. Their mother is murdered, one of the sisters (Samantha) is shot so the other (Charlotte) could run away.

Devastation and secrets from that night have pulled the family apart. Now another violent crime brings that back together. Neither daughter has psychological healed from that night. The story is a roller coaster of twists and turns, but also a lesson in how the two sisters have coped and finally are able to reconcile.

I read a free e-ARC for an honest review.

3.5 stars.
It took me awhile to get into this book but it eventually grew on me. Most of the characters were quite well drawn out and the plot turned out to be twisty and suspenseful. I enjoyed the witty dialogue and sharp one-liners, although I thought that the crude language wasn't necessary for the story or the characters. Some of the scenes of violence were quite graphic, but didn't put me off. This was a first Karin Slaughter book that I've read and I am going to try another of her standalones.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

When Charlotte and Samantha were thirteen and fifteen respectively, two balaclava-covered men came to the beaten up old farmhouse they’d been living in for only a short time. They had had their brick home burnt down and lost everything – the farmhouse was empty, so they moved in. But Rusty, their father, wasn’t home that night and although the men were after him, they decided on second best. Charlie and Sam’s mother Gamma was murdered and the girls were herded into the nearby woods; they knew they wouldn’t live to tell the tale…

Twenty eight years later, Charlie had done her best to bury those events – she was a lawyer like her father, though he was Pikeville’s defence attorney and his reputation was well-known. At the local junior school early one morning, Charlie was witness to a terrible trauma that brought her past rushing back – the memories hit her like a run-away train. As she tried to identify truth, the dark secrets from the past threatened everything she held dear. Would she be able to keep the secrets she had vowed never to reveal? Or would she crack from the intense strain she was under?

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter! Wow! This author NEVER disappoints! Filled with suspense, incredibly chilling events, twists that I didn’t see coming, and gripping, heartbreaking emotion, this long book (at 583 pages!) blew me away! A stand-alone thriller, The Good Daughter is one I highly recommend.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital copy to read and review.

Karin Slaughter has been one of my top authors for years, this book just blows you away.

The plot intertwines very cleverly, dealing with the aftermath of a harrowing and life changing event the family finds themselves involved in.

The family characters are so strong, you are just engrossed, giving you a story which is disturbing, haunting, emotional and unforgettable.

My favourite book for 2017

Thank you Netgalley, Harper Collins and especially Karin Slaughter for allowing me to read and review this unique book.

A thrilling and very enthralling read. Excellent story.

At the beginning I cynically thought this book was going to take a familiar theme of lawyer reluctantly taking a case to show murderer was innocent. How wrong I was ! This was a story of the long term psychological effects of crime and decisions made almost 30 years ago on a family. Lots of twists and turns the story keeps the reader guessing to the end. I had become quite weary of American crime novels following a formula but this was a refreshing if somewhat harrowing story. Positive review on Amazon

With Karin Slaughter you never quite know what to expect..... Except it will ALWAYS be a good read! I read this as a stand alone and found it a little slow going at first.... But then again, I started with an expectation based on other books by this wonderful author. The characters are all well developed - if not all likeable. Paints a vivid picture of what I perceive to be 'bible belt' America. The tension is excellent but I don't want to spoil it for you soooooo, just read it and see for yourself!

I'll just start by saying that this is so different from Karin's previous book The Kept Woman which I've just finished listening to on audiobook.  For one thing, there is hardly any swearing in it!!!!  But seriously, it's sort of like reading a completely different author so maybe if you have read her books before and decided that they are not for you, this might be the one to change your mind.  Anyway, I digress so back to the book in hand....

The book flits back and forth, from the past to the present day of our two main characters, sisters Charlotte (Charlie) and Samantha.  When we first meet them they have just moved house due to a fire at their old property which has possibly been linked to their father Rusty's career as a lawyer, he often defends the prosecuted, and in many trials, gets them off from the crimes they have been charged with committing.  On a warm summers day the two girls are at home with their mother Gamma when two men enter the property.  Things don't go according to their plan though and Gamma is killed in front of her daughters; Samantha is left for dead, and Charlie runs for her life.

