I am never disappointed with a story from Karin Slaughter. Queen of suspense and thrills, this is another book full of twists and turns and tension, so much tension, I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding!

The central characters of Gerald (Chief of police) and his deputy Emmy are so engaging to read. Gerald is teaching Emmy everything he can so that she can lead the team and further her police career when they are called out to the potential abduction of two girls who live in their close-knit town. You follow the case as they race against the clock to bring the girls home and the perpetrator to justice. Several times I fell for the breadcrumbs left for me into a false lead and the climatic outcome halfway through the book made me think, hang on what happens next!!! The second stage of the story finds time has moved on and a similar crime occurs in their town of North Falls and Emmy makes it her mission to get to the root of the evil once and for all. The story tackles dark themes of rape, domestic abuse, kidnap and torture.

It's pacey, it's full of twists and turns, the tension builds like a rollercoaster and at it's heart is a tale of love and loss and how you will do everything you can to protect those that you love the most. I guessed one outcome about halfway but that did not detract me from the story at all. Highly recommend

My dad has been trying to get me to read Karin Slaughter for years and I've been missing out

Hooked from the start, didn't see the twists coming and this was SO tense I felt sick. I thought the ending could've been better, I'm not sure where the rest of the series will go

This book is set in the town of North Falls in Georgia.

Emmy Lou Clifton is the daughter of the local sheriff, Gerald. She followed in his father’s footsteps and became a police officer.

During July the Fourth celebrations, two teenage girls, Madison Dalrymple and Cheyenne Baker, go missing, their bikes abandoned, with blood found on the scene.

Emmy immediately suspects foul play. As the investigation progresses, she discovers things about the two girls and the secrets they’ve been keeping.

Then, their bodies are found in a nearby pond. Emmy and Gerald quickly apprehend the killer, and the case is closed.

Or so they thought.

Fast forward twelve years, and the killer is released on parole. Another local teenage girl, Paisley Walker, goes missing.

A retired FBI agent, Jude Archer, arrives in North Falls and helps with the investigation. She quickly assumes that Emmy and Gerald caught the wrong person…

I love Karin Slaughter’s books, and this one didn’t disappoint.

It’s the first book in the North Falls series, and the author perfectly describes the feel of the small town: everyone knows your business, and you can’t really hide. However, saying that the abductor of the two missing girls got away with it for twelve years.

I really got into the new characters, especially the dynamic between Emmy and Jude. The revelation at the end was fantastic.

I can’t wait for book two! Many thanks to HarperCollins for approving my NetGalley request.

I just absolutely love Karin Slaughter.

We Are All Guilty Here, did not disappoint. There are some pretty horrific parts in the book but I think that’s the norm with Slaughters books.

I hope we don’t have to wait too long for the next book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the chance to review this book.

It’s been a while since I read a novel by Karin Slaughter and boy, was I glad I read this one! It’s a story that typically punches above its weight, layered and complex with as many twists and turns as a baby piglets tail!

Usually, as a seasoned crime thriller reader, I can see twists coming at least a little in advance but while I saw the first one, I simply didn’t see the rest, not even the one with many clues!!

The action takes place in the small town community of North Falls, where Sheriff Gerald Clifton and his daughter Deputy Sheriff Emmy Lou keep the peace. The whole town has been run by Clifton’s and named after Clifton’s forever. Bring a Clifton is both easy and very hard and Emmy Lou’s family have lost two of their children in tragic circumstances already.

Two teenagers are abducted and one is the step daughter of Emmy Lou’s best friend Hannah.
The abduction and circumstances around it have implications for Emmy Lou’s life well beyond the tragic outcome and reverberates for many years.

The book takes place in two time frames - the second 12 years later when another teenager is abducted just hours after the release from jail of the person convicted for the previous abductions - released after a podcast showed he couldn’t have done it.

Events take a tragic twist for the Clifton’s and in steps Jude Archer, working with the FBI recovering abducted children do their parents have an outcome. Turns out Jude Archer is actually a Clifton herself….

This is a great story by a master crafter of crime thrillers, it’s layered and complex, with much resting on the small town relationships, families and secrets. The original girls abducted were clearly holding secrets from their strict parents and it looks like the latest abducted girl has very controlling parents - is that what connects them? And if it wasn’t the guy convicted, who was it? And why strike again just hours after he comes out of jail?

