Leigh is a tough lawyer who survived a tough childhood, a childhood full of neglect, abuse and violence, as well as a younger sister, Callie,  that she felt responsible to look after. Working to distance herself from her past the best way she can, Leigh has built a life for herself that many would define as successful. When she is brought onto a new case she finds her present on a collision course with her past that puts her family and her sister right in the crosshairs. If she wins her career will skyrocket, but if she loses Leigh may lose more than just the case.

Wow! What a twisted, crazy novel. While I wouldn’t say that False Witness is necessarily a suspenseful novel, it still managed to keep me at the edge of my seat as I listened, wanting to know what would happen next. The characters are gripping and interesting; Dr. Jerry is easily my favorite in the novel. The descriptions are very effective and paint a complete picture of the places, characters, and their emotions. Slaughter starts the novel off with a bang and she never lets go with all of the timely revelations. If all of her books are like this one she has a new fan.

The narration by Kathleen Early is phenomenally done. She brings a lot of emotion into her reading, making it easy to get lost in the story and really feel it; the suspense, the characters’s emotions, the revelations. I really enjoyed experiencing this novel through her narration.

irst of all – a trigger warning that this book includes graphic discussion of child abuse/pedophilia, rape and sexual assault, drug use and needles, and more.

False Witness, a Karin Slaughter stand-alone thriller in the vein of Pretty Girls, is about sisters Leigh and Calli. As children they were victims of all sorts of abuse that left them with scars, both physical and psychological. Now they are adults who have tried to put their pasts behind them with varying degrees of success. But, not to be cheesy, the past never really stays in the past.

From the very first page, this is an extremely graphic, disturbing, and captivating read. So really it’s typical Karin Slaughter. It’s worth noting, however, that this book is set mid Coronavirus pandemic so that adds another layer of potential discomfort.

Even as an Atlanta (and Buckhead) resident, I found all the talk about this event happening in Fulton County and that event happening in Dekalb County to be fairly confusing and unnecessary. Also, and this is nitpicking, but the narrator mispronounced the name of the University of Georgia mascot Uga on multiple occasions.

I thought Calli, Leigh, and Walter were all well written. The vet, too. It’s rare to read about a character as troubled as Calli, someone who makes a lot of unsympathetic decisions, and still find her likable and relatable. But Slaughter does a good job of walking that tightrope.

The characters of Buddy and Andrew/Trevor were also pretty fully fleshed out. Same with the PI friend. However I really found Sidney to be an enigma in ways that really detracted from the last 1/4 of the book for me. The revelation that she was also a murderous psychopath felt unearned.

All the twists and turns in the book really kept me guessing. Few authors can surprise me as much as Slaughter does. That said, her books also tend to be a little too long and at times fairly repetitive. False Witness is no exception there.

Anyway, for readers who are Slaughter fans/like thrillers and have a strong stomach this book is a slam dunk!

3.5 stars, rounded up

This is an intense standalone from Slaughter that on the surface seems really straightforward, but there are a few twists that I didn't see coming.

A couple of things that I didn't like--the book was way too long. There was some repetition that could have easily been cut, I felt like the events in the past were gone over too many times and some editing would have been welcomed. I also didn't care for the myriad comments about the pandemic and masks and sanitizer and distancing. Too soon, and a few mentions of all of it would have definitely gone a long way towards creating atmosphere rather than near-constant references making the reader weary. Let's face it, we're all burned out on talking about the pandemic and I read to escape reality for the most part. Acknowledgement without dwelling would have been sufficient.

For the positives--the storyline is great and, although graphically detailed with violence and scenes about drug use, the plot is surprising and keeps the reader guessing as to what will happen next. I liked the sisters as characters and didn't like their mother at all, and Andrew was pure evil, but in a way that made me not know which things he was going to get away with (or which ones he actually committed himself).

