The Good Daughter

I really enjoyed this thriller of a book. There were twists and turns in the story. I haven't read books by this author before but have just got another ready as I enjoyed it a lot.
I would recommend this book if you like an emotional and nail biting story!

Thornaby Library Reading Group

A psychological thriller that is shocking and in your face and at the same time heartbreaking.

The author slowly reveals the horror that the family endure, the tragic murder of the mother followed by the attack on the sisters. The characters of Charlie and Sam are drawn out gradually in the story as the family struggle to overcome their dark past. There are unexpected twists to the story which take you by surprise.

Thursday Station Book Group

Top marks to Karin Slaughter for precipitating a lively, controversial book group discussion.
It was agreed that, despite being advertised as a psychological crime thriller, it is predominantly a book about family relationships as its members come to terms with the atrocities of violent crimes committed 28 years previously. These main characters, as a consequence, are allowed to steadily develop in this rather padded out novel.
The book was described as ‘a page turner’ by those who love the book and some of the descriptions, along with the plot, setting and characters evoke a sense of small town America. The plot is structured in its use of time frames, and flashbacks are successful in filling in the backstory.
The majority of our group was more critical, finding the plot contrived and predictable. In addition, the overuse of descriptive language and repetition renders the promised ‘thrill’ and ‘tension’ rather flat. There are moments when the reader is taken to the edge but instead of teetering in suspense, Slaughter pushes us over for a crash landing simply by saying too much. A number of us felt that graphic descriptions of violence and unnecessary sexual references are salacious and sensationalist and certainly not for the faint hearted. “Perhaps written with the movie in mind” was suggested.
Less than top marks in the rating scoring an average of 4.5 (out of 10), although the range of scores mirrored those given by the Strictly judges.

I love a good thriller and this didn't disappoint.
It was gripping from the opening scene and the story kept me enthralled through every twist a turn.
Shocking in parts, and violent at times so beware if you are averse to being shocked, but with a brilliant narrative thread which builds and builds and I enjoyed it so much I didn't want to try and guess what was going to happen next.

i am a big fan of detective stories and thrillers and have seen this author on the shelves but never read anything of hers. I found the violent deaths just a bit too graphic and I didn't really engage with the daughter Charlie. But when the other sister Samantha came back on to the scene I felt the story really picked up and the took pace. I liked the chapters flashing back to the death of their mother and how a little a bit more of the truth was revealed in each one. I was totally not expecting the mother's killer accomplice to be the respected school teacher. And I liked the twist of who did the school killings - i had figured that it wasn't the young schoolgirl. So my score started low but moved higher. I will try out others by her - perhaps some of her early work to see if she isn't quite so graphic in her violent scenes.

I am not a fan of crime/thriller fiction, never choosing to open one; but after the initial shock of reading the detailed description of the horrific sadistic murders and rape I decided to carry on reading and then felt compelled to turn the pages as the story was well written, full of suspense and interesting characters.

A well researched gripping read. Harrowing and brutal in places, but keeps the reader hooked with action throughout. A disturbing, but compelling page turner. Makes me glad I don't live in small town America. Lots of Americanisms and some repetitive sections made me give 4 stars and not 5, but would recommend.