Charlie, a lawyer is caught up in a school shooting which brings back bad memories. When she was younger, her sister Sam and she were victims of a terrifying home attack due to her father, a lawyer too and a bit of a maverick.
In this attack, her mother was killed and both sisters hurt. The sisters then become estranged, secrets buried. This is the catalyst for the story.
An intense and thought provoking read, story set in a small American town is at times horrific and in depth. Gripping.
You will not be disappointed.

There's a reason why Karin Slaughter's books are so popular and that's because they're addictive.  Once I started reading (and my kindle said it would take me 6 hours, which is about twice as long as any other book), I barely looked up until the final, twisty pages.

Sam and Charlie are teenagers living with their parents in Pikeville, Georgia in the late 80s.  After unimaginable violence visits their family (and this is in the first chapter, so I'm not giving too much away), their lives are torn apart.  This episode is revisited several times throughout the book from different points of view.  What actually happened that day, and what are the repercussions nearly 30 years later?

The book is also asking, of course, which was the good daughter?  Charlie or Sam?  Charlie has stayed in Pikeville all these years whilst Sam couldn't wait to get away, and to which parent were they being a good daughter, Rusty or Gamma?  Family love and loyalty are tested in this novel, not only with Charlie and Sam, but also with the Culpeppers, the Huckabees, the Wilsons and the Pinkmans.

Karin Slaughter weaves a strong storyline over the course of the book and means that the reader is kept waiting right until the end to find out how all the strands come together.  The device of using a small town where everyone knows each other's business is useful as it keeps the cast relatively small, and ensures that what happened 28 years ago is still being played out in the present day.

The Good Daughter opens with a sucker punch and just as you’re catching your breath, follows it up with a vicious right hook of a chapter. I’ve read a fair few Karin Slaughter books and she really does put her characters through the mill and this book is no exception.

Charlie and Sam are sisters and also victims of a brutal home invasion which has left their family torn in two. Years later Charlie is witness to a shocking tragedy which brings Sam back home and opens up old wounds.

There’s a lot to unpack in this book. The depiction of small town America is superb. Everyone knows each other and their business and there’s no escaping the people you might want to avoid. The dynamic between the sisters works perfectly for portraying this. A long time New York resident, Sam can’t understand why Charlie would stick around in this perceived backwater. The characters relationships are complicated and with a lot of history and the peripheral characters are fully fleshed out rather than cardboard cutouts. This book weighs in at a hefty 650 pages but there’s no padding, every page is a bit of background or character development. Karin Slaughter is a talented writer who’s thriller writing skills are second to none. There’s a lot happening plot wise which makes this an absorbing and fast paced read. Long time readers of Slaughter’s will find much to enjoy here as will any crime fiction or thriller reader. Her stand alone novels work just as well as the series she writes and there’s probably enough potential here to make this into a series should she feel the need. It makes an excellent introduction to Slaughter’s writing for the uninitiated. Punchy, thrilling and guaranteed to keep you hooked right up to the end.

I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

Intense action from the outset. The Quinn family lose their house in an arson attack, possibly by someone angry at Rusty the father and defence lawyer. Not two weeks later they are subjected to another violent, life changing attack. 28 years later, these events come ripping to the surface after a school shooting throws the Quinn family back together.
The family relationships and conflicts intertwined with the mystery solving and town attitude towards the Quinn family makes for a gripping story.

This was my first introduction to Karen and it did not disappoint. Intelligent and gripping with grey characterisation. I can’t wait to read more of her works.

I read this some time back and enjoyed it hugely. Karen Slaughter sure knows how to write a thriller ! The sad tale of the Sisters is really heartbreaking and yet there is no flinching away from the sometimes very, graphic descriptions of what occurred in the Farmhouse that day and why. Sam and Charlie are both damaged, one physically and mentally and the other more mentally by the shocking events.

Father, Rusty, appears to care more about his job and his belief in the right to be represented than the welfare of his family, to his great cost.

The portrayal of small town Southern US is familiar and yet revealing. I have seen this book described as a legal thriller, I'm not sure I would agree. This is the story of a family who are literally ripped apart as a consequence of what happened that day.

As always an involving novel from Karin Slaughter. Immensely readable and not an obvious outcome.

Two sisters are the victims of bloody crimes. Some of the story is told retrospectively and the overall style captures the reader immediately.

I love Karen Slaughter books and this is no exception.
The plot covers events from 28 years ago and present day. Sam and Charlie have their lives shattered when two masked and armed men force their way into their family home looking for their father.
Roll on 28 years and Charlie is a witness to a school shooting. Is an 18 year old responsible or is the girl an innocent, as Charlie’s father believes?
The slow peeling back of layers, until the truth of what has happened on both days gradually emerges.
The real strength of the book, though, is the relationships between the central characters.
My thanks to Netgalley for this copy.

A really excellent read ! Was a gripping start and just got better. An excellent story that was not in the least predictable but was totally believable. Couldn't wait to get to the end to find out what happened but did not was the book to finish. Characters were real people who you felt you knew.. Would highly recommend this book.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. It took me a while to get through this book. I didn’t want to miss anything, it has to be the best book I have ever read. The storyline was absolutely fantastic, well written great characters too. It’s one of those books where you think you know what’s going to happen next, only it dosnt turn out that way. The Quinn girls went through so much, what they endured was horrendous. Karin Slaughter didn’t disappoint with this brilliant book. One for the big screen I think.

