This is the 12th book in the brilliant Will Trent series by this very talented author who once again reels us in to a dark twisty, disturbing story which is full of interesting characters, some of which are mean, calculating, manipulative and abusive.

Will and Sara are on their honeymoon, a remote retreat, cut off from the outside world, no internet, no phone reception. The property is owned and run by the McAlpine family, to say they are dysfunctional is an understatement, they seem to thrive on lies, deception and bullying.

The much planned honeymoon for Will and Sara is cut short when Mercy McAlpine is brutally murdered, stabbed multiple times, barely alive but able to speak a a little to Will when he finds her. Mercy did not have an easy life, she was pregnant at 15, knew only coldness and abuse from her parents, she suffered both mental and physical abuse from her ex husband, her best friend died in a car accident, Mercy blames herself as she was driving, she has a nasty scar on her face as a daily reminder.. Will cannot walk away from the investigation, he needs to find the murderer who committed this vicious crime, everyone is a suspect, her family, the other guests at the retreat and the few employees.

The story covers a lot of dark subjects, childhood abuse, rape, drug and alcohol abuse, and domestic violence. There is however woven in this dark book evidence that love can help heal, trust can be earned and given. Mercy loved her son, she wanted to protect him from her warped family. Will has come a long way in his journey and is delighted each day with his love for Sara and the light she brings to his life. As Will moves closer to solving the case there
Some expected twists to the story as Will moves closer to finding Mercy’s killer. Once again a 5 star read from Karin Slaughter,

Many thanks to Net Galley and Harper Collins UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Book 12 in the Will Trent Series and joy of joys Special Agent Will Trent and Medical Examiner Sara Linton have finally married and Will is taking Sara on a surprise honeymoon to a campsite in the hills. The lovebirds find themselves as guests of the McAlpine Family Lodge Site hosted by what can only be described as the most detestable family I have ever come across. As always a well written and brilliantly plotted story.

Briefly, McAlpine daughter Mercy has threatened to reveal family secrets and shortly afterwards, on their first night, Will finds himself holding the body of Mercy who has been brutally stabbed and Will himself is injured with the murder weapon. With only 9 other guests plus the family and trapped in a storm it is clear the murderer is amongst them. And as Mercy said everyone wanted her dead! With the storm blowing it will be some hours before his colleagues can reach the site so it’s all down to Will and Sara.

A superb locked room or maybe locked campsite murder mystery. With secret upon secret being revealed almost by the page Will has his work cut out just to make any sense of it all. Then just when he thinks he knows everything a shocking truth comes at him like a thunderbolt and it was the same for me! This is quite a dark read with subjects of abuse in many forms and with so many twists and turn I was self guessing myself all the way through. A compulsive, tense and exciting read. Brilliant.

Gosh what a whirlwind journey this book takes you on. I went from having no idea who’d done it to being sure I knew to being bowled over by the twists and turns. What I like was the storytelling around the very difficult relationships involve with the main characters. Some of it was disturbing and difficult to read with violence and abuse. The main character Mercy had been treated appalling all her life. A brilliant twisting and turning thriller that keeps you guessing to the end.

A locked room mystery with Will Trent and Sara? Sign me up!
Ok, it's not so much of a locked room as it is a cut-off-from-the-world-by-geography-and-weather type of situation, but it's close enough to keep Faith happy. And Amanda grumpy.
This has all the ingredients you'd expect from Karin Slaughter, and some you might not.
It's a hard read in places, probably meriting a content warning (though not as graphic as her early books, there is still a lot of gore and abuse and nastiness).
The humor and simple human decency gives a needed contrast to the nastiness, and even if it gets a little convoluted for its own good at times, it's still a damn fine read.
(Thank you to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the ARC)

Once again, Karin Slaughter has delivered a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat and stay with you long after you’ve read the final page.

