We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter

 

Twenty-five years of writing the best thrillers means a new Karin Slaughter book is cause for excitement. Getting in on the ground floor of a new series is even better!

Emmy Clifton is a police deputy in the small town of North Falls, Georgia, when a pair of teenage girls go missing on the night of the Fourth of July. One of the girls is the daughter of Emmy's best friend since childhood. With blood found at the scene, a clock starts and the chances of the girls being found alive diminish with every minute that passes. With the help of her father, the Sheriff, as well as the FBI, some truly sketchy local characters are discovered. Evidence eventually leads to Adam Huntsinger. 

Huntsinger is convicted of the crime, but a true crime podcast casts doubt on his guilt when it discovers he was responsible for a different crime on the night of the kidnapping. Shortly after his release, another young girl goes missing in nearly identical fashion. Now the race is on and a young life once more hangs in the balance.

Slaughter is unparalleled in her ability to make you identify with her characters and then put them through an absolute meat grinder, both physical and emotionally. I absolutely loved Emmy Clifton and her whole family. Slaughter's characters are complicated and imperfect. Small-town life holds many secrets, some of them quite dark. Small towns also have history, and people with long memories. Darkness can be found here, often in the places and people you would least expect it.  

Karin Slaughter reaches into your chest, squeezes your heart, and lets it beat only when she wants it to. You may find yourself pausing between chapters just to catch your breath. There is an intensity to her work that is seldom found elsewhere. This book is intense, thrilling, and filled with shocking twists. This is an exciting series launch, and I have a feeling that future books will go to even greater heights. 

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.