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By:  Karin Slaughter

ISBN: 978-0062430243

Publisher:  William Morrow

Publication Date: 8/8/2017

Format:  Hardcover

My Rating: 5 Stars +

30 Best Books of 2017 

5 Stars ++ The queen of crime thrillers and international bestselling author, Karin Slaughter, takes a break from her popular Will Trent and Grant County series with her latest emotional, complex, twisty, and intense standalone psychological crime thriller. 

EXPLOSIVE! 

A family is torn apart by the tragedy in unspeakable ways. THE GOOD DAUGHTER will blow you away! Once again, making my Best Books of 2017. You can pretty much guarantee the author will always be on the list topping the chart. 

She has been there consecutively for the last four years since I started my blog: 

2017 The Good Daughter 
2016 The Kept Woman 
2015 Pretty Girls 
2014 Cop Town 

Two powerful stories. Past and Present. When they connect, the pieces of the puzzle reveal all the evil, secrets, and lies of the past. 

Thirty years ago, in a town outside Atlanta, GA, we meet two sisters: ages thirteen and fifteen—Charlotte and Samantha Quinn. 

Their father, Rusty was a small Southern town defense attorney in Pikeville, Georgia (a small town), defending a lot of bad men. We are talking scum. 

From pedophiles, rapists, murderers, and kidnappers. Rusty was always at work and had his share of enemies. There were always nasty and terrifying voicemails. 

Gamma, Rusty’s wife, is a brilliant research scientist who has given up a career to settle with Rusty in the Southern town. People did not fit in with Gamma. She was too smart and difficult. She refused to fit in and keep her mouth shut. 

First, there is a fire. They are homeless. These guys do not like Rusty defending the bad guys. Someone has to pay. So they go after his family. 

Then next, something much worse. The night that will change the Quinn family.

Zach and Daniel Culpepper take their hatred out on the Quinn family. However, Rusty most likely their target, is not home when the two masked evil gunmen arrive. 

Ultimately Gamma dies while protecting her family. Shooting, raping, and terrorizing the sisters. Shot and buried alive. Two girls are forced into the woods at gunpoint. One runs for her life. One is left behind…

Now, two estranged sisters. Attempting to put the past behind them. Left with damage and scars. Over the years they have gone their separate ways. 

Twenty-eight years later Charlie is an attorney in the same southern town. Tragedy strikes again. A shooting at a school bringing back the horrors of the night long ago.

Multi-layered and complex. Secrets and lies. Nothing is as it appears. Where all the players from the past have their own individual motives and intersect with the present-day events. 

When the girls are told to keep their secrets and the horrors of that dreadful night sealed and closed in a box forever, it may have done further damage. The dad and sisters never dealt with their emotions of that dreadful experience. Hence, causing further problems in their individual lives and their relationships. . 

Violence strikes in Pikeville. Charlie and Sam have horrific memories of that night long ago, but the shocking truth of the past crime has yet to be solved. Until a shooting at a school. Slowly the lies, deceit, and secrets are unraveled.

Sam, highly intelligent, takes after her mom. She has brain damage and yet becomes a successful New York attorney. 

Impulsive, Charlie- more like her dad in some ways, remained in the same town and is also an attorney in the criminal sector and married to Ben, ADA. 

However, past events (which readers discover later in the book), has caused the couple to grow apart. (All stemming from the horrific events of the past). 

Charlie, attempting to escape her mounting problems, has a one-night-stand which causes a string of deadly events. OMG (deadly). 

The guys she had sex with. A teacher. A student. A principal, and his wife. Charlie gets caught in the crosshairs of revenge. Why would a mentally challenged young girl shoot someone?

Is there something more sinister at play and how does it connect with the tragedy from years past? 

Superb writing! What a book. Her standalone books are as good as her series. A huge Slaughter fan; and an Atlanta gal myself for years— No one does “Atlanta” better. Karin has more avid fans than cars on I-285 and GA 400 in rush hour. 

Well-deserved, THE GOOD DAUGHTER – is one well-plotted, crafty, character-driven gripping thriller. Trust me— lives will be "threatened" if you are interrupted while reading. 

A mix of domestic suspense, family drama, crime thriller, psychological, legal, mystery, and action . . . all rolled into one. 

As always, with Karin’s books, the audiobook is a “must”. Kathleen Early and Karin Slaughter make for one dynamic unstoppable team. However, you need to pair it with the book, since there is so much stuff you will want to highlight. 

Highly recommend reading the novella, Last Breath as well. (My favorite novella of the year). 

No one does brutality, violence, human suffering, emotions, and secrets of the past better. Someway there is always triumph over tragedy; however, they may not be the same as they started. 

NEVER attempt to try and figure out what is coming. Karin Slaughter will shock you to the very end! Razor sharp. 

Brilliant, bold, dark, edgy, intelligent. A highly addictive, mind-bending, and engrossing read! You will be hooked from page one to the explosive ending. (what a great ending, indeed). 

I enjoyed the intense relationship between the two sisters (tenderness, anger, love, emotion, heartbreak) and the author’s dark humor always adds balance to the darker side. The coffin section was hilarious. Rusty was one wild character. Loved Ben! 

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