A classic “locked-room” mystery in the Agatha Christie-style, this tale has it all. Everyone has a motive to kill and everyone is lying about something. With twists and turns that will leave you breathless, this book also has what Ms Slaughter writes best – great characters, who you feel you truly know and who you want to see succeed.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I got an invitation to review this book and it was actually a privilege to get an invitation to read one of my favorite thriller author's latest novels.--Karin Slaughter's latest novel and Will Trent series Book 12.

Will and Sara go to a secluded cabin resort owned by a family McAlpine. The couple try to enjoy their small honeymoon retreat until Will comes across the Mercy McAlpine, the manager of the cabin fatally stabbed. Realizing that someone in the cabin is the murderer, Will calls his GBI team and sets to find the murderer. They find that Mercy has been living a life of hell and that most of her family members were treating her badly...and nearly everyone wanted Mercy dead.

This was a fast-paced thriller. Not only that, but it was also unputdownable and a page turner as well. As there are so many suspects in the book, we as readers have to guess which of them actually murdered Mercy brutally. The whole story was well written and knowing how the author leads the reader, I was instantly hooked into the story. I also like the fact that one of the suspects Dave who is Mercy's husband is also grew up with Will in the orphanage that Dave still calls him by the nickname he had been given. The ending was completely unexpected. Even though this book was very long, I wasn't bored at all and I actually enjoyed reading this thriller. And I cannot wait to read more of Will Trent's series or Karin Slaughter's next novel! Worth five stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Another great read featuring the fabulous Will Trent and Sara Linton. This time with a reverse plot, starting with the murder then a flashback to build up to this point and beyond. There is a map at the start, which helped me get to grips with the location,although difficult to return to reading on a kindle.

Told from a variety of POV the reader is able to view the story from different perspectives giving a deeper understanding.

This is a great locked room mystery, set in the remote, secluded mountain location, where guests have to ‘hike in’. Initially I found there were a lot of characters to get used to, which meant it was longer before the story took hold.

I particularly enjoyed learning more of the history of Will’s childhood and contrasting the harshness to Sara’s much more ‘conventional’ life.

This book deals with a lot of social issues and does not shy away from the harsh realities of each, leaving the reader in no doubt of the effects of each. The characterisation of the guests at The Lodge was a slow burn, keeping their secrets as just a hint for the readers to think about.

The action, when it comes, is quite fast and the plot dark, gruesome, shocking and multilayered. For me, I felt the ending happened too quickly after the intensity of the story.

In this, the 12th book in the Will Trent series, he and Sara Linton have finally tied the knot and are on their honeymoon.
They’re staying at the McAlpine Lodge, a family run site of 10 wooden cabins situated deep in the woods. The site’s owners, the McAlpines, live on site in the big house. Only staff have access to wi-fi and the landline is for emergencies only. Will and Sara will truly be away from it all and to make doubly sure, they’ve invented new jobs for themselves.
But as they dally on a late night swim, a woman’s desperate cry for help, breaks the tranquillity. By the time of the second scream., Will is half dressed and heading towards the sounds followed by Sara.
They find a woman, half dressed, lying in the lake as a cabin blazes. Miraculously, despite being covered in blood, she is still alive. Will and Sara know who she is as they both saw her in an argument with the rest of the McAlpine clan at dinner earlier that evening. She is Mercy McAlpine and she gives Will a message before succumbing to her injuries.
Who murdered her so savagely and bloodily? Mercy was obviously on bad terms with the rest of her family who wanted to sell the Lodge despite it having been handed down through seven generations. She was a lone voice of opposition as it was her that singlehandedly revitalised it after Papa’s accident that left him in a wheelchair. Mercy was seen by everyone as a failure with a useless, abusive ex-husband and also an addict who caused the death of her best friend in a drink/driving accident. She and Dave had a son together, Jon, who was being sucked into the family dynamic.
So Will and Sara come out of hiding and admit who they really are and take charge of the investigation. They begin to question family members, Dave, family members and the other guests staying at the Lodge. Amongst them are two investors and one of the couples gave a false name. But it’s the name on his chest tattoo that is a reminder of Mercy’s bleak, dark past.
And Will sees another familiar and unwelcome face from his past amongst the McAlpines which brings memories flooding back. But he had a very different fate….
With the disturbing relationships and family dynamics of the McAlpines being exposed by the investigation and Mercy’s helplessness in the light of a cruel and hard life, Will and Sara fight to find her murderer and justice for her.
Wow! What a ride! A disturbing cocktail of rancid family betrayals with Mercy as the scapegoat for it all and the past catching up with one of the characters. This is a locked room mystery which immediately piqued my interest as I love to follow the trail of the murderer ahead of the investigator. It’s a serpentine plot with the abused but determined Mercy at its heart and the creepy people surrounding her. An insular family living in the woods is a ripe breeding ground for strangeness. The author’s adept handling of a multi layered plot was impressive and she made me feel sympathetic to Mercy who never stood a chance but whose dying words were only about her son.
However, the author having characters commenting on the plot jarred a little as when near the end one describes the events as ‘An Agatha Christie locked room mystery with a VC Andrews twist’ as it made the reviewer’s job easier!
I’m used to fast paced crime novels and I did find the book very slow in places. It seemed to concentrate on more family revelations rather than on discovering Mercy’s killer. But there were some excellent red herrings and a real twist at the end. Very Tennessee Williams. I read the previous book in the series, After that Night’ and the pace seemed faster and more gripping.
But Will and Sara are engaging characters and this will not be my final acquaintance with them.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

