Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter
Meet Author Karin Slaughter:
"Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular and acclaimed storytellers. Published in 120 countries with more than 35 million copies sold across the globe, her 21 novels include the Grant County and Will Trent books, as well as the Edgar-nominated COP TOWN and the instant NYT bestselling stand-alone novels PRETTY GIRLS, THE GOOD DAUGHTER, and PIECES OF HER. Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, she lives in Atlanta. Her stand-alone novel PIECES OF HER is in development with Netflix, starring Toni Collette, and the Grant County and Will Trent series are in development for television." ~Amazon
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
“It’s Slaughter’s prodigious gifts of characterization that make her stand out among thriller writers.” — Washington Post
From the New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her, comes an electrifying thriller featuring newly minted US Marshal Andrea Oliver as she investigates a cold case with links to her father’s past.
A small town hides a big secret…
Who killed Emily Vaughn?
A girl with a secret…
Longbill Beach, 1982. Emily Vaughn gets ready for the prom. For an athlete, who is smart, pretty and well-liked, this night should be the highlight of her high school career. But Emily has a secret. And by the end of the evening, that secret will be silenced forever.
An unsolved murder…
Forty years later, Emily’s murder remains a mystery. Her tight-knit group of friends closed ranks; her respected, wealthy family retreated inwards; the small town moved on from her grisly attack. But all that’s about to change.
One final chance to uncover a killer…
US Marshal Andrea Oliver arrives in Longbill Beach on her first assignment: to protect a judge receiving death threats. But, in reality, Andrea is there to find justice for Emily. The killer is still out there—and Andrea must discover the truth before she gets silenced, too…
Numeric Breakdown:
1: didn't like it/skip it
2: it was okay/it wasn't for me
3. liked it/worth a read
4. really liked it/loved it
5. it was amazing/must read!
1: didn't like it/skip it
2: it was okay/it wasn't for me
3. liked it/worth a read
4. really liked it/loved it
5. it was amazing/must read!
A Cruel Cold-Case: Friends = Enemies
Spoilers could be present below.
Emily has a secret, but unfortunately, she doesn't even know the full extent of it herself. Her friends have abandoned her, classmates mock her, and her parents are angry with her. Yet, the trials aren't going to have a happy ending.
After being attacked and left for dead in an alley a few blocks from her high school, Emily survives for two more months and is held on life support before she contracts septicemia and dies shortly afterward. However, this grisly end is complicated by the secret that changed Emily's life and her future.
The attack and murder become a focal news piece in the town since Emily's mother was lobbying for the position of judge. The skeletons this family houses begin to erupt as everyone weighs in on Emily and her secrets. However, there are many more obstacles hidden behind the scenes of this family, and any one of them might bear on the murder of this seventeen-year-old.
Fast forward about 40 years...
Girl, Forgotten is the second book in Andrea Oliver's story, and even though there were probably gaps, I was able to read it without having read the first book. In the beginning, we learn that Andrea's mother, Laura, had turned state's evidence against Nick Harp, Andrea's father, to put him away, but it looks like he might get an appeal. She and her mother have been in the Witness Protection plan for a long time, and it took a huge incident involving her father almost trying to kill them to get her mother to reveal the whole truth.
Andrea Oliver has just made it through the last big race in becoming a US Marshall, and before she has time to bask in her victory, she receives a visit from her wealthy and influential uncle right after gradation. He comes to meet her with the hope that she can find out who really murdered Emily Vaughan. That hope consists of a possible conviction of her biological father Clayton Morrow, aka Nick Harp, as the lead suspect in Emily Vaughan's murder. She'll need to go about finding clues while on the assignment.
The man she's always called father, Jasper - who helped raise her, continues to cheer her on when she becomes a US Marshall. However, her mother isn't happy about it. Their own secrets will build as Andrea goes undercover to find out more concerning Emily's death.
So, Andrea is put on the protection detail of Judge Esther Vaughan, after the judge received death threats, and is partnered with "Catfish" Bible. Esther Vaughan is Emily's mother, and this is the perfect opportunity for Andrea to figure out what's going on and dig in the dirt for some details.
