Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

I really liked the relationship between Leigh and Callie and how current events were incorporated into this book.

First of all would like to say thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have read quite a few of Karin Slaughter’s stand alone books and was exited to see what new story was about to unfold. This book deals with two sisters both of which have to overcome a dark history in there past to move forward with there lives. One became a lawyer whilst the other still struggled facing her demons (trigger warning to anyone that this involves drug abuse). Somebody from the past comes back to haunt them and use his knowledge of previous events to manipulate the sisters into helping him get away with a series of violent rapes.

I don’t want to say too much about the plot as I think everyone should be able to experience this book without having anything spoilt for them. The only downside to this book was that it was quite slow to get into and wasn’t till I was about halfway through that it started to pick up and I couldn’t stop reading until I had finished! Another negative was that the book was based during the COVID 19 pandemic we are currently in and I was sick of reading about masks by the end, I understand the reason why she included it as it is such a big part of our lives but for me I want to read a book to escape from what is going on in the world and not be reminded of it. I didn’t expect the ending of this book at all but I liked that it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the characters because life isn’t like that. The bond between the two sisters was so well written and especially the ending made me want to go hug my sister and tell her how much I love her.

Overall this book was a good read but there are some strong trigger warning that should also be added with this book as details of sexual abuse, drug abuse and addiction, rape are all key parts of this book and will be uncomfortable for some to read.

Karin Slaughter is one of my top authors, so I was thrilled when I got a copy of her latest stand alone novel, ‘False Witness’, to review.
In short, it’s a hard hitting story about two damaged sisters who had survived their horrific past when some 20+ years later a ‘trigger’ will resurrect their shocking secret, forcing them to outwit the dangerous game they now find themselves in.
In typical Karin’s style it’s another rich in character, fast paced ride involving a lot of violent and disturbing acts, however, Karin expertly manages to throw in moments of humour and sensitivity too and that’s why she is the Queen of thriller writing.
It was interesting to read why Karin chose to include current day issues which is a first for her and she explains why it was important for her to do so.
Unsurprisingly I loved ‘False Witness’ but it’s definitely not for the feint hearted.
Big thanks to Karin Slaughter, HarperCollins and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.

Karin Slaughter knows how to write the perfect twisted page turner. I loved the complex relationship between the sisters that are so similar and different. Although, Dr. Jerry was my favorite character in the book and I just wanted to squeeze him.

It was also the first book that I’ve read with covid included in the story line. It wasn’t distracting, but I think will be interesting to look back on.

Karin Slaughter is one of my all time favourite authors and I really enjoyed reading this stand alone novel.

We follow sisters Leigh and Callie from back in the day when they were groomed by a horrible man. Then one night something happens to one of the young girls and it ultimately ends up in murder. The sisters have a deep dark secret and the story flashes back to the past and based also in the present.

The book does take place during these weird times of covid and I did feel like the use of the pandemic was used excessively throughout the novel but its not really off putting when reading.

The story is dark and covers subject matters that some people may not like but the overall story is a really good plot and worth a read.

Thanks for an advanced copy of this book for my honest opinions.

I haven’t read many of Karin’s books but this is the book that encouraged me to seek others out. Sisters Leigh and Callie did something terrible two decades ago – and they’ve paid for it every day since. Going in separate directions, rarely meeting up, their lives tarnished by the role each played in ensuing a violent end, their past is set to come back in a big way thanks to Leigh’s work. Now a successful lawyer, though with an estranged husband and daughter, she’s forced to take on a new client. Which is bad enough, until she realises who the client is and what they could contribute to That Night all those years before. And quite clearly, the client is willing to hold everything against Leigh and Callie if he doesn’t get his own way.. This handles so much ‘big’ themes beautifully, and doesn’t sensationalise or over dramatize. The dialogue feels real and the sisters’ relationship feels authentic, a true sign of Karin’s talent to craft a puzzling, detailed story.

This is a dark story. Karin Slaughter has never shied away from the depths of the adversity her characters face. Child abuse, adult survivors of rape, people in positions of power who abuse that power to extreme extents. These are all fairly common themes in her books. But, False Witness feels even darker.

Callie and Leigh are sisters. On the surface they are very different people. Callie is a drug addict, at her best when working part-time at a vet surgery where she steals maintenance level of drugs and sells them locally. Leigh is a lawyer at a prestigious firm, while she’s separated from her husband she loves him and their daughter dearly.

