Girl, Forgotten

Definitely read Pieces of Her first. I was pleasantly surprised by the book. I was almost more invested in the characters than I was in the mystery. I can’t wait for the next book. There has to be another one coming. A strong 4 stars!

Slaughter revisits a character from a previous novel “Pieces of Her”, as she follows now US Marshall Andrea Oliver, who’s on her first job protecting a judge who has been receiving death threats. Well, ostensibly, that’s why Andrea is in Longbill Beach, but she’s really there to find a killer who has gone unpunished for four decades. In 1984, Emily Vaughn went to her prom and never came home again. At least not alive. In the forty years since her death, Emily’s family has moved away and her friends have maintained their silence, but Andrea will not stop until she finds justice for the murdered teen. Slaughter’s novels are dark, gritty, and intense

Andrea has just completed her training to become a US Marshall. Her first assignment takes her to a town with a connection to her past. A young girl is murdered while Andrea is serving as security for a judge. There has been an unsolved murder in the same town for 40 years. Could this murder be related?

This fast-paced book keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me preview the ARC audiobook. It was perfectly narrated.

I’ve really enjoyed most of Slaughter’s books and this was no exception. The audio version of this offers amazing insight into the wide array of feelings of all of the characters. The narrator dies a superb job of creating tension and suspense which move the plot along at a frenetic pace. This is a sequel to Pieces of Her in which Andrea has become a federal marshal and must solve the case of a teen girl’s rape and murder from the past. Dual time periods create an urgency and the pace is relentless. Several characters are hiding deep secrets which make up a a sordid and very complicated puzzle once all the pieces are in place. The ending is complex and utterly gripping. This definite must-read for fans of psychological thrillers.

"A gripping sequel!"

GIRL, FORGOTTEN is another edgy multi-layered thriller from one of my favorite authors, Karin Slaughter! I always pre-order the audiobook, narrated by Kathleen Early, and once again, the dynamic duo shines for an outstanding, highly entertaining, and engaging written and audio performance. *Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award*

Please let there be another NetFlix episode because this one is on steroids! Slaughter does not hold back with the underbelly of this dark town full of secrets. Gritty, intense, and EVIL!

The sinister factor starts early and builds quickly as the extensive complex investigation gives way to deadly menace and dangerous secrets in this twist-a-minute novel. Fans of kick-ass female investigators will be well satisfied.

We return from the popular Pieces of Her with Andrea Oliver. She is no longer the shy little girl living in her mom's garage. Fans will enjoy seeing how Karin has shaped her into a real kick-ass investigator.

Taking place two years after the ordeal of mom Laura and daughter Andrea, Andy has decided to become a US Marshall and make something of her life. Andrea is partnered with an older Marshall, Leonard ‘Catfish’ Bible, who delights in educating his new green partner. (LOVE HIM)! We also check in with Laura, the mom, and Mike, the handler.

The new case takes Andrea to Longbill Beach, Deleware, where her crazy dad, Clay (cult leader-now in prison), is originally from. The psychopath is up for parole. Please do not let him get out!

A cold case from 40 years earlier. Told over two timelines, 1981 and forty years later, this is a haunting tale of dark secrets, lies, and murder.

In 1982, Emily Vaughn was murdered, and they never found the killer. Clay (Nick), Andrea's dad, was a suspect.

Emily's mother, Esther, a presidentially appointed judge, and her husband, Frank, need protection. She is receiving death threats.

EMILY'S FRIENDS:
Emily's friends are all scumbags, liars, abusers, drug dealers, and rapists and treated her terribly! After hearing from all of these so-called friends in her clique, I felt like I needed a shower. Gosh, if these are friends, I would hate to have enemies. Clay, Nardo, Blake, his nasty twin sister, Ricky, and his horrible teacher, Dean Wexler. There is also Jack Stilton, the Police Chief's son (gay) but is he more of an outsider and all Clay's puppets. This poor girl had no one to turn to, not even her controlling mom or abusive dad.