Twenty eight years later and the sisters become reunited after a series of events lead to a high-school shooting and a family injury forces them to work together.  Neither of the girls have ever really talked about what happened on the night Gamma was killed and as the case against schoolgirl Kelly Wilson builds, the sisters begin to realise that they cannot continue their lives without some sort of dialogue as to what they experienced.

There is a whole host of characters in this book and each is vital to the story itself, there are no real bitty characters here but there are lots of questions to be answered.  Did meek and mild Kelly kill two people at school?  Can Rusty get her off the charges she faces?  What happened when Charlie ran on that horrific evening?  Karin Slaughter keeps the tension up throughout the book, with some real twists in the plot throughout.  I really enjoyed reading this, though it may not be for the faint hearted.

This book is so great. I couldn't put it down. So highly recommended!!!

This is the second thriller I've read lately that opens with a shitstorm of drama. In the best kind of way, of course. But The Good Daughter is, in some ways, much darker than Stillhouse Lake, and in other ways slower and more character-driven.

It's not a bad thing. Slaughter more closely resembles my beloved Tana French in style, making her books more about the detectives or, in this case, lawyers than about the actual crime/mystery. It's a clever technique that always ensures I'm invested, whether or not I can figure out the twists and whodunnits. The very best mystery/thrillers, in my opinion, are about so much more than the twists and whodunnits.

The Good Daughter is essentially a deeply emotional, character-driven family drama, set to the backdrop of two brutal crimes. The first happened years ago - two armed men forced their way into the home of young Samantha and Charlotte, murdering their mother and turning their lives completely upside down. The girls, now adult women and lawyers, are left with both the physical and mental scars; it is hard for the sisters to be around each other without serving as a reminder of the horrendous night that ruined everything.

The second crime, twenty-eight years later, is a school shooting that Charlie finds herself a witness to. When Sam returns to town, both of them are caught up in the case. It seems pretty obvious what happened - mentally slow teenager, Kelly, is caught literally with the smoking gun in front of two dead victims. But how much can Kelly be held responsible? Is everything as it seems? And, Charlie must ask herself: what, exactly, did she really see that day?

I don't know which story was most compelling - the gradual unveiling of what happened all those years ago, the investigating of the shooting and the dark secrets behind it, or the complex relationship between Sam and Charlie; the web of guilt, bitterness and love that they are tangled up in.

I should warn potential readers that there are some very disturbing and gory scenes of violence and (view spoiler). Slaughter doesn't gloss over details and there were some parts that had me cringing. If you are particularly sensitive to this, I wouldn't recommend The Good Daughter for you. But I was able to get past it.

My one main complaint about the book was that Slaughter does like to waffle on a little too much in parts. Some conversations between Sam, Charlie and Rusty go on for pages and pages without really adding anything. Though Tana French is occasionally prone to over-detailing, so I'm forgiving of it. Other than that, though, I thought it was a great read. Both drawn-out and complex, but also dramatic and compelling. The author gets the balance just right.

I would like to thank HarperCollins UK for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book.

I have yet to pick up one of Karin Slaughter's books and be disappointed. The Good Daughter had me completely engrossed from start to end. There are so many fascinating layers to the plot, there's always something going on and the pages couldn't turn fast enough. Every time I thought I had all the information, another layer was revealed and it got better and better with every page turn.

The characters were complex and well developed, they were living, breathing, real people and I was right there with them throughout. I shared their pain, their fear, their anger, and their sadness. I can honestly say that I loved everything about this one.

Definitely one I would recommend.

If you are looking for a compelling, well written, gripping read that you can't put down, then look no further.
I highly recommend this book and give it five shiny stars.

This is a terrific book and well worth reading, Karin Slaughters best so far. For a full review please go to the blog linked below.
I would highly recommend reading this book and have rated it five stars.