But, they have a huge secret in common. A secret that someone else knows, and could tear their lives apart if he shares it.

As always it is the strength of Karin Slaughter’s characters that this book finds it’s hook. The desperation and determination shared by Callie and Leigh had me rooting for these characters despite their bad decisions.

Yet there was also a big distraction - Covid and the pandemic loomed large over these pages and it really put me off. At one point it felt like every second page was referring to face masks or hand sanitiser. And, every time they were mentioned it pulled me right out of the story. In a note at the end of the book the author explains why she felt the need to make the pandemic part of the setting, but I really wish she hadn’t. Hand washing, face masks and physical distancing should be left in the real world, reading is how I get away from that.

A good story, but would have been better without so many Covid references.

I have been reading Karin Slaugher's books for over a decade now, and have been a huge fan since the very start.
False Witness is one hell of a book, it covers some very difficult topics, but has been written with sensitivity and not over exploited them, just for the sake of it; i.e. sexual/drug abuse.
It's fast paced, clever and possibly the most intense book I've read in a long time. If I could give it 100 stars, I would, it really is that good!!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. Karin you have done it again your books just get better and better. Different to your other series but just as good Cant wait to read more

False Witness, Karin Slaughter 5/5

Leigh has worked hard to build her life. She is a DA, she has a daughter doing well at school and even her divorce is going well... but Leigh is hiding a devastating past and a case is about to land on her desk that will blow open a secret she has kept for 20 years.

The Queen of thrillers has returned with another brilliant page turner. False Witness brings us Leigh and Callie, sisters, two strong complex leads who Slaughter develops beautifully as the novel unfolds. You pull for both sisters to succeed. Slaughter also continues to tackle social issues in her novels with her usual care nuance. Slaughter who often deals with violence against women really understands exactly how to write about it, she knows how women are affected, how women react. It is never gratuitous. Slaughter is always one of the smartest thrill writers out there and False Witness is proof of that, this one is difficult to put down and the final pages left me with a tear. Shes written countless novels but Slaughter never loses the dark, smart plots, characters and turns that keep readers picking up.

A much anticipated Slaughter stand-alone that kept me well and truly hooked. Leigh is a sassy defence attorney who gets a request to represent a high profile client accused of rape. She's read about him in the paper and can't understand why he would request her, until she walks into the conference room for the first time and realises that she knows him very well. And he knows an awful lot about her.

Leigh and her sister Callie (endearingly short for Calliope but pronounced Callie-ope as their mother didn't understand how it was supposed to be pronounced) have been running from their past for a long time and are brilliant characters. Leigh is outwardly poised and powerful but incredibly vulnerable. Callie has coped with the assistance of opiates and a myriad of other drugs (CW: in addition to the usual Slaughter violence, there are graphic descriptions of intravenous drug use - I'm not squeamish but in the last chapter there was a scene that even made me grit my teeth!).

I am a huge fan of Slaughter's writing and really enjoyed this. I felt for the characters, particularly Callie, and adored her relationship with Dr Jerry. It wasn't quite as twisty and turny as some of her books are but there was a few solid surprises thrown in. It was more an exploration of what you would do to protect the people you love and the morality of decisions you make. It's also set in current time, so is full of references to masks, Covid-19 and the impact of that on the community/country.

All in all an excellent thriller - not my favourite of hers but a brilliant read that made me abandon all other reading plans!

I received an advanced copy of False Witness to review. It's a stand alone novel.

This is Karin Slaughter at her finest! Superbly written and set in 2021.

False Witness is about two sisters who had something horrific happen to them in their past. It comes back to haunt them 20+years later.

The speed in which False Witness progresses is phenomenal! The twists and turns had me guessing and turning the page. Not once did I feel lost or I'd missed something. Karin Slaughter knows how to carry a story with speed without losing a drop of plot.

The way Karin Slaughter writes had me transported! Whether it was to a nicotene and smoke stained room or a vet practice, I was there.

The characters are so well developed, you feel as if you know them personally. The relationship between the sisters is bittersweet and beautiful.

I read this in 5 hours. I could not put it down. There were scenes where I smiled and laughed, scenes where I exclaimed out loud and scenes where the tears flowed. For a book to do that, it's something special. Karin Slaughter knows what she's doing and she does it well!

False Witness is a must for any Karin Slaughter fan.