Who killed Emily Vaughn?

Emily was intelligent and planned a bright future until everything was taken away. She was raped after going to a party. Someone gave her a pill. She remembers nothing. Later she finds out she is pregnant but has no clue when who, or how. She begins playing Columbo and keeping a journal of everything in an attempt to remember. This has ruined her life. Eventually, she winds up brutally murdered. The entire town and her family have turned against her.

THE CULT: There is also another story in addition to the above. A farm where the two guys (Wexler and Nardo) are killing women by starving them, drugs, sexually abusing them in a cult-like compound and not allowing communication with the outside world or families. Several young women were emaciated, and an unexplained suicide at the farm.

Andrea and the team have their work cut out with layers of bull, and no one is telling the truth with their long-buried secrets.

I listened to this in one sitting. Complex! A high-stakes thriller full of action, twists, and riveting suspense. Everything you have come to expect from KS and more. A lot is going down, and you do not want to miss a thing! Appears we will get another upcoming installment #3 with Clay wanting to see Andrea. Cannot wait.

Not sure about you guys, but I am dying to get back to Will Trent/Sara. Hopefully, mastermind Slaughter can write a cross-over character (s) like (Lisa Gardner with all her rock stars) and somehow bring in Will Trent/Sara joining forces with Andrea/Laura and the gang to bring down the disgusting psychopath, CLAY! Now that will be prime for the big or small screen.

Slaughter fans are going to devour this one! As always, she dazzles!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #BlackstoneAudio #WilliamMorrow for an ALC to read, listen to, and review.

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www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Aug 23, 2022
My Rating: 5 STARS
Aug 2022 Must-Read Books
Top Books of 2022

Karin Slaughter is quickly becoming one of my new favorites for thrillers. When I got Girl, Forgotten, I didn't realize it was a sequel to Pieces of Her, but it functions fine as a standalone, too.

40 years after Emily Vaughn was brutally murdered on prom night, New U.S. Marshal Andrea Oliver begins investigating while on assignment in the small town where the murder took place.

I loved how well written the characters were. Even the ones that were absolutely the worst were realistic. I also loved how the dual timelines slowly unraveled the mystery of who killed Emily. I will say that the crime was not for everyone and was quite brutal.

Pub Date: 8/23/2022

Thank you to the author, publisher, and @Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Gah! That ending! I have long been a fan of Karin Slaughter, so expect gushing. Book two of the Andrea Oliver series is right up there with Slaughter's best. And as usual, she keeps you guessing. I found the culprit to be a complete surprise. This book is a perfect blend of plotting, prose, and whodunit.

Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow, and Blackstone Audio for the audiobook ARC.

Okay okay okay. This ones it. This ones the one. I’ve taken a back seat, been patiently waiting, and this is the Slaughter I loved. Ugh, I don’t even know where to start. I was INTO this book, the Slaughter level writing skill and storylines paired with the high school drama & cult fiction touch I love?! Yes freaking please.

I was truly obsessed with the main character Emily and honestly it was a very tough read at times. There’s strong trigger warnings most of the way through for sexual assault, and how the doctor/town/her friends talked to her after her pregnancy (not a spoiler it’s the whole premise of the book) was awful/so hard to read/totally a product and reality of the time. There were many times where I wanted to stop reading because I was frustrated or to get inside the book and give Emily a hug but honestly if a book is triggering those types of emotions for me then something has gone terribly right!!

I had 18 theories none of which were really right but the execution as always was fantastic by Slaughter. I was living for the interspersed referees to Pieces of Her and it totally made me want to reread it and fall in love with every version of Andrea we’ve been given.

Girl, Forgotten
By: Karin Slaughter
Releases August 23rd
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow. This book was SO good. I was absolutely invested I could not stop reading!

