I read this courtesy William Morrow and NetGalley. In this, Karin Slaughter’s latest book that is also the first in a new series, we are treated to North Falls, a new small town in Georgia, where like Heartsdale, GA, everyone seems to know everyone. At least by sight, but definitely not by character, because a pair of teenage girls vanish. Officer Emmy Clifton, guilt-ridden because she dismissed one of the girls when she was preoccupied by her own troubles, has to figure out what happened. Who would have them? Who were the girls, really? The story is riveting and keeps you guessing, and the final twist is delicious and makes me want more.
#WeAreAllGuiltyHere #NetGalley

Absolutely mind blowing. You think you’ll solve this, but jokes on you. Mind blowing ending.
Two teenage girls go missing Fourth of July. Their bikes left stranded in the soccer pitch. Emmylou has to keep it together for her best friend, stepmother to one of the missing girls. Can she put it aside and solve the case?

The first book in Karin Slaughter's North Falls series was an easy five stars for me!
Welcome to North Falls, Georgia, a small town where everyone knows one another. The Clifton family is hard to miss with Gerald being the sheriff, daughter, Emmy Lou the deputy sheriff and her son Cole also on the force. It is the Fourth of July and everyone has gathered for the fireworks show. Teenage best friends, Madison and Cheyenne go missing without a trace. One of the missing girls is the daughter of her best friend, Hannah so Emmy will not rest until she discovers the truth of their disappearance. The characters a very believable and well developed. Everyone is intertwined in the small town. I look forward to reading the next book in the North Falls series that will hopefully feature more with Hannah, Cole and Jude Archer. Do not miss this unputdownable mystery/thriller.

4.5 Stars – Twisty, Tense, and Totally Absorbing

Karin Slaughter is my auto-buy author ... if she writes it, I read it. So, when I got my hands on an ARC of We Are All Guilty Here, I dove in with sky-high expectations. Thankfully, this book did not disappoint.

Slaughter proves yet again why she’s the queen of plot twists. Just when you think you’ve got a grip on what’s going on, she pulls the rug out from under you in the best way. The pacing is taut, the characters are layered and flawed, and the tension never lets up.

What stood out most to me was how seamlessly she blended emotional depth with unflinching suspense. It’s dark, yes, but also incredibly human. Slaughter knows how to get under your skin and keep you turning pages long into the night.

If you're a fan of thrillers that actually surprise you and leave you thinking long after the last page this is one to grab.

I have not read a Karin Slaughter novel in some time so I was eager to dive back in to some of her work. However, while the story was good I had trouble with a few things in it.

To start, the pacing just didn’t feel right to me. Considering the majority of this books takes place over about 3 days, the long drawn out chapters lessened the severity of the situation and didn’t quite give me that heart-pounding anticipation of “will they succeed in time” that should come with a story like this.

Secondly, there are so many different characters that I had trouble keeping track of who’s who and their place in the story. Perhaps that was to give us more options of who the murderer could be but it was too distracting for me trying to remember everyone.

Overall the plot was good and kept me guessing. I just think that it could have given more in terms of suspense for such a time sensitive situation.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

4.25/5⭐️

Karin Slaughter does it again. Another intense thriller, but check your trigger warnings.
“Welcome to North Falls—a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think…”

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

TW: sexual assault, kidnapping, chile pornography

Would not recommend to anyone who has dealt with or had a close family member of friend deal with any of the above triggers.

Would recommend to people who like a riveting story that has betrayal, lying, confusing evidence, and being surprised that your sleuthing is wrong.

Deals with very heavy topics throughout the whole book. It follows the stories of police/FBI investigators who are trying to find multiple girls who are kidnapped. There is also an element of overcoming personal trials and small-town gossip.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Willow Marrow for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Welcome to North Falls—a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think.

A new series from Karin Slaughter is just what we needed!

Officer Emmy Clifton’s life is a bit stressful. Her husband does nothing but smoke weed, she is basically a single parent, she is about at her breaking point when her best friend’s daughter goes missing during the July 4th fireworks.

Emmy feels guilty because she felt the girl wanted to tell her something but Emmy brushed her off.

Now another girl is missing and things do not look good.

Emmy is about to find out she doesn’t really know anyone in her small hometown and some of these secrets are deadly.

Such vile characters here! I don’t say that in a bad way, because it sure made this suspenseful!

I will eagerly await the next North Falls story!

NetGalley/ William Morrow August 12, 2025

This was definitely a powerfully emotive story, it went places I didn't expect and it felt a little different to her usual books, captivating, compelling and thought provoking, also scary, would recommend to fans of emotional taut thrillers!

WOW! I'm a huge Karin Slaughter fan and just when I think I might be onto something she completely switches things up. This was an incredible book. The story sucks you in from the beginning - having a teenager daughter myself I'm all too familiar with the day to day with a teen but this really makes you stop and question, do you know what your child is doing? This book makes you feel so many different emotions so don't be shocked by the whiplash you'll suffer from. I can't recommend this enough, Karin has done it again.

Karin Slaughter delivers another intense and layered thriller in We Are All Guilty Here. One of the things that I liked about it was its use of multiple points of view—each narrator's voice was distinct, well-developed, and added depth to the story as it unfolded. Slaughter’s ability to create believable, complex characters made the story feel immersive and emotionally charged.

However, some aspects of the narrative brought me out of the story. Major revelations were sometimes introduced abruptly, without the buildup I felt they deserved, which weakened their impact. Additionally, the large number of characters and names made it difficult to keep track of who was who and what their importance to the scene was.