W.O.W. This was one hell of an amazing read! Really. I was drawn in from the first few opening pages, and got hooked on these characters within moments. Slaughter delivers, once again, a solid story, told with such finesse. You get drawn in. The characters become genuine, real people to you, the women are strong (I will always appreciate this), and you never feel like you are reading a book. It is like someone is telling you this story.

I was a big fan of the characters in the book. Sam, Charlie, Rusty, Lenore and Ben all brought a distinctly unique voice to the book, and I appreciate that. You always knew who was who and what was going on. You could identify with each and every one of them. Rusty is described in such a way that even though the town hates him on principle, you cannot help but like the man. He is witty and entertaining and loves his kids. Lenore is strong and stands her ground. Charlie, while totally damaged, is difficult to hate, though originally you think you are going to. Sam, brusque and stubborn as she is, has such a brilliant mind. Ben is absolutely adorable, and a strong, supportive man. I really liked it.

The story that Slaughter tackles here is a heavy one, something I know Americans are particularly touchy about – school shootings. They are vile things, and a horrible, tragic occurrence. Slaughter delivers the goods here again in terms of story – we have a truly savage, brutal back story for the Quinn family, and to see how they all come together again 28 years down the line over a school slaying is quite something. Slaughter gets right up to her elbows in the narrative. The writing flows smoothly and is genuine.

I barreled through this book. I did not want to put it down. I was engrossed for every single second, and thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the story. I was hooked, plain and simple. Definitely one of Slaughter’s strongest novels, and very interesting to see a story told from the perspective of the sisters. Absolutely a solid read and well worth it, I highly recommend this standalone novel from such an accomplished writer.

A moving thriller from Karin Slaughter, the first book I've read of hers and very gripping it turned out to be. Charlie and Sam, two young sisters, witness their mother's murder in a terrifying attack on their home; one sister is buried alive but survives and stays with her father while the other runs away to safety and a high powered career.

Many years later the sisters meet again when Sam witnesses another murder taking place and both women have to face up to what really happened to themselves, their mother and their father, Rusty, the town's notorious defence lawyer.

I'm sure many readers will enjoy The Good Daughter as much as I did. Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read and review it.

A great story which is just what I would expect from this very accomplished author. You can never relax reading a Karin Slaughter because she pulls no punches and offers no promises of happy ever after endings either.
This book was explosively brutal in some places but not in a sensational way. I usually like her characterisation and this was no exception I loved some and hated others just as she wanted me to I am sure.
Buy it today and settle down for a fabulous read... I wish I was just starting it today!

I’m a massive Karin Slaughter fan, I can’t get enough of her books so to say I was excited by the release of new book The Good Daughter is a bit of an understatement. The Good Daughter is another standalone novel and at first I was little disappointed that we weren’t going to be seeing Will Trent (love this series) however within a few pages I chastised myself for such thoughts. The Good Daughter was great in its own twisty, slow burning and emotionally charged way.

The Good Daughter takes us into the lives of the Quinn family. Beginning with the death of their mother, two teenage sisters, Charlie and Sam are faced with unspeakable violence. After their home comes under attack, the family is never the same again and the girls react very differently to this trauma. Twenty eight years later, we see the toll the horrors of 1989 have taken on the sisters. In the present day, Charlie is inadvertently caught up in another violent crime. This leads to revelations and confrontations with the past. What is the truth about the events in 1989?

“I loved your mother more than anything else on this earth. Every day with her was the best day of my life, even if we were screaming at each other at the top of our lungs.”

The Good Daughter is most definitely all about the characters. Slaughter has the ability to write such beautiful characters with such twisted and intricate dynamics. Both Sam and Charlie are unsurprisingly complex and have issues both interpersonally and with oneself. I adored Rusty, their father, despite his flaws. I could have just kept him in my pocket. He had lost so much over the years and endured so much heartbreak but he kept on keeping on. His quirky and quippy lines showed how deeply he cared for his daughters and how he never wanted them to see his own suffering.