So… I do have to admit I did not read Pieces of Her. I didn’t realize that this was a semi sequel. You can still read the book as a stand-alone but it will ruin the twist from the first book for you. Featuring some of the same characters from the first book, this story follows Andrea Oliver and Emily Vaughn’s POV. This is a dark multilayered mystery that had multiple twists and turns. My mouth legitimately fell open at times! It’s dark, twisty, and I COULD. NOT. PUT. IT. DOWN. I just had to know what happened. This book hurt my heart and stomach at times. I just can not imagine what so many of these women and characters went through! I know a lot of what happens in the book is so common which makes this story all the more impactful and heartbreaking. Each character regardless of if you loved them (Andrea’s Partner - Catfish “Bible” or hated them (Legit almost everyone in that damn town), was written with so much depth. This story, while being dark and twisty is still so timely.

Speaking of the dark and twisty let me throw out some TW: rape, cults, physical abuse, anorexia, domestic violence, homophobia, gun violence, abortion, medical malpractice, and suicide.

I have to mention that I was able to listen to the audio book for my ARC and Kathleen Early did amazing! I can see another installment of the series to come! I will definitely be in line waiting for that when it comes out!

Thank you William Morrow & Company and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Oh My Goodness, this was an amazing book! It can be read as a stand alone if you are worried you missed book one in the series. A mystery of a young girl murdered in Small town USA in Longbill Beach, 1982. I loved the time period and the nostalgia of time gone by. This was a difficult time for pregnant teens that were often ostracized in the community, especially for Emily Vaughn, a senior in High School.

Who killed Emily Vaughn? Still no answer to that question 40 years later. She was the daughter of the Judge who is now receiving death threats. Andrea Oliver, the US Marshal, has relocated to the town to offer protection for the judge and her husband.
Andrea's main interest is tied to her dad, Clayton Morrow, who is spending time in prison for several crimes and thought to be the culprit in the murder of Emily. When Emily was in high school, she was known for her clique she hung out with Clay, Blake, Nardo, and Ricky. Their teacher at the time was Dean Wexler, who took Emily home one night from a party where she was incoherent. Her grandmother, a sweet old soul, worried about her dress on the wrong side out, no panties and unconscious...plus being brought home by a teacher.
When Emily finds out she is pregnant later, she can't believe it when she has never had sex with anyone. The night of her prom she is found bludgeoned almost to death, but put on life support for her baby to survive. This is an emotional roller coaster told from Emily's POV and I loved her character and felt sorry for her.
When another girl is found dead of suicide and looks like she has been starved, Andrea begins to investigate it and finds a cult tied to the clique 40 years later. This is a heart-racing book that kept me on edge for a definite answer on who killed Emily. I felt so much pain for her and Andrea's desperate search for clues to her father's part in it.
The language is rough listening to it on an audio, but nonetheless one of my favorites for this year!
Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing- Audio for this title in exchange for my review.

Karin Slaughter is one of my auto-buy authors! I love her books! Girl, Forgotten is another fantastic crime thriller. While it does have characters that appeared in Pieces Of Her, it can be read as a stand-alone book. Andrea Oliver is a new US Marshall who has been assigned to guard a Federal judge in her criminal father’s hometown. While there she conducts her own side investigation into who killed Emily Vaughn forty years ago. Was her father the killer?!

I switched between listening to this book on audio and reading the physical @bookofthemonth copy. The narration of the audiobook was very well done and I could have listened to the whole audiobook if I did not already have a copy of the book.

Thank you @netgalley and @blackstonepublishing for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my Girl, Forgotten, the sequel to Pieces of Her is just as good as the first.

Andrea Oliver (first introduced in Pieces of Her) has just graduated from the U.S. Marshall's and is heading to Longbill Beach for her first assignment. In Longbill, Andrea meets her new partner Bible (what a great character). Their assignment is to protect an 81 year old Federal Judge who is receiving death threats. Andrea has also been tasked with a “secret” assignment to find out if her father Clayton Morrow (currently in prison but possibly about to be released) murdered the Judge’s pregnant teenage daughter in 1982.

