Karin Slaughter delivers yet another masterclass in suspense with We Are All Guilty Here. Just when you think you've unraveled every secret, a new twist shatters your assumptions and pulls you deeper into the mystery. The plot is intricately woven, the characters are compelling, and the pacing is relentless—keeping you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

Every chapter brings a fresh revelation, making it impossible to put down. It's one of those rare books that makes you want to reread it immediately, just to catch everything you might have missed the first time.

If I could give it more than five stars, I would. An absolute must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and anyone who loves a story full of unexpected turns.

so mysterious and suspenseful. I could not put this one down. Kingsbury is always a hit and i love her books. I can’t wait for the next in the series

Ahh Karin Slaughter, you are the best.

I was so excited to see that Karin Slaughter was starting a new series and after reading the first book it’s safe to say I will be reading all the books in this series!

Our new MCs are Emmy (local police chief) and Jude (newly retired FBI criminal psychologist), part of the same family but estranged for decades until they come together to try to re-solve a local double abduction and murder after a podcast gets the guy originally convicted of the murders out on a new alibi.

We’ve got small town, we’ve got shady neighbors with secrets, we’ve got family drama, we’ve got secretive teenagers. This one has everything and more.

I loved how the book started. I kind of thought we had jumped right into the story the entire book would be about, but then we time jump and the story expands.

I enjoyed the whole Clifton family and their individual quirks. They really felt like real people. It was a little confusing at first on who is who but by the end of the book I felt I had everyone straight.

I’m a sucker for small town secrets so this one really hit the spot for me. I’m really excited for the next book!

Thank you NetGallery and William Morrow for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book. Karin slaughter does no wrong. I loved all the characters and twists and turns. Five stars.

Dark and twisty thriller about a small town small town kidnapping. The interpersonal relationships in the community add a really rich undercurrent to the mystery. No one does it better than Karin Slaughter! Highly recommend as long as you aren’t too squeamish. CW-child abuse and murder. Releases August 12, thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader copy.

This was actually my first Karin Slaughter book and I quite enjoyed it. I don't have reference to her writing style or any other books. I did find it interesting that this will be a series, and I feel like the groundwork was pretty well laid for the main characters we will see again, as well as the family history. I do think it could also stand well on its own. The characters were interesting and I felt connection to them emotionally. I honestly did not suspect Virgil at all, so I found that twist to be a legitimate twist. I think the other twist towards the end of the book was probably setting up some drama for the next book, otherwise it seemed a bit late to mention. Overall good book though and look forward to reading others in the series!

I love Karin Slaughter books and this one was no exception. Two young girls go missing from a small and it’s up to Emily and her father to find them. This is the first book in a new series. And I definitely will read the next one.

Looks like this is a new series for Slaughter, but I wish it were a standalone. Of course, that's just a personal opinion, and the difference won't get in the way of your entertainment. This book will have you eating the pages, trust me.

Unfortunately, the story is heartbreaking. Inseparable friends get mixed in dirty business and end up kidnapped on the same day. Emmy regrets having been too engrossed in her own drama, she thinks she could have saved them, so she gives her all to recover them and find out who is behind it. More than a decade later, when it all should have been solved and past them, another girl disappears in a similar manner. And this time, Emmy doesn't have her father and mentor to guide her.

Full disclaimer, I've been a fan of Karin Slaughter since Blindsided. And I can't even point out why. At this point, however, of course some parts that I always find in her books have become something like a cozy couch as I read. One of them is family. Moreover, the importance of dealing with your past. And I want to say this is a theme even more present in this story, but it's probably in all of her stories.

If I have to find fault with this book is how wordy it is. It explains and describes too much. No wonder the number of pages. I wonder if when you reach this point in your career the editor doesn't force you to cut the crap. At the same time I was frowning at this, the pages kept turning at an amazing speed. Karin Slaughter's writing is that magical.

The characters were also very likeable. Even Madison, who we barely meet, left such a scar in my heart. And the dilemmas and issues Emmy needs to fight. And the way Jude is amazing and at the same time human. How Gerald dotes on his youngest the same intensity he regrets how he used to parent before Emmy. The change we see with the Myrna from the beginning and how the years emptied her. No one reading this review will realize it but, the simple fact that I remember the characters' name shows how attached I got to them.

