Member Reviews

I enjoy all of her books. A solid four star read. Great premise. Well written. Good characters. Page turner. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing. Would definitely read her next novel. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

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A girl with a secret…
Longbill Beach, 1982. Emily Vaughn gets ready for prom night, the highlight of any high school experience. But Emily has a secret. And by the end of the evening, she will be dead.

A murder that remains a mystery…
Forty years later, Emily’s murder remains unsolved. Her friends closed ranks, her family retreated inwards, the community moved on. But all that’s about to change.
One final chance to uncover a killer…

Andrea Oliver arrives in town with a simple assignment: to protect a judge receiving death threats. But her assignment is a cover. Because, in reality, Andrea is here to find justice for Emily – and to uncover the truth before the killer decides to silence her too…

“Girl Forgotten” by Karin Slaughter is a taut and twisty thriller which grabs you from the outset and doesn’t let go until you’ve reached the last page. As the story unfolds, the perspective switches between the present and the past, so we’re never quite clear on who the bad guys are, which in my opinion is a plus when reading thrillers. I love to keep guessing and getting it wrong! This book was very well written - I’ve read a few of Slaughter’s books and they never disappoint - and the story was completely immersive. I’d highly recommend this for anyone who loves thrillers and who is looking to escape life for a while and get lost in a good story.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an arc in exchange for an unbiased review.

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I was so excited to receive this ARC, Karin Slaughter is one of my favourite authors of all time and I'm pleased to say this book did not disappoint.
Once again I've been kept on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happens next. If only real life didn't get in the way!

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Another Karen Slaughter best seller - initially I found this quite a confusing story as the tale was switching between the past and present . As the story unfolds it transcribes into an extremely well written and absorbing read. I was hooked until the very end and would definitely recommend.

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Wow, this was such a good book! The way it was written between present day and forty years ago was so clever as you really go to know Emily despite her being dead.
I had no idea who committed the crimes as everyone looked so guilty so I loved the evening when it was all revealed.
Emily deserved so much more.
This was my first read by Karin Slaugher but I don't think it will be my last.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollinsUK for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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As a fan of Karin Slaughter, I could not wait to read this and the blurb certainly had my interest piqued.
I'll just start by saying that I could not put this book down!
I wasn't aware that this was the second in a series of books but that did not hamper my enjoyment at all, so you could definitely read this as a stand alone book.
The storyline completely drew me in and it was a brilliantly layered mystery.
You were rooting for certain characters and truly did hate the 'bad' or nasty characters.
There were also a lot of great twists and it left me guessing until the very end.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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I didn't realise this was the second in this series and I hadn't read the first book when I started this. I found it a really excellent read, Karin Slaughter is one of my favourite authors. I would have found it easier to follow if I had read the first book prior to this and would advise others to to that before reading this.

Slaughter has a way to draw the reader in straight away and keep you hooked until the end.

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The sequel to Pieces Of Her, this book reunited Andrea Oliver with her quest from truth from the past - here a cold case involving a murdered pregnant teenager decades ago, in the same town where Andrea’s father grew up. The same town in which he was friends with the murdered girl. The same town that he left shortly after and never returned to.

Andrea is now a newly qualified US Marshal and she is given special dispensation to guard a female judge who has been receiving death threats….the judge whose daughter was murdered all those years ago. Just who is threatening her and why now? And can Andrea discover the truth surrounding her father?

I read Pieces Of Her before reading this and it followed on nicely, albeit a couple fo years in the future. I love Andrea’s character and how she has grown over the course of the stories.
Would recommend.

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As with every Slaughter book review, I have to start with the caveat that she is my favourite author and as such this review is going to be biased in her favour because the Queen of crime can do no wrong in my eyes :)

Girl, Forgotten is the second in the Andy Oliver series and I absolutely loved it. It has much more of a familiar feel to it than Pieces of her, I think because we are back in a small town with small town people. I really enjoyed the historic mystery in this one and it will make you feel angry and sad all at the same time.

Slaughter has a knack of injecting her books with humour even though the subject is so dark, she does this through her characters. They are all so fully rounded and full of depth, you get to know them and feel like you REALLY know them. You can also relate to them, which helps with the empathy and I was completely invested in Andy's progression both from the start of this book to the end, as well as from the last book. She has grown so much and that makes this series a great one.

Hoping for more in this series (but still waiting on the new Sara and Will) :)

Recommended to fans of Slaughter, fans of thrillers, crime fiction, gruesome mystery.

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I'm a massive Karin Slaughter fan so I abandoned everything I had planned or needed to do the second this hook was available and got stuck right in. It's a stand alone book so you don't need to have read any of the others beforehand. It's also quite tame for a Karin Slaughter book since previous stories have gotten quite dark and graphic. That's in no way a bad thing however, it's still an amazing thriller.