The story is told in alternating time periods and from two different points of view; Andrea’s perspective is present day while Emily Vaughn's is set in 1982. As with every Slaughter novel, there are some surprising twist and turns that leads to a captivating thriller.

This book is a must read.

Thank you NetGallery and Harper Collins UK for my advanced copy of this book.

Girl Forgotten (Andrea Oliver #2)
Karin Slaughter
This tale begins in Longbill Beach in 1982. Prom is usually the highlight of a teenage girl’s senior year, but not so for Emily Vaughn. Seventeen-year-old Emily is expecting a baby. Her world has come crashing down around her. She doesn’t know who the father of her baby is; she doesn’t remember having sex. She has been investigating Columbo style. She is about four months pregnant, and it is her prom night. Everyone seems to be making decisions for her without asking what she wants. She dons her prom dress, even though it doesn’t hide her baby bump and it is too tight for her swollen breast. She doesn’t bother with shoes. Emily walks to her prom and is ostracized by her fellow classmates. Even her so-called friends shun her. Someone is very angry with Emily perhaps because of her questions perhaps for another reason whoever it is bludgeons her to death.
The year is 2022, Andrea Oliver a newly qualified US Marshal has her first assignment, to protect Esther Vaughn, a Federal Judge, Emily Vaughn’s mother. She has a secondary assignment, find Emily’s murderer.
I was excited to read and review Girl Forgotten by author Karin Slaughter; I have read several of her books including the Will Trent series and the Grant County series. I have not read the first Andrea Oliver book but think I will have to remedy that. This tale kept me on the edge of my seat. It is told through two points of view, Emily Vaughn’s and Andrea Oliver’s. It smoothly moves back and forth through time. I found myself in tears as I listened to Emily’s story. Emily was a sweet girl but she surrounded herself with evil people: her “friends” Clay, Nardo, Blake, Ricky, a perverted teacher, Dean Wexler, her brilliant but neglectful mother, Esther, and her abusive father. Jack aka Cheese was her only true friend. US Marshal Andrea Oliver is a brilliant, driven heroine. This tale has it all even a cult. This is a thriller you won’t want to miss.

This book was so good! I enjoyed the first Andrea Oliver book, but this one was even better! One of the things that made the first book so good was the dual timeline and I wasn’t sure how the author was going to manage that in this one, but she kept the dual timeline and it worked out perfectly! I loved the connections to the first book and to Andrea’s life while also being it’s own entire story. I’m really interested in the life’s and backstories of anyone that touches this character and her father now and I hope the author continues this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing an Advanced Listener’s Copy for review!

The follow up novel to Slaughter's Pieces of Her did not disappoint! I loved the story line for Andrea's life after learning about her mother, father, and all the lies she was told over the years. In this book, Andrea Oliver is now a U.S. Marshal sent to a small town by the name of Longbill Beach. There she meets "Catfish" Bible, her new partner, and learns her assignment: protecting a judge who has been receiving death threats. Andrea quickly learns that the murder of this judge's daughter, Emily Vaughn, is a four-decades old unsolved case. Several of the characters from Pieces of Her reappear in this follow-up novel (haven't decided if we're calling it a sequel?? Or maybe just second in a new series!) Fans of Karin Slaughter, especially fans of Pieces of Her, will enjoy this one! I definitely did!! The twists and turns readers have come to expect from Karin Slaughter remain a touchstone in her storytelling - and I am here for it! With multiple POVs and time jumping, we get a story within a story here and not to give anything away, but readers may not get the conclusion they expected when first starting this! I'm eagerly hopeful for a book 3 in the Andrea Oliver series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow & Company for access to the audiobook version of Girl, Forgotten!

5 stars out of 5

Calling all thriller fans!!! You need to snap this beauty up.

I must apologize that I've been referring to this book as Girl, Disappeared for the past week 🙈🙈🙈 (the downfall of reading a kindle and not seeing the cover everytime I pick it up)...