A new Karin Slaughter is such a treat., especially when it's a Will Trent and Sara Linton adventure. Hiking into a remote luxury mountain resort to begin their honeymoon, they find themselves caught up in a very dysfunctional family feud. When resort manager, daughter Mercy MacAlpine is murdered on the first night, their professional responsibilities kick in and the honeymoon is over. All is not as it seems, the main suspect has a watertight alibi and Will and Sara are caught up in all sorts of danger. A tense storyline with deep implications for Will where one of the main protagonists is one of his childhood tormentors. So much to unwrap and so much depravity. #netgalley #thisiswhywelied

This is another absolute belter of a mystery starring Will and Sarah. This series is fabulous and I’m so invested in the characters, who have grown in each book. The mystery here is perplexing with lots of suspects and a claustrophobic atmosphere.

I have been a fan of Karin Slaughter for years so I was excited to read this book. This is the latest in the Will Trent / Sara Linton series although it could be read as a standalone. This novel is based around Sara and Will's honeymoon where their peaceful escape is shattered by a murder on the first night. Although I enjoyed this book and there were plenty of twists and turns in the plot I felt that it was too long at times. A good read but not my favourite.

I’m yet to read a Karin slaughter novel that doesn’t grip you from the beginning and keep running all the way to the end.

Another fantastic addition to the Will Trent and Sara Linton series, with a shocking ending!

It's best described in the words of Faith, Will's partner:
"How did I get an Agatha Christie locked room mystery with a V.C. Andrews twist?"
And this is precisely what this book is!

Will and Sara, having recently tied the knot—what could be better than a secluded lodge in the mountains that requires a hike to reach?
It's a time to spend quality time together in a peaceful setting... until a blood-curdling scream abruptly ends it.

There are 22 people at the lodge. One is dead, one is a killer, and everyone is lying.
Instead of spending their time enjoying nature and each other's company, Will and Sara find themselves deeply immersed in a cesspool of lies and murder. Will they be able to uncover the truth behind the events transpiring at The McAlpine Lodge?

Prepare yourself for some truly shocking revelations!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Karin Slaughter continues to be the queen of crime novels! Her books just never disappoint. The characters are so authentic (and I've grown to love them dearly over the years) and the plot twists you never see coming.

If you're a fan of suspenseful books, there's just no way you won't like Karin Slaughter's books. And she's such a likeable author as well who takes the time to engage with her fans online!

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the ARC of this book.
Have read lots of books featuring Sarah Linton and Will Trent individually but this is the first book with them both together and it absolutely blew me away. They work so well together and the storyline was fantastic. The way you thought you knew who did it only for it to twist again and it was now someone else.
Obviously cannot wait for the next book they never disappoint.