While in the course of her investigations, she meets Jack Stilton, the son of the previous police chief, and who is the current police chief and was a friend of Emily's. Besides Clay, there were three other people in the Clique that made up Emily's immediate friends: Blake and Ricky (twins) and Nardo. Melody Brickel attempted to remain friends with Emily but through letters and never face to face. Dean Wexler was a teacher at Emily's school and an abusive jerk, who has a lot to hide.
As the names find faces, secrets unravel, lies linger, and old nemeses continue to show their evil sides, Andrea has a lot at stake. She has to prove who the real murderer is and protect a judge who might have motives of her own. Then, it becomes clear that her psychotic father isn't the only one who could have had a reason to murder an old friend.
Will Andrea solve the crime, prevent new ones, and keep her dad behind bars?
Read to find out!
First, I loved the different points of view offered. We get to see Emily's pov and Andrea's pov. This brought some suspense and uncertainty into the telling. It was nice to see both perspectives and get Emily's account about what her secret entailed and what happened to her on the night of her attack.
Second, I liked the pacing. It was consistent, moderately-paced for the most part which I can appreciate. The main storyline with the judge being threatened and the interweaving of the clues and the search for Emily's killer provided links to both cases as well as balance between the facts being collected and followed up on.
Third, there were some surprising updates about "Catfish" Bible that I enjoyed. He provided the role of mentor and comic relief. It was pleasant to have him interject his own thoughts, rules to abide, and personal truths within the story as well. He was such a great character that I hope he makes another appearance in one of Slaughter's future books.
If there were some things I didn't love, I'd have to say that it lacked a real hook for me. Perhaps it's because I haven't read the first book, but I didn't feel invested in Andrea and her story. It was interesting, but it didn't really hold my attention or build a bridge of connection. It was difficult to sympathize and really grow to love the character. Bear with me, but the best way I can explain it is if you think of a person in real life who's standoffish, not very friendly, possibly controlling, and ignores you unless you're important to her - that's the character that came across to me. Now, it can be argued that Slaughter created her that way because she is in law enforcement, because she has to be careful who she trusts, because she's focused on her job, because of whatever happened in her past and book one, etc. I can appreciate that. I can definitely say Slaughter created a great character in that aspect, but I just didn't feel enough of a three-dimensional personality shining through to allow me to find some way to connect to her or really like her.
On the other hand, I liked Emily's story and stuck with the book to find out what happened to her. Somehow, there was more revealed about her that caused her to be a sympathetic character. She had difficulty with her parents, she loved her grandmother, her grandmother had health issues, she was trying to be brave despite her circumstances, she wanted to figure out the truth even if it wasn't pleasant, etc. Although her chapters were snapshots of what happened right before and leading up to her attack, you develop a real sense of the character, her hopes, her fears, etc. Emily's emotional pulls were more apparent and stronger, but her family and friend incidents opened up the door for readers to really care about her and her secrets.
Although, I did feel the world Emily inhabited with the betrayal and distancing of so many friends was a bit unrealistic. Maybe it was truer of the area she grew up in, prejudices can always permeate and stick anywhere, but it felt a little bit more of a throwback to some era before the 1980s in terms of all the open hostility. Maybe I'm wrong, but I felt it wouldn't have been as polarizing during that time period.
I suppose the other part I didn't love was the language, but also, some of the pieces of storyline which aggravated me. This has nothing to do with the author's writing, but the content itself began to take its toll, so to speak. If rape, human trafficking, abuse, and other topics like these are triggers for you, then I would suggest you think before reading. There isn't anything graphic, but these are topics that are touched on or understood that they have happened/are happening, and it can be upsetting.
While I appreciate Author Karin Slaughter's no-nonsense writing style, her forthright way of covering topics, and her ability to weave a thought-provoking plot, I'd rate it a 2/5 for the characters, language, content, conflict/resolution, etc. It was a solid plot but just not for me.
Thanks for joining me, and as always, Happy Reading!
~Rebecca Reddell, Author
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