I read someone's review of this on booksta and it totally piqued my interest. I was quarter of the way through before I made the connection that it was a follow up to "Pieces of her". But having said that you don't need to have read Pieces of her to make sense of this gem! It can be a perfect stand alone.

1982, Longbill Beach and 17 yr old Emily Vaughn, heavily pregnant is running away from her prom when she's brutally murdered.
Almost 40 yrs later new US Marshall Andrea Oliver is sent to Longbill Beach on another case, but Andrea has personal reasons why she want to look into the unsolved case of Emily Vaughn....

... Cue twists, turns and an edge of your seat storyline! I had no idea of the culprit till the very last moment. A fantastic, yet heartbreaking story that totally will hook you and reel you in and keep you guessing till the very end ..

I'm a huge Karin Slaughter fan, so I was so excited to be able to read an early copy of her new book Girl, Forgotten, and it was really good!! This is book # 2 in the Andrea Oliver series, but it can definitely be read as a standalone as well. I absolutely love Karin Slaughter's writing style. Her books IMMEDIATELY pull me in and they are impossible to put down. Her captivating writing, attention to detail and multilayered characters make each book easy to enjoy! As with most of Slaughter's books, this one can be graphic and heartbreaking. I would definitely check trigger warnings before diving into this one. This book is told from multiple POVs with multiple timelines. We have Andreas POV from the present, and Emily's POV from the past. I loved both POV so much, for different reasons. I loved Andrea's POV because I loved the mystery, the drive and the passion she had for the work she was doing (also, I Loved Bible). I loved Emily's POV because you just can't help but love sweet, kindhearted Emily. At times I felt such overwhelming sadness for her and everything she had gone through in her short life. I read this one as an audiobook and it's LONG, just over 15 hours but I honestly flew through it as fast as I could. I thought the narrator did such a good job making the story we listen to captivating and emotional. Overall - I recommend this one!

📖 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮:
• murder mystery
• small town drama
• multiple POVs
• multiple timelines

𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧: Karin Slaughter
𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨: Andrea Oliver #2
𝙋𝙪𝙗 𝘿𝙖𝙮: 8/23/22
𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚: Psychological Thriller
𝙋𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧: Blackstone Publishing
𝙇𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝: 15h 45m
𝙉𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧: Kathleen Early

Thank you Blackstone Publishing for my gifted ALC!

GIRL, FORGOTTEN is really smart Karin Slaughter. I hadn't researched the book before I started listening to the audio and then quickly realized we knew these characters - which picks up a few years after PIECES OF HER.
This is partly Andrea's coming of age as a United States Marshal, luckily teamed with an irresistible partner/friend/mentor named Bible, and partly a mystery of an unsolved murder from the 1980s. Tasked with protecting a Federal Court Judge while simultaneously unraveling the secrets of the town that continue to compromise the safety and welfare of women, the book is a fast-paced novel that doesn't shy away from the depravity and danger that threaten young women.

Andrea Oliver is back and better than ever. Girl, Forgotten proves to be the exception to the rule that the sequel is rarely better than the first book in a series.

Synopsis: Longbill Beach, 1982. It’s prom night. Emily Vaughn is pregnant and socially isolated from her friends. Her night ends with being murdered. Nearly 40 years later, Andrea Oliver graduates as a US Marshall and is assigned to work in Longbill Beach to protect a judge who is receiving death threats. However, Andrea’s real focus isn’t the judge, it’s solving Emily Vaughn’s murder. Can she figure out what happened in this small town 40 years ago?

Review: I read this book in less than 24 hours. It is totally bingeable and a very strong sequel to Pieces of Her. This investigative, suspenseful read realistically portrayed trying to solve a 40 year old case in a town that is full of secrets. The interspersed flashback chapters were a great way to plant clues and provide the reader additional context as Andrea tries to identify Emily’s killer and baby daddy. It seems like Slaughter has set herself up for another book in this series, and I really hope that it happens! Andrea and her partner Bible make a great duo.