I do feel that some facts got mentioned and never developed, however. The biggest one being the details of the car crash that changed Jude's life. That may be one of the big reasons I regret this being a series. Will they develop them in a later volume? Or were they plotholes, parts the editor I mentioned above could have cut and never managed to? In any case, they made me expect scenes that never arrived, and this was disappointing.

From the length of this review I'm sure you can feel how connected I felt to this book, so of course I'm recommending it not only to Slaughter's fans, but for fans of a more dramatic type of crime books. Nonetheless, I don't recommend it to those who don't like it when the detective's life plays a big part. In fact, this is more about the detective than about the girls missing.



Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

A crime thriller that examines guilt, justice, and the human psyche. Slaughter delivers a compelling story with unexpected twists. A must-read for fans of psychological suspense.

I’m definitely a Karin Slaughter fan — I fell in love with her writing with a standalone and eventually read all of her back catalogue, including the Will Trent series. She is a powerful writer when she writes a standalone tale, usually sort of a detailed police procedural, but always filled with well-developed female characters. “We Are All Guilty Here” has the branding of “North Falls #1” and what an incredible beginning to a new series with women law enforcement set in rural Georgia.

When we meet Officer Emmy Clifton she’s 30 years old and has been on the North Falls force for 6 years. Her 74 year old dad Gerald is the sheriff, and she has an 11 year old son Cole. Her husband is a jerk. Her best friend Hannah is stepmom to 15 year old Madison. Suddenly Madison and another 15 year old, Cheyenne, go missing while the entire town is watching 4th of July fireworks. Fairly quickly (but not quick enough) Emmy and her dad believe they’ve identified the perpetrator..

The action follows the search for the two missing girls and the aftermath 12 years later when a podcast disrupts what everyone thought was the truth. Now Emmy,the chief deputy sheriff, with her 23 year old son as her deputy and her 86 year old father still sheriff, are re-examining what happened during the first investigation. They are horrified when another 14 year old girl goes missing under nearly the exact same circumstances, but they can’t make the first guy (recently released) seem like the suspect the second time around. North Falls is again put under the national microscope, and this time a well known female FBI criminal psychologist comes to town to assist. Dr. Jude Archer has some secrets of her own, and she challenges Emmy’s presumptions about both cases.

Slaughter knows how to write realistic portrayals of women cops — even in the Will Trent series, Will’s boss Amanda and Faith’s retired police captain mother are extremely well drawn. There’s no difference here — the author isn’t afraid to explore Emmy and Jude’s complex emotions about family and the trauma of crime. Both of them are extremely memorable and deserve a North Falls #2. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO No eye colors mentioned except for a possible suspect’s brown eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO The ubiquitous Georgia woods do play a part.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

Not my favorite of hers..It was pretty wordy(She does love to write a long book)...I feel bad for not being able to write a flourshing review of this book, I just didnt care for it. That being said, I will continue to read her books and give everyone of them a fair shot.

In a small southern town where everyone is acquainted and/or related Deputy Emmy Clinton’s life is irrevocably altered when a kidnapping and murder occur. We follow our FMC from the moment before the abduction to the investigation, trial and post trial outcomes.

Karin Slaughter’s masterful characters tug at your heartstrings, evoking a range of emotions, from anger to sadness and anxiety. The detail in which the the interactions between our FMC and her family is provided reeled me in, I must admit I finished in one sitting.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read and understood the author’s intention to introduce a new series. However, the concluding chapters could’ve been reserved for next book. The rapid prominence of the secondary character and the excessive amount of information left me abruptly thrust into the narrative.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC.

I love Karin Slaughter. This book starts a new series for her and I am overjoyed to have received an advanced copy. This book was brutal and twisty, sad and chaotic. It was superb. I loved every second of this book. I couldn’t put it down.

I kept guessing what was going to happen over and over and never had it right. The best kind of book is the one that keeps you guessing, but not bored. This is just that. 5/5. All the stars.