As always the characters are completely original and she doesn't fall back on cliches or the same old characters you've read a dozen versions of. She has a way of bringing them to live and giving them these rich and colourful personalities. They're so well written and realistic that you can actually see them in you mind and its more like watching a series than reading a book.

Although this is a thriller, it also really pulls at your heart strings and has your heart breaking for the struggles these characters have bn through. Again, with the characters being so relatable then it's easy to feel empathy towards them like they are old friends. The book has a really good pace and there are no pages that are just there to up the word count or to be used as filler. Every page is moving the story forward.

As I said, it is quite tame for the author but it has the same engaging and captivating story line and still drags you along for the ride without letting up until that last page. The plot itsself is so very basic and yet the author has a way of taking such simple concepts and adding layer upon layer to them so it turns into this rich, divers, multi layer story with so many questions and twists and turns that you won't be able to put it down. I had it finished within 2 days and am now gutted I need to wait again for tbe next release but I really couldn't put it down. U was sneaking in chapters at work, whilst cooking dinner, whilst walking g the dogs, and of course I chose Reading over sleeping. The story has a good pace throughout and the end continues this. It doesn't feel rushed or forced just so the story can be over. It's a very natural progression and an organic close. It also doesn't leave a million unanswered questions and lose ends. You'll never find a Karin Slaughter book where all of a sudden one of the main theories/plot lines just vanishes or fades away into nothing. It is all meticulously planned so every little sub plot all ties in together at the end like the pieces of jigsaw finally clucking into place.

I could go on for days about how enjoyable this was but I think you get the jist by now. Another masterpiece! And absolute delight to read. Colourful and engaging characters. A captivating plot. A shocking ending. And as I said, quite tame so for anyone who has thought some of Karin Slaughters other work sounded a bit dark.....this may be a good place to start

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This book is one that most mystery books fans will really enjoy.
The plot had so many twists and turns I couldn’t put the book down
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes paranormal romance,

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Once again another brilliant book from Karin Slaughter. I am a big fan of this author, her novels never fail to leave an impact. I cannot wait on the next one.

Many thanks to netgalley and Karin Slaughter for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

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Girl Forgotten has Andrea (Andy)Oliver (from previous book Pieces of Her) who has just qualified as a US Marshall. She is given the task of protecting a judge who is receiving death threats. She is partnered up with Bible a well experienced Marshall.
Weaving through this book is another story and it takes us from the future to the past. In the Past the judges daughter Emily becomes pregnant, this is the scandal of the town and Emily is treated very badly by her so called school friends, one night she is attacked and dies. Andrea is also using her time in this town to investigate this murder as no one was ever charged for it. It has a possible personal connection to Andrea which we learn about early on in the story.
This is a proper whodunnit, I kept changing my mind who the culprit was.
I enjoyed the book, the characters are all well described, most of them pretty awful people, but Bible and Emily really stand out. I liked the way Andreas character has developed for the better.
It did take a while to get into the flow of this, Sometimes the characters were given their full names other times their nick names which until I could get my head around who was who I had to keep flipping backwards and forwards.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

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I do automatically pick you Karin slaughter books but I'm glad I did I enjoyed every page.

I think I will read more of her books

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Unfortunately I didn't realise this was a follow up to another Karin Slaughter novel which I haven't read.

I couldn't truly follow what was going on as I don't know the characters.

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Girl, Forgotten is a follow-up to Karin Slaughter's novel, Pieces of Her which features Andrea Oliver. In this book Andrea is a newly graduated federal marshal on her first assignment. I read this book based on the author alone, Karin Slaughter is the queen of crime and this one shows she has no intention of slowing down any time soon. I didn't realise this was a sequel and don't feel this was clear enough from the cover. I have read the earlier book so it wasn't an issue for me but I'd recommend reading that one first as the story will make much more sense. The first book focused on Andy's mother, whereas this one focuses on Andy's father.

This book features dual timelines and narrators. I really liked this aspect and seeing it really drew me in to read about both the teenage and adult versions of the same characters. At first I liked Andy's narrative but over time I found myself really engaging with Emily. I devoured this book and when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. I love that Karin Slaughter doesn't shy away from complex and heart breaking themes and topics. Trigger warning for: teenage pregnancy, abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault.

I'd highly recommend this one (and any of Karin's earlier works). Trust me you won't be disappointed. Karin truly is an incredible author and this one doesn't disappoint.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

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Newly qualified US Marshall, Andrea Oliver is sent on a placement but with a secret ulterior motive - to see if her criminal father was responsible for the death of pregnant school girl Emily Vaughn in his home town 40 years ago. Her real mission is to investigate desth threats to Emily’s mother, Judge Esther Vaughan. With her new US Marshall partner, Bible, investigations of past events and the present situation start to intertwine.
Quite different to Pieces of Her, but found the plot and pace of the book more gripping and thoroughly enjoyable.
Another Karin Slaughter masterpiece.