At the beginning of the year I read and reviewed Long Bright River, which had been garlanded with praise and awards for its 'unflinching look at America's opioids crisis and literary reinvention of the thriller'. I took issue with the latter part of this description particularly, exemplifying as it does a snobbery on the part of critics who seem to only take notice of so-called genre fiction when more literary writers attempt it (often badly, I argued). False Witness, for me, was everything that Long Bright River tried to be but didn't quite manage, but given that Karin Slaughter is a writer of crime novels it's unlikely the critics will be showering this with praise. Which is a crying shame because, with this book, Slaughter exemplifies the ways in which the genre allows for coruscating explorations of social and political issues.

Like Long Bright River, False Witness has at its heart two key themes: the opioids crisis, and the legacy of childhood and familial abuse. Unlike that book, though, these themes are paired with a heart-stopping thriller plot taking place against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and, as is becoming standard for Slaughter's novels, an acute eye on feminist politics. While her earlier novels (especially those in the Grant Country series such as Kisscut and Blindsighted) have been criticised for an almost-voyeuristic dwelling on violence against women, her later work has engaged more acutely with what that violence actually means within the context of a patriarchal society that damages men and women alike. The details of the abuses suffered by the female characters in False Witness make tough reading but, as in the two standalones that I think of as beginning Slaughter's more politically conscious era, Pretty Girls and The Good Daughter, they're not there merely to titillate the reader but to ask difficult questions about gendered violence.

A standalone, False Witness would make a great introduction to the work of Karin Slaughter and is an outstanding, albeit often difficult, read which treats the subject of addiction humanely. Is April too early to call it for my crime novel of the year?

I've always enjoyed Karin Slaughters books but this standalone novel- False Witness, was very unsettling, the subject matter features rape & pedophillia which was never going to be easy reading but Karin Slaughter does manage to write her characters in such a brilliant way that you want to immerse your self in their lives, for example when Lawyer, Leigh gets a new client to defend, Andrew, your flesh will actually crawl over the maliciousness that drips from him and when Leigh soon finds her precarious life being threatened you really feel for her. I've always thought if you really find yourself being disturbed by a fictional character then the author has really done an excellent job and Karin Slaughter has excelled with this book but I do miss Will Trent.

False Witness is a dark gripping enthralling thriller that as usual with this author is well written , exciting with depth and a cast of characters that some will appall you and other have you cheering them on.
Told in the past and the now Covid present we have sisters Leigh and Cassie, we learn of a childhood full of cruelty neglect and depravity. Where as Leigh has pulled herself out of her past with grit and determination and is now a defence attorney, Cassie has sunk lower and lower into the depths of drug addiction.
Leigh is suddenly told she must act as defence to Andrew a man charged with rape and horrific assault. Leigh realises who Andrew is from her past and he soon makes it clear he know about a horrific act Leigh and Cassie performed when they were children. Using his knowledge to blackmail Leigh he is determined to be found not guilty at any cost.
Leigh and Cassie although terrified are determined one way or another to fight back.
I don’t wish to give any spoilers away, I feel it’s important to learn about these two and their history for yourself. It will be a journey that Is heart pounding, desperately sad but by the end uplifting and an ending that you’ll be willing these amazing woman to have.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

A true honour to be invited to read a book by my favourite author, Karin Slaughter.

Straight from the off this story based in 2021 includes covid, and perfectly so. i dont think any author can overlook the pandemic if their book is set in 2020/21. Slaughter does it brilliantly at first, and any reader in the future will experience the full covid lifestyle. However it soon becomes too much, its all the time and it’s relevance unclear and very tedious. While Karin does explain her reasons at the end of the book, her goal could have been achieved without a reference to covid on every page. The story has nothing to do with covid-19 but that’s the most mentioned, talked about subject of the book.

Not my favourite Slaughter book, it didnt grip me as many others did, it took a few days to read the whole book,i just found i could only read so long and needed a break, the story takes a long time to build with way too many references to covid. I was at 50% when i started to feel gripped and excited to see what was happening.

A good book overall, 3 stars as always well written, with more twists and turns than the spaghetti junction. Any Slaughter fan will delve in to the delights of a new book and come out breathless and invigorated.

