I've never read anything by Karin Slaughter before. I've always thought I might like her, so I gave this a try. (It wasn't until after I finished this book that I discovered it is the second in a series. You definitely don't need to have read the first to enjoy this one.)

Honestly, this was a bit of a slow starter, for me. It took me a couple of weeks to get through the first hundred pages. I almost gave up. But, the thing is, I couldn't work out why I found it tough. It is written in my favourite genre. The author's writing is good. I was interested by the characters. I wanted to know what had happened to the character Emily. I think it is that that kept me reading. I really wanted to know what had happened to Emily. Who had killed her.

The story has two female characters as its protagonists. Their stories run alongside one another, although they are forty years apart.

Andrea has just qualified as a Marshal whose first assignment is to protect a federal judge who has received death threats. Andrea's father is a serial killer who is in prison, but he is due to have a parole hearing in the next year. Andrea's mother was part of a cult that was controlled by Clay, Andrea's dad, and she only avoided prison by testifying against him. They are both scared he will seek out Andrea and her mom and hurt them when he is released.

So, Andrea takes the job to protect the judge. The judge's daughter, Emily, was murdered forty years ago. She was pregnant at the time, and the doctors managed to keep her alive until she could give birth to her own daughter.

It is widely believed that Clay killed Emily because they were part of a clique in high school, along with 'friends' Ricky, Nardo and Blake. The police at the time were unable to conclusively prove who murdered Emily. They know it must have been one of her friends, or her creepy teacher, Dean Wexler. Andrea determines to find out who killed Emily for sure.

We are shown the story from the two women's points of view. As we get closer to the night of the prom, when Emily died, we also get closer to Andrea's personal danger. And, I have to say, after those first hundred pages, I yore through the rest of it. I was on the edge of my seat. I loved the resolution, the answer of what happened to Emily. It was very clever, and very well written.

People who like psychological thrillers. People who like crime thrillers. Fans of Karin Slaughter.

The resolution. I also loved the way Andrea's and Emily's stories intertwined. That was some great planning.

The first hundred pages. I don't know why. I can't put my finger on it.

Check out the preceding book in this series.

Frustrated. Bored. (At first.) Excited, tense, satisfied. (In the end.)

Karin Slaughter. I like her writing. I am interested to read more from her.

It is a clever plot.

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Created Aug 08, 2024 at 5:40am • Submit your own review...