I listened to the majority of this book as an audiobook, the narrator was fantastic and even gave me chills in some of the parts. Just reading the words on the page don't come across as creepy or disgusting as hearing them read out loud.

I am obsessed with Karin Slaughter and if you are too, you will not be disappointed by False Witness.

False Witness has a lot of what has stood out in Slaughter’s other stand alone novels (and probably her series, but I haven’t delved too far into those yet) - estranged sisters pulled back into each other’s lives, gruesome violence, twists on twists on twists and heavy commentary on women not being believed about sexual assault.

Also, shout out to Kathleen Early who narrated the audiobook and gave an amazing voice performance. Each character was clearly defined and articulated, it was like a little radio play!

I usually don't give 5 stars to books like this - typically I see the plot of crime/legal/thrillers coming a mile away and can get bored because it feels like the same story over and over. But for me this one felt different. Not only is it expertly plotted, it's the first book I've read where COVID is part of the characters' experience and while I still don't know if I was ready for that, but Slaughter does a masterful job of reflecting our experiences over the last 18 months. There were also some parts that were deeply reflective on addiction, grief, and the pandemic that surprised me and made me tear up, so that alone pushed me from a 4 star to a 5.

While I'm giving this a 5 star review I cannot caution sensitive readers enough. This book tackles some really REALLY terrible subjects and does not sugar coat a thing: child rape and molestation, drug use, suicidal ideations, COVID, violence, and there's probably more. If you're a sensitive reader, I would recommend skipping this one.

What a fantastic f***ing book! Not sure how this was my first read from Slaughter, but it for surely will not be my last!

Karen draws you in right from the beginning and just does not stop packing the punches. She is a master at giving you bits of the story, character and relationship building and detailed storytelling, all while keeping you wanting more. Every bit of the story has meaning, drawing you in and making you care about what has been happening with the characters.

Nearly all the characters are morally grey and I loved that about it. Usually you get one truly morally grey character, but there were multiple here, and not without good reason. Sometime good people do bad things and Slaughter does a wonderful job of showing us this. Between the relationship with Leigh and her sister, and the two antagonists, you get to understand how certain actions happen out of love and hate at the same time. Sometimes to preserve yourself and your sanity, it takes an act of defiance.

The audiobook was wonderful. Early did a fantastic job including you in what was happening, feeling what the characters felt and keeping you in a state of suspense.

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review

Another amazing story by Karin Slaughter! The story telling has you so drawn into the story of Leigh and Calli. Life has been awful for them and it could get even worse.
Someone from their past comes back to haunt them after they committed a crime and now Leigh has to help try this mans case or he could blow up their world.

I love the way she twist a complex story with past and future. So many intense scenes, the gravity of the sisters, their actions, and the horrible actions of others but I needed to know what happened next. She balanced well the strong relationship of sisters but the effect their pasts have on each of them so well. You grow so attached to Leigh, Callie and Walter as he becomes involved to help them. The story is brutal but honest and, real, and heartbreaking at times. Covid was in the story and you could feel the real impact but it wasn't the center of it. I loved that authors note at the end as Karin Slaughter explains some of the influences for this book. The narration was fantastic, smooth and just helped add to sucking into the story.


TW: Rape, drug use, violence.

Thank you to William Marrow and Netgalley for my copy for honest review!

As always, Karin Slaughter did not disappoint. As a lawyer, I always appreciate how accurate her depiction of the legal field is (with inaccuracies, of course...but barely!) She writes sister relationships so well. The overarching mystery was compelling and interesting. Also as always, Karin Slaughter writes some of the most graphic depictions of violence and sex crimes so TW for just about everything. The Good Daughter is still my favorite, but all of her books are first class.

This book begins with a harrowing scene from 1994 and transitions into Spring 2021. I loved how current this book felt - lots of masks and mentions of hand sanitizer. 😷

Leigh is a defense attorney who is hard at work regardless of the global pandemic that is taking place. She’s keeping it together, when suddenly a person linked to a dark incident in her past comes forth.