#FalseWitness #KarinSlaughter #NetGallery #NewIn2021
#bookreviews

I always look forward to the latest Karin Slaughter and was excited to receive a review copy of “False Witness” which is a stand alone read and not connected to her latest Will Trent series which I’ve loved over recent years..
This book was definitely an edge of your seat thriller which hooked me in from the beginning and kept me interested with its many twists and turns.
Leigh is a defence lawyer who is working for an expensive law firm. When she is called on to defend a brutal rapist she is shocked to discover that her new client has stepped out of her past. When she was a teenager she used to babysit him and when she moved on from the job her younger sister, Callie, took over. However something incredibly traumatic happened to the girls at this time which catapulted Leigh away earlier to study law in Chicago and these long ago events have left Callie as a heroin addict.
Andrew, the accused is not a nice person and he seems to know a lot about Leigh and Callie’s past and the events of long ago and is prepared to use this knowledge to threaten Leigh, her daughter and husband as well as Callie.
The sisters must do everything they can to protect their loved ones but are in an incredibly difficult situation. The outcome is definitely not certain and I kept turning the pages over a bank holiday weekend, keen to find out how the situation was going to end.
Leigh and Callie were sympathetic characters but many of the others in the book were pure evil, including their own mother and of course Andrew, himself.
I liked the descriptions of the relationship between the sisters, Leigh’s perceived guilt for her part in the awful events of the past and her desire to look after and protect her younger sister are understandable. Even Callie has a strength of character despite being a drug addict- her love of animals and ability to help Dr Jerry, the vet, demonstrate this.
My only quibble would be the pandemic setting. There were many references to masks and hand sanitizer as well as Covid illness. Having lived through this for the last year, I don’t really want to read about it. I read for escapism and do not want to be reminded of the current situation in the course of a novel.
Putting that aside this was an enjoyable and entertaining read which held my attention until the very last page.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

I am a dedicated Karin Slaughter fan and, with The Good Daughter, The Silent Wife, Pieces of Her and The Last Widow being some of the most authentic, thought provoking and exciting books I've read in recent years, my expectations for False Witness was high. Sadly, I was left a little disappointed and rather bewildered. I can only assume that the need to keep this book firmly established in the pandemic and being as true to 2020 as possible has taken energy and focus from the areas in which Karin Slaughter's books normally excel. The pace was erratic, characters did things that simply did not make sense - or perhaps it was just that the characters were not as developed as usual so I felt like I didn't know them as well as I should; dialogue didn't flow as usual and the way some of the characters' stories ended was either predictable or just downright odd. I am used to reading K.S's books and being hit with twists, drama, suspense and breathtaking conclusions whereas, this time, I felt like I was being batted from one implausible moment to another. For the first time reading any of her books, I didn't mind when I finished it.
All of that aside, this is still an intriguing story that sets the scene at the start for some breakneck action later on; the book has an excellent premise and characters to both love and loathe. I will anticipate the next book with all the enthusiasm and excitement as normal and mentally categorise this one as 'good, but not one of my favourites'.

I haven't read Karin Slaughter since I was expecting my daughter years ago! When I saw the opportunity to read her latest novel - I was thrilled. Thank you to Harper Collins and Net Galley for my copy in return for an honest review😊

TW

Sexual abuse, paedophilia, violence, graphic descriptions

She is just as brilliant as I remember - her writing draws you in and like an episode of CSI and wondering what is going to happen next. This story follows two sisters, Harleigh (Leigh) and Callie and their opposing lifestyles. Leigh is a successful lawyer and Callie is struggling with a drug addiction.

After a series of very specific murders, a secret is uncovered that Leigh and Callie wanted to keep buried in the past. However, they both find themselves and the people they love in the middle.

Slaughter combines key contemporary issues of sexual violence, Covid-19, drug abuse and mental illness within her novel allowing her characters a realism that readers can emotionally connect with. As always the relationship between her characters is incredibly nuanced and every action is purposeful to the plot - even if you don't always know it.

I would have given this five stars but I do think some of the other characters could do with a little more development - like Sidney's backstory would have added some much needed context. It's still bugging me why she would behave in the manner that she does.

That being said, Slaughter keeps you engaged and drives the plot forwards at a thrilling pace. I would definitely recommend all fans of Slaughter and this genre to pick up a copy. I will be ordering the books that I have missed from my last soiree into reading her novels.

I enjoyed The Silent Wife and was anticipating to read this new one, sadly I was a bit disappointed. There are more than a few trigger warnings mentioned that I had to put the book down and pick it back up. The rest of the story is police procedural and suspenseful. I will continue to read more of Karin Slaughter’s books! Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins, and the author for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.