When on the hunt for a thrilling book I know I will enjoy, the first stop is often Karin Slaughter. She is one of my go-to authors. And deservedly so. Karin Slaughter, Lisa Unger and Lisa Gardner (mentioned in no particular order!) all have the ability to draw up multifaceted, likeable characters with buckets of gumption and ample vulnerability too. Even after the most harrowing danger unfolds on the page, these talented authors seamlessly flip the story on its ear to give the reader some much needed levity in a way of offsetting the gore. Call me crazy but I relish crying one minute and laughing the next, even before the tears have dried!

Specifically regarding The Good Daughter, there is much joy here. The setting in Georgia is not my home town but reading this makes me feel as if it was. The small town environment makes me reflect fondly on growing up in Indiana and the wholesome nature of country people. Not rednecks, as such, but salt of the earth types who strive to live a good, quiet life. This is so perfectly illustrated in The Good Daughter.

The relationship between our main characters, though strained, does reflect real life in a way that anyone with siblings will quickly recognize. At each other's necks arguing then flip the coin and they are taking on the world side-by-side as if best friends. Yup, that's family. Complex and so well recreated here. Plus, the sarcasm is in top form here, not to be missed. The smartness of the banter is, quite possibly, some of the best I've read. I feel I've learned a fair bit at the knee of Gamma and Sam.

I don't want to get into the story but will limit myself to applauding the flashback sequences. We do go back to the same fateful evening a few times but it gets fleshed out with greater detail at each pass. It's a horrible event that is described in sickening detail so if you are squeamish, take it slow. There's too much information in these remembrances to pass by entirely. Also, the build up of the story and the big reveal is done flawlessly. There are more loose threads than you might think hanging out there and they get tied up in a satisfactory way. A really great, touching story I am so pleased to have read. The Good Daughter would make a great beach read for your next holiday!

This author certainly has the right surname for the books she writes. This particular one has an intetresting if convoluted story with unexpected events unfolding as you read onwards. The downside is that it has too much padding in the form of unnecessary detail,for example about Rusty's funeral . There is too much that the reader will want to skim through to get back to what matters. The significant events surrounding the shootings in Rusty's family are also revisited too much.

Ms Slaughter at her very very best! Fascinating story, keeps the reader glued to the very end with many twists and turns throughout! A must read!

A lot goes on in Pikeville, small town America! There was some good writing and a couple of twists, but I felt that the relationship between the two sisters was belaboured and distracted from the story of solving the current murders. There were some horrible characters and a lot of violence which I did not like.

This book was gripping from the very first few pages. Starting in a brutal scene in a farmhouse where two attackers come in and murder the mother whilst her two daughters watch on.
This is a believable and harrowing book that keeps you turning page after page.

This is the first Karin Slaughter that I have read so I was taken by surprise by the graphic violence at the beginning of the book but then again by the quality of the writing and the concentration on character development that followed. This isn't the usual violent thriller but a well-written story of a family blown apart by a terrible crime against them years ago that is rising to the surface again in the aftermath of what looks like just another crazed teenager shooting randomly in a school. There are awful, awful scenes that have to be read and sometimes I felt that a bit of editing may have been in order, but overall this is good stuff.

I expected a lot from this book and it certainly didn't disappoint. I couldn't put it down. An excellent story containing all the twists and turns I expected. The characters are well thought out and engaging from the beginning. The plot gathers momentum throughout, leading to a satisfying conclusion. A highly enjoyable read

A gripping story from start to finish. I have read many books from Karin Slaughter in the past, and have never been disappointed.

This book is not the genre I usually read but I was curious.
I was not disappointed and was gripped from the first page. The story is centred on a family who are affected by the father's profession: he is a liberal lawyer and represents those who are degenerate and down and outs. It does not make him popular in the traditional community he resides in.
The repercussions are far reaching for him and his daughters, (Sam and Charlie) and all live with the fall out of what happens.
Fast forward 28 years and the family face another murder, where an 18 year old shoots a Sports Coach and an 8 year old in a Middle School. Whilst you somehow know that all is not as it seems, it is impossible to see what the real picture is. There are more twists and turns than a helter-skelter and it is a revelation.
The characters are so well depicted and I absolutely recommend this . So glad that I stepped outside my comfort zone and read this.
I'm a definite convert!

I have been a fan of Karin Slaughter for many years and so I was really excited to have the opportunity to review this book courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley. This book had plenty of twists and turns and an ending that I didn't see coming. I loved the characters of Charlie and Sam and also their father Rusty and Ben and Leonore too. The book covers not only a crime mystery but delves deeply into the relationships between these main characters and how their lives have evolved since the brutal murder of Sam and Charlie's mother 28 years ago and the vicious attacks on both Sam and Charlie at that same time. In true Karin Slaughter style, the book had me hooked and I loved the drama and found myself crying along with Sam and Charlie at various points in the book. Two things have stopped me giving it the full 5 stars. Firstly, I find the chapters too long - with shorter chapters I find myself saying, just one more chapter before I cook the tea, do some housework, turn off the light etc but when my kindle says 35 minutes left in the chapter, I sometimes find it a chore to finish. Probably just me. Secondly, there were two times in the book where the shooting of the mother and subsequent attack on the two girls was repeated from a different perspective but I found that the information was virtually the same and didn't ad any value to me reading it again and I found myself skim reading it. nevertheless, this did not stop me enjoying the book and I would definitely recommend it. I will also continue to seek out other books from this great author.