Leigh finds herself defending a violent rape/murder case that has a strange connection to a horrible moment from her and her sister’s lives. I will warn that the crime scene descriptions are in true Karin Slaughter fashion, and are very gruesome and explicit. This standalone novel is gritty and disturbing on many levels.

Was the writing and suspense of this well done? YES, it was. This is a well constructed, chilling novel. Karin Slaughter is excellent at what she does. However, the storyline itself wasn’t enjoyable for me & because of how heavy it was, I had a hard time actually liking the book.

This book deals with child molestation, brutal rape, murder, child abuse, drug addiction, Covid…so yeah, very little happiness here.

If you know me, you know I’m a big fan of dark reads, but I think this subject matter was a bit too much for me. Anything that deals with pedophiles will never be something I can handle in stories…even if the bad guy gets what he deserves. I just don’t personally want to read about it.

🎧The narrator of the audio did a great job. Her voice transitions and ability to convey the story was well done and I liked listening to her.

This is an amazing thriller. The first chapter was insane. It legit hit the ground running. I loved how it skipped over to adult MC sisters. I felt really sad for addict one and hated that the past was still coming for them. The author did amazing in keeping the pages fast turning and full of turns. She kept things gritty and kept the characters flawed but human.

The ending was just chef’s kiss .

Thank you so much for the opportunity to listen to this book prior to publication! Unfortunately, The quality of the audio is not good and I love Kathleen Early as a narrator! I've listened to quite a few Karin Slaughter books and really enjoy her narration. This version has a mechanical sound to it so sadly, I can't listen to this for 18+ hours. I did not finish this audiobook but gave it a 4 because I have loved all of Karin's books!

WOW!!! Karin Slaughter is the Queen of writing. False Witness will get you on the edge of your seat. She did a great job with incorporating COVID into her story. Great read.

AHHHHH HOLY, this book was amazing! It was the right amount of disturbing, heartbreaking, and caused all kinds of other emotions. I appreciated that Karin Slaughter incorporated COVID into the book, which definitely makes it more "realistic." This book deals with complex family relationships, child abuse, brutal murders with many twists thrown in. A great summer read!

Karin Slaughter does it again!

This is a tragic story of two sisters who experienced trauma when they were young and each dealt with their past in different ways. Leigh leads as unremarkable life trying to forget her past while her sister Calli wrestles daily with her demons.

The opening scenes were graphic and found me cringing and wondering if I would be able to make my way through the book. But the story is so compelling I found I couldn’t put the book down.

As their past catches up with them, I particularly liked how the author wove scenes of the past into the present as the sisters returned to their hometown.

Additionally, although there is violence against women (as is typical with mysteries and thrillers), I appreciated the strength of the main female characters. This is one aspect that sets Slaughter’s novels apart from other thrillers. The female characters are well developed, flawed, but show incredible strength of character.

This contemporary thriller is set in the time of Covid. Although the pandemic was not in the forefront of the story, it was interesting to see how daily life was affected.

Trigger warning as this book contains domestic violence, child abuse, & sexual assault.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ALC of False Witness.

Karin Slaughter never fails to write a good book. I listened to this in 24 hours. I give this a solid 4 stars. The one thing that was missing for me was that “sit on the edge of you seat thriller”. But I did love it. The two sisters persevered and over come their demons. I don’t want to give anything away, so just pick up the book and read it. You won’t regret it. Slaughter comes out of the gate full force.