The Good Daughter covers many themes, such as family, grief, and guilt. There are two main storylines here (past and present) and two main narrators Charlie and Sam, and Slaughter does a stellar job of seamlessly alternating between them. Confession time: It wasn’t until I was 40% through the book I realised that Sam had managed to survive the horror of 1989, so my head was pretty much spinning for a while. Even though there is a few violent events in the story, the violence is never graphic or gratuitous leaving this novel sitting solidly in the mystery category.

Set in the town of Pikeville, North Georgia (is Pikeville a real town, I struggled to find it on the map?) the author sets the scene as a small southern town, struggling with poverty in some parts, brimming with busybodies who know your business in all parts. Written and described so well, you can feel the claustrophobic and almost incestuous air of the town suffocating you. It’s a wonder that only one sister chose to start her life elsewhere.

The Good Daughter is a gritty and suspenseful read that will have you immersed from the first few chapters. It’s not a quick read, 525 pages meaning it’s leaning on the heavy side, it took me about four or five sittings to get through, but it is worth every minute. Highly recommend this multi-layered expertly plotted story. Overall five stars from me. Thanks to Karin Slaughter, Harper Collins and NetGalley for my advanced review copy.

I'd been craving a properly involving, gripping thriller that wouldn't make me shout in frustration at ludicrous plot twists or grit my teeth at sympathetic depictions of police brutality, and The Good Daughter ticked all my boxes and then some. Slaughter's standalone novel, set in smalltown Georgia, is on the surface about two tragedies within the community - a family attacked 30 years ago by masked gunmen, and a subsequent school shooting in the present day - but it goes much deeper than that, asking challenging questions about guilt, complicity, family and trust. Refreshingly for a US crime novel, the town police are portrayed not as highly trained investigators who'll always save the day, but as bumbling at best and trigger-happy at worst, while the central characters are all entirely believable and utterly sympathetic. The perfect summer holiday read, 4.5 stars.

Karin Slaughter writes the best twists and turns!!!! Like most of her books, I could NOT put this one down, desperate to get my answers and at the same time not wanting it to end.

I want to say that I loved the way the story began. Seriously, the first few pages had me thinking that someone was running for their lives, a few pages later and it was not at all what I thought. I honestly laughed a little because of the direction it took. Misleading in the best way. She also has the best descriptions I could practically see everything that I was raeding. This book, like many of hers, is messed up! You can't imagine stuff like this actually happening, and you even become a little uncomfortable, but you can't put it down, and you wonder about these types of people that do seriously messed up stuff to others. A

At a specific moment, I thought I had figured it out, but Karin Slaughter twists me up like whip lash and I'm lost once again. I love the mystery and the thrill of trying to figure it out. This book sheds light on the ugly, but on the strength that people have to get them through the ugly. It was a great story, and I'm so glad I picked it up. Highly recommended!

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter is powerful and poignant. With a beautifully structured plot involving flashbacks combined with present day narrative, Slaughter creates a story that is emotionally riveting from page one.
The novel opens with a scene from twenty eight years ago when two young sisters are practicing relay under their mother, Gamma's tutelage. It soon become clear that they have recently moved into the 'higgledy piggledy' house because their own home has been burned to the ground in an arson attack prompted by their lawyer father Rusty's insistence on defending clients that would otherwise be disenfranchised.
Within hours their family has been decimated... their mother shot, and the two girls facing death at the hands of two of their father's ex-clients.
Fast forward twenty-eight years and a school shooting once more necessitates Rusty defending a disenfranchised girl with a low IQ accused of shooting her teacher and a young pupil at her high school... The problem is , Rusty's daughter Charlotte, is a key witness.
Slaughter's rich characterization really encapsulated Rusty and Gamma (the girl's parents) for me. With seemingly effortless skill she paints the picture of two eccentric but totally in love people through the eyes of their daughters.
The Good Daughter is all about making a journey of discovery, letting go , accepting, moving on and most of all its about truth and being true to your inner core.
I found this book enthralling and immensely believable. The sense of place... that small town mentality with a huge divide between the very rich and the very poor was palpable. The emotional torture of the sisters was convincing.
One of those reads that'll leave you panting for more. I loved it!