The Good Daughter: The Gripping No. 1 Sunday Times Bestselling Psychological Crime Suspense Thriller You Won’t Be Able to Put Down!

This is my first Karin Slaughter book and wow I think it was a fantastic start to my introduction of her.After a tragic shooting, Sam and her little sister Charlie live their individual lives with their own turbulent relationships until a school shooting brings them back to the one place that turned their lives upside down. Pikeville. Kelly Wilson is suspected of shooting two people and it's down to Sam and Charlie to uncover the truth as they excel in their chosen legal careers.I really enjoyed this book. I didn't see any of the major twists coming and I was sat down with my mouth hanging open in shock at times. I didn't suspect the truth at all. I found Charlie the most relatable as she suffers a knock to her marriage and pines for her husband on top of the childhood tragedy and the new school shooting. She was blunt and reminded me of Dexter's sister from the TV show. Brave and fearless. Sam was less relatable but with her mass of ailments it's a bit slim to be able to fully relate to but I felt complete empathy to her and what happened. I was almost proud of how she attempted to protect her sister when they were younger.The novel splits between Sam and Charlie's point of view. Personally I found Charlie's POV more engaging and interesting. Sam was very factual with random biological and philosophical facts thrown in which often lost me a little but it was all relevant to the mother's character and their relationship. The novel is also split between time periods when the sisters are in their early teens and experiencing a horrific tragedy and the current school shooting.This book is a graphic one. There are graphic descriptions of violence and rape and if you have a queasy stomach then perhaps this isn't for you. Whilst it was graphic with foul language at times I felt it added that must needed gritty level and darkness to the story as the parts in between the shooting were a little less engaging. Like exploring Sam's daily routine and exploring hoardered offices. I felt that aspect of nastiness really kicked up the suspense and sense of dread.Overall, a really good read. Graphic yet unputdownable. Very good introduction to this author into my reading collection and would certainly read another of her books. Would recommend to thriller/suspense readers and anyone who loves a bit of gore and violence. Thrilling read.

I have read every Karin Slaughter and have never been let down. Her books are gripping, emotional and intense with powerful imagery. They are often edge of your seat stuff! I read The Good Daughter in two days. This is a stand alone novel and will not disappoint!

Until Amazon offered up their 99p bargain on The Good Daughter, I had never read Karin Slaughter’s books and she writes for the genre I enjoy most, so I was very disappointed with this read.I wanted to be gripped, I wanted a page turning thriller I could not stop reading until I finished it and sadly, that was not the case.I’ll give her another shot, with another title but no time soon. There are too many better writers, i.e. Mark Edwards, B.A. Paris, Gillian Flynn to pick from.

The story begins with a look back in time as we discover the devastating events that shaped the lives of two sisters, Samantha and Charlotte Quinn, fifteen and thirteen respectively. Their father, Rusty Quinn, is a defence lawyer who takes on very controversial cases, representing murderers and rapists. This doesn’t sit well with many people and death threats are routine. After an accused rapist was acquitted and the victim killed herself the family have been ostracised making life at school very difficult for Charlie and Samantha. The family house was petrol bombed as a result and burned to the ground, all their possessions destroyed. Rusty, his wife Gamma and the two girls moved into a ramshackle farmhouse that belonged to an old farmer before he died.One night of unimaginable violence changed their lives irrevocably. Two masked men forced their way into the farmhouse, leaving the girls’ mother dead, Charlotte and Samantha traumatised and Rusty shattered.The story is set in Pikeville, Georgia and twenty-eight years after the tragedy, Charlotte has followed in her father’s footsteps as a defence lawyer, although she has no intention of representing the same kind of people her father does. But once again Charlotte is exposed to horrific violence when she witnesses a shooting which brings the horror of past events to the fore, highlighting just how much those events are still affecting the sisters. Charlie and Sam haven’t spoken in years, neither have Rusty and Sam and Charlie’s marriage is at stake. Emotional pain, secrets, anger, all suppressed for so long, have to be dealt with before either can learn to love, forgive and move on.Karin Slaughter has delivered a very dark, emotional and powerful story, peopled with complex but realistic personalities who drive the plot. The violence Samantha and Charlotte suffered as teens is recounted during the course of the narrative, and although in part it’s a repetition, it’s necessary for the story. Not everything is as it seems with accounts that differ, and those passages serve to deepen the characterisations and draw the reader, or in this case listener, in even more. Both timelines are woven together as the story progresses. The intricate and tangled relationships are compelling, an integral part of the story, and as the layers are peeled away, buried secrets are revealed.Wonderful writing and twisty plotting, and in the main the fascinating characters are superbly crafted and developed. An intense and gripping story with an unexpected conclusion. A word of warning – the vivid and graphic imagery may not be for the faint hearted!Susie James’ narration is spot on, her characterisations are distinct and enhance the emotions, tension and drama of the family’s complicated dynamics.

Whilst story is good it is not up to her usual standard of Will Trent etc stories. There is too much "jumping" back and forth. That is to say one minute you are reading the story in the present and then next minute it reverts back to what happened years ago. I can put up with some past explanations as these are sometimes needed in the story but for my own opinion there is too much of this. However it is still a good read just not as good as usual