A Book Spy Review: ‘The Good Daughter’ by Karin Slaughter

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It’s been twenty-eight years since two men broke into the home of prominent defense lawyer Rusty Quinn. Still, the memories of that night haunt Quinn’s daughters…

Charlotte Quinn, one of Rusty’s daughters, watched in horror as her mother was killed and her sister, Samantha, was shot in the head and buried alive. Fleeing, Charlotte survived by running from the danger. And while she’s now grown and still living in her childhood hometown of Pikeville, Georgia, Charlotte, who now goes by Charlie, is still running from the horrors of that devastating night.

Amazingly, Samantha is still alive. Though she was shot in the head and left for dead, she too survived and has become a productive member of society. Now living in New York, she followed her father’s footsteps and became a lawyer.

Charlie, meanwhile, is struggling. Her marriage is falling apart, and she’s taken to finding solace in all the wrong places. Where Samantha has physical scars, Charlie deals with the psychological scars from having her perfect, small-town world turned completely upside down. Like her sister, she is a lawyer. Unlike her sister, staying in Pikeville caused her to inadvertently witness another horrific event.

A school shooting claimed several lives, and Charlie had a front-row seat to the murders. The situation, while catastrophic, seems fairly straight forward. A disturbed girl had had enough and brought a gun to school–shooting and killing Doug Pinkman, the school’s principal, and another young child.

As Charlie finds herself involved with the case, the memories she’s ran from for nearly three decades force themselves back to the forefront of her mind, causing her to re-examine everything about that night her family was changed forever.

Additionally, Charlie questions what she actually saw at the school and begins searching for answers. Along the way, she’s met with many conflicts, including seeing her sister–who she has a hard time being in the same room with–and reliving the trauma they suffered together.

While the themes in this book suggest the content will be dark, readers should brace themselves for some very graphic scenes that aren’t for the faint of heart. Slaughter doesn’t hold back when describing a scene, which makes for a chilling display of violence. Also, this is no police procedural or legal thriller. The Good Daughter is a character-driven story, one that is both highly emotional and highly entertaining.

The Quinn family’s many issues reveal themselves slowly, making Slaughter’s latest character-driven stand-alone novel a dark and gritty adventure that’s skillfully plotted and supremely written.

Book Details

Author: Karin Slaughter 
Pages: 528 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 0062430246
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: August 8, 2017
Book Spy Rating: 6.5/10
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