Excellent as an audio!

A Girl Forgotten is book #2 of the Andrea Oliver series and it was a 5 ⭐️ for me. I chose to listen to this book on audio and it was narrated by Kathleen Early. She narrated book #1 also and was excellent. I’m really excited because I believe we’re going to have a book #3! Yay!
You can read this as a stand-alone if you’re wondering but book #1 was really good and I suggest reading it as well. It was well written and cleverly told it kept me glued to my seat. There’s mystery and suspense throughout and I finished it in one day and thought it was so well done.
KS has such a unique way of creative interesting situations with breath holding surprises. It was told in dual POV, past and present. The audiobook is over 15 hours of listening which I highly recommend listening to.
Thanks Blackstone Publishing-Audiobook via NetGalley.

If you have followed me for any amount of time at all your know that I am a Slaughter STAN and this was easily one of my most anticipated books of 2022!
This is the second installment of Andrea Oliver's series, and although this can easily be a stand-alone book, I REALLY don't think you should read this one without reading "Pieces of Her" first. (honestly, you could even get away with just watching the show on Netflix if you are pressed for time!!)

I love Andrea in book one, she was so young and dumb and was just thrown into this crazy world. I loved that we got to fast forward a few years to see where she currently ended up. Slaughter also has this insane way of always having her finger on the pulse of what is currently going on in society, so I just loved Emily Vaughn's story. It felt so prevalent to what women are facing in government today so Slaughter got extra brownie points of that!

FAVORITE NARRATOR OF ALL TIME!!!!!!

#BookReview | Girl, Forgotten by @karinslaughterauthor, narrated by @kathleenearly

Via audiobook by @blackstonepublishing

AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE TOMORROW, AUGUST 23!

★★★★★

As of late, the thriller/mystery genre has left me feeling so unsatisfied, underwhelmed, and frustrated. I didn't have much hope, going into the spooky season, that I'd find many five-star reads. Many of my recent reads have been redundant in plot or in concept, and overdone in the worst, try-hard kind of way.

Enter: Karin Slaughter

I. Am. OBSESSED! with Karin Slaughter's writing style. This was my first K.S. novel and I can already tell she isn't a cookie-cutter thriller author. I have already added her to my auto-buy author list. My Amazon cart has much of her backlist. It's officially, I'm a fan.

This book is layered, dynamic, and both well written and well narrated. The plot was original, the red herrings were perfectly subtle, the reveal was unexpected but was not impossible or unreasonable, and the reader isn't left yelling at the main character for overlooking obvious clues. The duel timeline was impeccably presented, and the two first-person POVs contrasted so well that they truly felt like two different people. Both of these writing techniques can make a book fall flat if not executed well.

And the narrator, Kathleen Early... Bravo. Truly. Have you ever listened to an audiobook where you had to take a break, not because of the story, but because of the narrator's voice? I have!!! This narrator, however, left me enjoying this book at home, at work, while driving, at the gym, and while grocery shopping. I could listen to her all day! I'll surely be looking for her other work going forward.

If you haven't read a Karin Slaughter novel, the time is now. Get the audiobook!

Thank you, @netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this novel prior to publishing in exchange for an honest review 🤍

This is the first Karin Slaughter book I have read. The characters were well developed and I became vested in their situations. I kept trying (and failing) at determining who Killed Emily Vaughn.

I was not expecting another book about Andrea Oliver after Pieces of Her. . This book was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed seeing more of her story. Andrea becomes a US Marshal and is sent on her first assignment protecting a judge that has been receiving death threats. She finds herself embroiled in a 40 year old cold case of a 17 year old murdered girl. Andrea finds herself learning the secrets in this small town.

Once again Slaughter creates a page turning thriller that keeps you guessing until the last page. The characters in the town have so many secrets and connections to the past that will make your head spin in classic Karin Slaughter fashion. It is a solid mystery and one of her best.