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Girl, Forgotten is the second book in the Andrea Oliver series by best-selling American author, Karin Slaughter. On the same day that, much to her mother’s dismay, Andrea Oliver graduates as a US Marshal, she agrees to two jobs in her new role: babysitting conservative Federal Court, Judge Esther Vaughn, who has been receiving death threats, is what everyone will see her doing; proving her own biological father guilty of a forty-year-old murder is what she’ll be trying to do on the quiet.

In October 1982, seventeen-year-old Emily Vaughn is stunned to discover she’s pregnant. She’s never been with a boy, or anyone, like that. But the timing fits a party with her clique where she took a tab, and remembers nothing until much later. But would her friends do something like that? Emily’s future is suddenly looking very different: goodbye college, respect and a career.

But Emily can’t leave it alone: she starts asking questions, and flashes of memory filter in. Her questions get certain people riled up, and she soon discovers who her friends aren’t. But it’s looking more and more like Clayton Morrow is the father of her baby…

Nicholas Harp, formerly Clayton Morrow, is serving a forty-eight-year sentence for conspiracy to commit acts of domestic terrorism, but due for another parole hearing in six months. Andrea and her mother, Laura have already experienced what this dangerous man is capable of when he escaped two years previous, so pinning something else on him would keep them both safe for longer.

Andrea meets up with her new partner, Deputy Leonard Bible aka Catfish in Longbill Beach, Delaware, and even before she’s met the Judge, she has encountered one of the murder victim’s closest friends, another acquaintance and her now-forty-year-old daughter and teenaged granddaughter.

From reading the police file on the murder case, Andrea is aware that, while the Police Chief was convinced that Clayton Morrow murdered Emily Vaughn, several others might have reasonably strong motives for committing the crime. And it seems that the surviving main players have stayed close, so when Catfish drags Andrea out to a reported suicide on a fava bean farm, two more potential suspects for Emily’s murder rear their ugly heads.

What they find there distracts Andrea from her covert mission: skeletal, anorexic volunteers who seem to be part of a cult. Can they be rescued? And is this in any way related to that forty-year-old murder?

The dual time-line narrative relates events from Andrea’s perspective in the present day, and Emily Vaughn’s back in 1981-2. Witness statements taken at the time of Emily’s death add detail. It’s easy enough to believe that those main players are still in and around the small town where they grew up, especially when it becomes apparent how their shiny futures were sabotaged, or circumstances made it advantageous to stay. Grudges, resentments and jealousies have simmered, crystallised, amplified over the intervening years.

Slaughter gives the reader lots of action, and some seriously nasty characters, but also plenty of black humour. Andrea’s conversations with her mother, who believes she is safely in Oregon, bring light relief as the tension ramps up, and Catfish is an utter delight, in particular for his teaching moments with a very green dewsum, his dialogue with the police chief, and his own boss. Plenty of scope is left for further books with this excellent cast of characters. Once again, Slaughter does not disappoint.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harper Collins UK

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An intriguing and compelling story from Karin Slaughter. Twists and turns from the present day to the past, keeping you gripped.

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Andrea Oliver is a newly qualified US Marshall. She is posted to protect a federal judge who has been receiving death threats. While there Andrea has also been asked to covertly investigate the unsolved murder of the judge's daughter 40 years ago as there are possible links to a prisoner about to be released.

The story focuses on two very different women. Andrea Oliver, newly qualified US Marshall, determined to pull her weight and Emily Vaughn, a seventeen year old who is murdered in 1982. The link between the women is that they possibly have the same father.

We jump between the stories of the two women, discovering that Emily was pregnant and had no idea who the father was as she was drugged and raped at a party. Being set in the early eighties in a tight-knit, conservative community this is seen as a disgrace. Emily is scorned by her friends, no-one believes her story so little interest is shown in trying to investigate the rape. The way that Emily is treated by almost everyone made me want to scream in anger and frustration

The suspects for the rape are small group, mainly focused on her clique of friends. As we get deeper into the story you are constantly wondering which one, if any, is responsible? Or could it be more than one? Are they covering for each other? Thanks to the excellent writing you are constantly second guessing and unable to pin down the person responsible early on.

As Andrea investigates we discover that misogyny is still rife in the small community, despite the progress of time. Some of the original clique are still around and despite tensions between the individuals they are still covering for each other, hampering the investigation.

The well plotted story keeps you in suspense right up to the end, with a satisfying conclusion. The author than made me gasp by throwing in one final little snippet to make you wonder where do we go from here?

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