This is only my second book by this author. I am still speechless after finishing this book. Small town, girls are missing and frantic search to find them. So many suspects in an investigation that kept taking turns and learning new things about residents of this small town. Some parts left me completely heart broken, in tears or otherwise just plain angry and frustrated. A total roller coaster of emotions from start to finish. I feel that it is a bit unfinished in one plot and hoping for a sequel…. Great book!!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a little biased coming into this as Karen Slaughter is probably my favorite author of all time, and We Are All Guilty Here did not disappoint.

As a big fan of true crime and thrillers, this book hit it out of the park. I am so excited for more North Falls entries because, based on Grant County and Will Trent, I know I'm in for a wild ride.
Rating breakdown:
Characters/Setting- Slaughter is akin to crack to me when it comes to her character work. I can visualize these people and put them into real-world context, our badass yet imperfect female leads, the men around them (whether skeevy or wholesome), the annoying cousin, the creepy neighbor. She just writes a small-town dynamic perfectly. This made me feel nostalgic for Grant County, which I will probably end up doing a re-read of because I think Sarah and Jeffrey need a little visit from me.

Plot- While not the darkest of her novels, especially description-wise, this still has a super heavy subject matter. We follow an abduction from the start, and the interpersonal workings and lives of those it affects, though the scope stays small within the main cast.

Themes/emotional- My heart was racing towards the end of this book. We spend so much time with our FMCs really getting into the case and investigation and when it comes to a head, the stress is real. I did guess who our culprit was earlyish on, but I still had a fantastic time.

Karin Slaughter is the queen of her genre. She is one of the only authors left that can still give me goose bumps. Her books are so dark and the stories so intricately detailed. I loved this one, just as I’ve loved her others. Karin Slaughter is not for the weak of heart, but DAMN is she good.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

Emmy Clinton is a deputy in the quiet town of North Falls, where nothing much happens—until two teenage girls go missing on the Fourth of July. One of them is her best friend’s stepdaughter, and Emmy will stop at nothing to bring her home.

This is an amazing start to what I hope will be a long-running series. The characters are incredibly well developed—I was drawn to Emmy right away. The plot is fast-paced and full of tension, with just the right mix of emotion and suspense. A true nail-biter that kept me reading late into the night. Highly recommended for fans of gripping mysteries and strong female leads.

*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

It is no secret that Karin Slaughter is one of my favorite authors of all time. I will read everything she writes. I was so excited for a new series and when I got an arc I literally screamed! I liked this one but I did not love it. I feel it was more of a me problem though than a book problem. I am so used to the characters in Karin's other series that I feel like I need more time to get used to this new set of characters. I am definitely going to continue this series and will read anything and everything Karin Slaughter writes.

This book was dark and difficult to read at times due to its content. Most of Slaughter's novels are this way. In my opinion it was not her darkest but it was definitely up there with some of her most darkest books. I did enjoy getting introduced to new characters that have much depth and room for story lines moving forward. I loved Emmy (main characters) relationship with her father and her son who also are police in North Falls.

In this story we meet Officer Emmy Clifton. The book is set in the quiet town of North Falls, the story. The book starts out with a Fourth of July celebration. It all takes a wrong turn, when two teenage girls vanish without a trace. Emmy finds herself at the center of the investigation, determined to uncover the truth. As one of the missing girls is the daughter of her best friend. The story is told in dual timeline, which adds an extra layer of tension, revealing how a crime from over a decade ago still casts a long shadow over the present. The book has lots of twists and morally gray characters, keeping us on edge.of our seats. I felt at times the pacing lingers on heavy descriptions, With its gripping whodunit plot, richly developed characters, and relentless tension, this is yet another knockout from Slaughter.

#netgalley

Wow!!! This was excellent, if you are a Slaughter fan do not wait to read this new book. It’s also the start of a new series. I’m so excited to read the next one.

Slaughter’s characters are so well developed it’s hard to remember that they are not real people. I’ve read all her books and this one is the best yet. Her new lead character Emmy Lou Clifton is a flawed woman but full of gumption and intelligence. All of Emmy’s family members and friends are very lifelike too. I can’t wait to see how her son Cole becomes a bigger part of the series and if she and Hannah resume their friendship.

Thanks to Net Galley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and review this fantastic book.