This is book 12 in a series and although it could be read as a standalone, I would recommend reading the series.
I’m a great fan of this author, but, I’m afraid I didn’t enjoy this book as much as previous ones.

Firstly, what worked for me?
Finally, Will and Sara are wed! The ‘will they, won’t they?’ was getting tiresome. They’ve a great relationship and although it’s a tad sickly at times during this read, it’s a strong connection that holds the threads together.
The solid story is a good one, albeit a difficult read at times.
A different setting for the couple and Will’s past continues to haunt him.

What I struggled with:
It is long and there were times I was tempted to flip pages, but, knowing this author I realised that would be a mistake as I’d likely miss a key piece of the puzzle.
The setting means it feels very claustrophobic and there is little opportunity for relief from the small group of characters.

Overall, I’d have to say this is a solid 3* good read, just, felt more disconnected than previous and less tight.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the opportunity to preview.

was over the moon to be approved for my favourite crime writers new book, released this August. I’ve read Karin Slaughter books since the beginning and I think she is amazing. She is graphically dark, super gruesome and just an absolutely fantastic writer who manages to keep you guessing the entire way through.

My main love is how much research goes into her books. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Slaughter was a doctor. Her knowledge in the medical field, to support her characters back stories, is just phenomenal. The detail is perfection. Everything about her books shows depth and the deep knowledge she holds for each of her characters is amazing for me.

This is another instalment of the Will Trent series and quite different to her normal style. This book is being described as a “locked room” novel with a decent “whodunnit” theme. I did guess the who but I never could of guessed the why. Not that I wanted too, as I knew Slaughter would be dark, meaning my theory would not be able to take me to where it needed to go to but the reveal was quite grim. 💀

So thankful to have had the chance to read this before release date. I’mup to date with all her books now and will have to wait until next year for her next instalment

Karin Slaughter's latest thriller, "This is Why We Lied," is another brilliant addition to the Will Trent and Sara Linton series. Set in the luxurious but deceptive McAlpine Lodge, the story unravels as everyone’s lies start to surface. The plot thickens when Mercy McAlpine, once seen as the good daughter, threatens to expose everyone’s secrets and is later found dead.
As a long-time fan of the series, I found myself captivated by how the author delves into Will Trent’s thoughts and past, especially with the parallels to this new case. The twist of having Will and Sara’s honeymoon turn into a high-stakes investigation was unexpected and thrilling. The suspense and the final twists kept me on the edge of my seat.
What stood out most was the depth of Will's character, especially his love for Sara, which is portrayed with such vulnerability and grace. Another hit from a favorite author and series!

Very grateful to the publisher for this copy , opinions are my own

Book 12 in the Will Trent series.
I didn't realise this was part of a series until I'd requested and been accepted for this one. I do actually have physical copies of the first ten books sitting on my shelf, and I'd been putting off reading them after not enjoying the one Karin Slaughter book I'd read previously. However, having read and loved this one, I am definitely going to need to go back and start from the beginning. I do feel like this can be read as a standalone, I didn't find myself feeling confused, and there were only brief mentions of previous events.
There were some pretty dark themes running through this book, dealing with childhood abuse, trauma, rape, drug abuse, incest etc. As Faith says, this is a locked door mystery with a VC Andrews twist. What more could you want?

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this exceptional book

poor mercy.... she didnt deserve the life she had.... nobody liked her. she was an ex druggie a wild child that got pregnant at 15r.... but she didnt deserve the hatred that everyone felt towards her.... even from her own family

and then she was murdered....violently

will and sara are on their honeymoon ... up in a secluded mountain retreat...run by mercy and her family

its will that finds mercy after her cry for help but he is already to late and her whispered final words are for his ears only

what a ride this book gave me.... and i never saw that ending coming in a million years....

karin slaughter can certainly weave a spell that keeps you on the edge of your seat till you have finished her book... looking forward to the next book already