Overall, while the book has its flaws, its compelling characters and shifting perspectives make it an engaging read for fans of psychological thrillers. Overall, this is a 4/5 for me and I would recommend it to fans of the thriller genre. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review We Are All Guilty Here. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Anyone who knows me knows I’ve GREATLY enjoyed Karin Slaughter’s work in the past, especially the Will Trent series. So, yeah, I was BEYOND excited to receive an ARC of her new book, "We Are All Guilty Here." Unfortunately, this one fell a little flat for me.

While the book certainly had its moments and was a decent read overall, it was nowhere near her best work.

The main issue for me was the sheer number of plot twists. Rather than building suspense, the constant barrage of "shocking" turns made the story feel forced and overdone. Instead of being drawn deeper into the narrative, I found myself distracted by how much was happening at once. It lacked the tight pacing and character focus that make the Will Trent books so compelling.

That said, Slaughter’s writing is always engaging, and there are flashes in this book of everything that makes her a favorite among thriller fans. If you’re a die-hard fan, you'll still enjoy this book, but for me, it didn’t live up to the high bar set by her previous series. Decent, but not her best by far.

The best book I have read in years. We Are All Guilty Here is completely unpredictable. I had no idea what was happening and I mean that in the best way possible. I was thrilled to find out that this is the first book in a new series from Karin Slaughter. I cannot wait for the next book.

I'm a HUGE fan of Karin Slaughter's writing - I'm almost finished with the Will Trent series, have read all of her standalones but 1-2, and have started the Grant County series, so when I saw she was starting a new series, I knew I needed to read it ASAP...and I was right.

Like most of her books, We Are All Guilty Here is a longer book, but it was so worth it. As I was reading the book, I was making predictions about things happening in the story, think they were confirmed, and then bam! Suddenly what I thought was an obvious "duh" was not, and my theories were turned upside down. I am so excited for the new North Falls series, and can't wait for the next book!

This is my first book by Karin Slaughter, and WOW just WOW! I usually don’t read this genre, but I’m so glad I gave it a chance. Now, I’m hooked and can’t wait to read all of her other books!

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The story begins with the mysterious disappearance of two teenagers in the close knit small town of North Falls. Through the eyes of police officer Emmy Clifton, we witness the search and police procedure that unfolds.

Fast forward twelve years later, another teenager goes missing, leaving behind evidence that makes Emmy doubt whether the right suspect was put behind bars.

Criminal psychologist Jude Archer returns to her hometown of North Falls to assist in the disappearance of the latest teenager. Alongside Emmy, they uncover long buried secrets about the townspeople.

We Are All Guilty Here is Karin Slaughter’s 25th novel. It is full with unexpected twists and turns, that had me hooked from the first chapter.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!
I have read all have Karin Slaughter’s books and was so excited to get the chance to read a new one! This was so good! As always, there were so many twists and unexpected moments that I was hooked! It was fast paced and so much I hadn’t guessed until it was being exposed. I loved it! High recommend!

Emmy Clifton lives in a town of Cliftons. Nearly every aspect of life is controlled or managed by one of her relatives. Her father has been sheriff for many years and she's joined him on the force. She loves learning from his patient and fair example. At a big town festival, two girls disappear under mysterious circumstances. One of the girls, Madison, is the daughter of Emmy's best friend, Hannah. Emmy is in a bad marriage and so while fuming over the latest failing of her husband, she ignores Madison's request to talk. Then she's gone. When evidence is found suggesting the girls have been abducted, Emmy's fear turns into terrible regret that she didn't give Madison her attention when it was needed. After both girls are found dead, Emmy and her father work to catch the killer and send him to death row.

Twelve years later, after a popular podcast exposes cracks in the case, the man convicted of killing the girls is released from prison. A few days later, another teenage girl is abducted in very similar circumstances. While Emmy is reeling from several personal tragedies, a newly retired FBI agent (who is an expert on serial sexual killers) comes to town to consult on the case. She turns out to have a connection to Emmy and the town that shocks everyone. Can Emmy overcome her own problems and find the latest girl before it's too late?

I really enjoyed the suspenseful story. As with other books by this author, the description of the violence against the victims is very explicit. There is also the recurring theme of an outwardly strong woman who is controlled and manipulated in her personal relationships. A big twist comes near the end of the book, but that is followed by an extremely dull conversation between Emmy and Jude (the FBI agent) about serial killers and their motivations that comes across like a classroom lecture. Then there is the weird thing where several sections appear in different chapters with almost the exact same wording -- almost as if they had been copied and pasted several times into the narrative. These dealt with statistics about how a victim's rate of survival diminishes as the amount of time since the abduction increases, as well as ways the serial killers might get rid of victims. It was strange and repetitive. This book is listed as the first "North Falls" book, so I'm sure we'll see more of Emmy in the future.

Please note that this ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was really well done. I’ll be honest: at first, I was particularly impressed with Emmy. She came off as a bit reckless and she made some frustrating mistakes in the case of Cheyenne and Madison. That said, her character really evolved in the second part of the book. I LOVED how the book took 2 different cases and almost told them as 2 different stories, but then weaved them together into a masterpiece. There were some awesome twists in this that I genuinely didn’t see coming.

I see this is the beginning of a series and I am thrilled about it!

5/5

I absolutely loved this story! It kept me sucked in the whole time. Karin Slaughter is an amazing writer and I just love the characters she creates

Thank you NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for my free and honest review. First and foremost, I am so excited that Karin Slaughter has started a new series and I could not love this character, family, town and sassiness more than I do. Karin Slaughter just has a way of telling stories that grip the reader, jerk them around a corner and the. Back again with an ending you absolutely don’t see coming. No spoilers here, highly recommend you go read this one for yourself. You won’t regret it!