There are really mane like Buddy and Andrew. They are sick psychopaths who enjoy watching women suffer and they grow from that. They think they rule the world and more they can blackmail people more they think they are invincible. Until what their ‘vices’ become their end…

The sisters were nannies to a boy and his father was molesting one convincing her that she wanted all of this too. However, he didn’t realize that even 13 year olds would have their limits. Years later, molested sister is battling addiction and pandemic. Other sister is working her way up at a law firm. She gets a case and everything that was forgotten slowly comes back to surface. Now it is time to solve the problems, current and past, once and for all…

I liked how this story brought together all the true crime stories I know and current events. I finished it in one sitting. I have to say I was both shook and cracking up when I read the the note from the author at the end. She was talking about the time when she was writing this book and she commented on our mask journey in the past year: how we don’t need them, then need them, then also need to double mask, etc. She was mentioning how she wanted her stories not to be anchored at a certain event or time, but it think it made the story even more powerful. If you need a good thriller, pick this up!

LOVED this book. The fact that it was rooted in 2020/2021 with the pandemic, capital uprising, etc. was a detour from Slaughter's other books that typically aren't rooted in a specific moment in time (although you can deduce that it's contemporary thrillers. That being said, I LOVED the present day references to the pandemic and how devastating it has been. Beyond that, this is a thrilling book and was a great stand-alone thriller from Slaughter. It reminded me a lot of Pretty Girls, with one sister struggling with substance abuse and the other trying to keep it together. Karin Slaughter can do no wrong in my book and I have loved every single one of her books. Would 100% recommend to anyone who loves a good thriller.

Thank you for the advanced audio copy. I appreciate the opportunity to listen. Unfortunately, I could not get behind this book. Although the major plot line was interesting and I was curious to find out what happened, the violent rape/murder descriptions were too much. Some people might enjoy vividly reading about these horrible acts, but I do not. I also felt like there were way to many COVID references. I felt like every other sentence the author was saying how someone was pulling down their mask, or putting on hand sanitizer. It got exhausting, especially when I use reading as a way to escape from reality. I do realize COVID is a part of our new day to day, but I felt like this book was a bit too much in showcasing it.

I was SO excited to get an advanced audiobook of False Witness as Karin Slaughter books on audio are what got me hooked on audiobooks. Kathleen Early is one of my favorite narrators and she has a way of bringing the gritty, dark writing in Karin Slaughter books to life. I was immediately drawn into this story and couldn't stop listening.

I know Karin Slaughter books aren't for everyone. They are dark, so many brutal violent scenes and False Witness has detailed descriptions of rape, pedophilia, murder, drug abuse/addiction and more. Even with these hard scenes, I'm always so into her books.

Leigh is a defense attorney in Atlanta and she's tried hard for a normal life after a hard childhood and hiding a devastating secret from her teenage years. When she gets a new case defending a rapist, she is shocked to find he's the little boy her and her sister used to babysit and he knows her past....

This almost felt like an episode of Criminal Minds to me. Where you know what happens but you're trying to see how it all plays out.

I loved this book and Karin Slaughter fans will too!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

And Holy. Friggin. Night. Karin Slaughter did it again.

This standalone thriller follows defense attorney Leigh Collier and her sister, Callie as they come face to face with demons from their past. We see the lasting impact of trauma and how it bleeds into every day life and decision making. This book I s riddled with trigger warnings (to be listed at the end of this review), but also really, really important conversations. A thriller has never made me cry, but there were two conversations that Karin wrote that moved me to tears. They were beautifully executed.

The only flat note in my symphony of love for this was the inclusion of the pandemic, though after listening to her author’s note, I understood her why. I think for me, as a teacher who was essentially frontline in this pandemic, it was a little too soon. Very much a me thing. Did it stop me from finishing this lovely dark and twisted masterpiece? Absolutely not. It wasn’t a big enough part of the book to bother me that much.

I loved the sisters, their challenging dynamic. Karin is fantastic at constructing compelling, complex female heroines that are flawed and still strong. It’s beautiful.

This book had me ensnared from the beginning, full of twists and turns. It had me wishing I wasn’t teaching summer school so I could have listened all the day and night instead of over the course of four days.

If you like thrillers, pick this up immediately.

And now, for the promised trigger warnings (I may have forgotten one or two, who knows):

Rape, pedophilia, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, suicide, sexual assault