Quick take
In Karin Slaughter’s latest, a newly minted marshal on assignment can’t help being drawn into a gruesome cold case...
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Psychological
400+ pages
Famous author
Second in series
Synopsis
A small town hides a big secret . . .
Who killed Emily Vaughn?
Prom Night. Longbill Beach, 1982. Emily Vaughn dresses carefully for what’s supposed to be the highlight of any high school career. But Emily has a secret. And by the end of the night, because of that secret, she will be dead.
Nearly forty years later, Andrea Oliver, newly qualified as a U.S. Marshal, receives her first assignment: to go to Longbill Beach to protect a judge receiving death threats. But Andrea’s real focus isn’t the judge—it’s Emily Vaughn. Ever since she first heard Emily’s name a year ago, she’s been haunted by her brutal death. Nobody was ever convicted—her friends closed ranks, her family shut themselves off in their grief, the town moved on—so the killer is still out there. But now Andrea has a chance to find out what really happened . . .
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Why I love it
Peter Swanson
Author, Before She Knew Him
An unsolved murder haunting a small town. A group of cliquish and sinister students. A creepy cult with an evil leader. Just writing these out, I can’t help humming “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music. But these are just some of the plot elements from Karin Slaughter’s latest humdinger of a thriller, Girl, Forgotten. It sounds like a lot, but if you are familiar with Slaughter’s books, then you know she can put a lot of balls in the air and keep them up there, in mesmerizing patterns, while the chapters fly by.
Slaughter’s new book is the second featuring Andrea Oliver, following her debut in Pieces of Her. In this standalone sequel, the rookie U. S. Marshal is now tasked with protecting a judge who’s received a series of death threats, while also being asked to secretly investigate that judge’s daughter’s murder from forty years ago. There are many secrets in this book, and toward the end, the revelations come fast and flabbergasting. But what I most love about this story is that Slaughter has written a classic whodunit. There’s a closed circle of suspects, red herrings aplenty, and I imagine that most readers, like myself, will change their minds as to the identity of the killer many times before all is revealed.
A twisty and devilish read, Girl, Forgotten is another excellent thriller from Karin Slaughter. And I, for one, would very much welcome plenty more encounters with the ever-resourceful and gutsy Andrea Oliver.
Member ratings (17,402)
YESENIA M.
MIAMI SPRINGS, FL
After reading 𝘗𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘳 and now finishing 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭, 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯... I am... officially a Karin Slaughter fan. Fast paced. Suspenseful. Gripping. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Krista D.
Sumter, SC
I can't get enough of Karin Slaughter. This thriller leaves you questioning everything right up until the very end! I think she may be my favorite thriller queen! You won't be disappointed! 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lynn C.
Tampa, FL
I am a huge Karin Slaughter fan. Though this wasn’t my favorite book of hers, it was well written and held my interest. I liked it a little more than the first Andrea Oliver book. Solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Christina C.
New Albany, MS
I haven’t read “Pieces of Her”, the book before this, but I started the series on Netflix while reading this book. I am invested in Andi’s world! Everyone is a suspect in this mystery. Love this story
Meghan G.
Willow Spring, NC
Didn’t realize this was the second book in the series, but it didn’t matter! It was great. It did start a little slow for me but once I picked up, I couldn’t put it down. Can’t wait to read the first!