Review: The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter
Publisher:  William Morrow
Publication date: August 8th 2017
My rating: 4.5 Stars
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Two girls are forced into the woods at gunpoint. One runs for her life. One is left behind…

Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn's happy small-town family life was torn apart by a terrifying attack on their family home. It left their mother dead. It left their father — Pikeville's notorious defense attorney — devastated. And it left the family fractured beyond repair, consumed by secrets from that terrible night.

Twenty-eight years later, and Charlie has followed in her father's footsteps to become a lawyer herself — the ideal good daughter. But when violence comes to Pikeville again — and a shocking tragedy leaves the whole town traumatized — Charlie is plunged into a nightmare. Not only is she the first witness on the scene, but it's a case that unleashes the terrible memories she's spent so long trying to suppress. Because the shocking truth about the crime that destroyed her family nearly thirty years ago won't stay buried forever… 

My Thoughts:

The Good Daughter was everything I’ve come to expect from Karin Slaughter: addictive, compelling, well-plotted, with a twist or two.

Twenty-eight years ago, tragedy struck the Quinn family. The unraveling of what happened was riveting, disturbing, and heartbreaking.  Samantha and Charlie were forever changed, but never lost their passion for life.  Forty-one-year-old Charlie, described as “relentlessly happy” as a teenager (before the attack) has been increasingly angry and depressed.  The effects of the attack after years of putting it all away in a box, are spilling out, overflowing into her current life, and it’s not pretty. To make matters worse Charlie’s caught up in a school shooting. Bad choices, shitty cops, and an estranged husband (I was really hoping that would work out!) makes this a difficult, but very consuming mess.  A dangerous one, too!

Samantha thought she’d never return to Pikeville, but she comes back, because Charlie needs her. Finally facing past demons; the guilt, blame, and grief over what happened and what was lost. It was interesting reading from their different perspectives, some of the memories were different depending on which sister was narrating.  I was fascinated by Samantha and Charlie’s dynamic, and their relationship with Rusty, their father.  So many reasons to be bitter with that man, but there was love underneath it all. I can definitely relate to the all the mixed emotions they felt.

We get the story alternately through the eyes of the Quinn sisters: Samantha and Charlotte. At times, they had a very contrary sisterly relationship, but Ms. Slaughter sold it, flaws and all, making them likable in the process, even with all their personal screw-ups. Samantha and Charlie are just the kind of complex women I love to read about: independent, intelligent, yet with all those strong qualities they each had to deal with a lot of emotional damage from a terrifying attack that left the family in tatters.

Karin Slaughter has become a favorite author after blazing through her Will Trent series earlier this year.  I was a little worried that The Good Daughter might not measure up, but I had no reason to worry. This book is long, but I got through it relatively quickly and would’ve gladly read straight through if I didn’t have real life commitments. I literally just wanted to shut the world out and get to the bottom of the school shooting, the past, and have Samantha and Charlie move on together.

 

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