The pacing and narration were very good for the audiobook.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio version in exchange for an honest review.
#NetGalley #KarinSlaughter #Girl,Forgotten

4.5 ⭐️

Read/Listen If You Like:
🔪 Thrillers
🔪 Who did it?
🔪 Sequels
🔪 Pieces of Her (book 1)

Audiobook Review:
This is the second book in the Andrea Oliver series from Karin Slaughter and I absolutely enjoyed it just as much as the first installment if not a little bit more.

This story picks up a couple years following the conclusion of Pieces of Her and jumps right in with Andy working as an US Marshall as she is sent to work as protection for a Judge in the hometown of a forgotten girl Emily Vaughn who was brutally murdered while 7 months pregnant after experiencing a sexual assault that led to the pregnancy and to further complicate matters, she doesn’t know who assaulted her and who’s child she was carrying. Both crimes had been relatively forgotten and left alone for many years, but when Andrea comes to town she can’t help but poke around this town with hopes to figure out who r@ped Emily, and did they also murder her?

I loved the twists and turns of her investigation and the different POV as we get Emily’s POV leading up to her murder and present day of the investigation effortlessly blended together.

This one really solidified that I will be reading more from Karin Slaughter!

Happy Pub Week to Girl Forgotten.

The transformation in Andy’s character from the book that proceeds Girl Forgotten- Pieces of Her - is a complete 180! I love how she has matured and gained more confidence. It no doubt has to do with what she went through in Pieces Of Her but probably also with the fact that she has just graduated from the US Marshall's academy and is now a US Marshall.

Right after graduation she is sent on her first assignment. This assignment is two fold - protect a Federal Judge who has received death threats and find a way to gather evidence to pin the 1980s death of a pregnant teen on her cult leader imprisoned father. Where these cases takes Andy is to a small town filled secrets, lies and more deaths.

This was a really nice follow up to Pieces Of Her. I'm so glad Andy’s transition as a badass confident US Marshall looms large in this book. The contrast to who she is now and who she was in Pieces Of Her is one of the most striking things about Girl Forgotten.

Another striking element is the dual timeline of the 1980s life of pregnant teen Emily and her delinquent friends. You can't help but feel sorry for her even before she is murdered. She is pregnant, has awful "friends" and parents and the whole town turns its back on her. This is a bit of an origin story of sorts for one of her friends who plays a major role in Pieces Of Her. Let's just say they haven't changed much in 40 years - certainly not for the better.

Girl Forgotten like most of Karin Slaughter's books, is full of triggers like eating disorders, sexual assault, violence, murder, misogyny, homphobia, child abuse and the whole kitchen sink of thriller triggers. so be warned before diving in.

Girl Forgotten is such a well written book with really unique and stand out side characters that have some of the best dialogue. The narration was brilliantly done which allowed me to lose myself in the story even more. Pieces of Me is my favorite of the two books but Girl Forgotten was really quite memorable.

I have never met a Karin Slaughter book I didn't like. I didn't realize this was book was the second book in a series and while it's not necessary to read the first book it would've helped fill in some gaps. This book sees Andrea, a newly minted US Marshall go to her imprisoned, birth fathers hometown. While officially there to watch over a judge she is also there to dig into a connected cold case. Anyone who enjoys Karin Slaughter or thrillers will enjoy this book.

***SPOILERS**

Girl, Forgotten was a phenomenal follow up to the first book of the series Pieces of Her. Slaughter did a great job continuing the Story for Andrea and her mother, but with bring more of the history of her imprisoned fathers childhood, devious nature, and gave more grounds for the way she portrayed him as a natural cult leader. Keeping us glued with the current blackmail of the judge, while allowing pieces of the cold case murder to surface or Andrea was very well done. I truly enjoyed the new characters introduced in this book, like Bible her partner, and her love interest from book one! I hope to see more from Slaughter with a third book for Andrea and her crazy family.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read the ARC.