I can’t recommend this book highly enough, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m sure you will too.

I was delighted to receive a copy of Karin Slaughter’s latest book and excited that it is a new crime thriller series.

It did not disappoint and I found myself totally hooked and caught up in the story.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #HarperColllinsUK for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Karin Slaughter never fails to be the best ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the first instalment of a new detective series and already the characters are so deep and powerful!

The story is based in a small town with lots of mystery and close relationships get pushed to the wire. The twists come thick and fast and the story just gets better and better either way each chapter.

It’s a very emotional, deep story, I loved it.

I love a Karin Slaughter story but I found that the way the book ended wasn't great. It just seemed to end without suspense.
It also felt like it took a while to get into even though two girls are murdered right at the start.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

Brilliant, brilliant debut for a new series. I have loved all Karin Slaughters books whether they be stand alone or The Grant County series. This is a sure fire start to a new series that could be just as good as Grant.

North Falls is a small town where everyone know everyone and everyone looks out for each other. Emmy Clifton is the deputy to her father as chief of police and is North Falls born and bred. Although the Cliftons built the town from scratch all those years ago so with all the history comes a great many secrets.

When to local girls go missing, in what proves to be a harrowing case, Emmy and her father and the rest of the PD are happy they have arrested, charged and imprisoned the correct man. After being released 12 years later with new evidence and a dubious podcast emotions are running high and when another teenager goes missing it is the touchpaper the town needed. Did they have the right man 12 years ago or has someone else been playing them all along?

A fantastic 5 stars.

An edge of your seat, cant put it down thriller! Emmy is the deputy in a small town. So when two teenage girls goes missing, it falls on her to solve the case. It's now many years later and the case is resurrected when the convicted is released from prison and girls begin to go missing again. Its a very different Emmy who needs to solve this crime now (or maybe its the same crime), the years have not been kind and there is a lot of baggage.

It felt like two books melded into one. The beginning felt a bit slow, but it starts to make sense and you realise what a marathon this book is, with many twists and turns and unexpected developments. Some great complex characters, each uniquely carved and you get drawn into the larger family saga. So many layers to this book, many ways to keep you completely absorbed.

I don’t just read a Karin Slaughter book, I devour it. I have read every fiction book she’s written and recently had the wonderful opportunity of hearing her speak at Capital Crime with Mark Billingham. After 25 years of writing crime fiction thrillers, it’s remarkable that Slaughter shows no signs of tiring, and North Falls is the start of a brand new series, with characters that make my heart sing.

North Falls is a small South Georgia town, run by the Clifton Family who have influential positions in pretty much every aspect of the town’s business and legal life. Emmy is the Deputy Chief in the Sherriff’s office; her father is the Chief. The small-town setting of North Falls is beautifully drawn. Slaughter lets us peer behind the curtains of small town life so that we can see both the charm of the town and how well its neighbours know each other’s business, while at the same time showing us how claustrophobic that can be, especially for restless teenagers desperate to find out more about life than North Falls can offer. There’s a suffocating intimacy here that breeds suspicion, especially when a terrible catastrophe unfolds. North Falls is Slaughter’s canvas for Gothic shadows—it’s hot, humid summers breeding secrets in quiet backyards. This is classic Slaughter: small‑town charm colliding with darkness.

From the first fireworks-lit night in North Falls, I was utterly hooked. Narrated in the first person, this is not a dry police procedural; it's Emmy Clifton’s story—raw, flawed, tense, and emotionally drenched.

Emmy Clifton is haunted by her failure—she ignored a cry for help from her best friend’s daughter and it is her guilt as much as anything that drives her obsessive search when two teenagers vanish. Her relationship with her father, Sheriff Gerald Clifton, and the extended Clifton clan anchors the story in a palpable sense of small-town saga. This family binds the community together, but also blinds them to each other’s hidden depths. There's warmth and dysfunction in equal measure, and the way people tiptoe around secrets shows how peppered North Falls is with collective guilt—hence the title.

We Are All Guilty Here opens explosively, two teenage girls disappear as the town comes together to watch the holiday fireworks and from there the focus is on Emmy Clifton, her family dynamics and how she sets about peeling back the lives of the vanished girls, looking at motives, and trying to pin down the town’s shady characters.

As Emmy digs deep into the girls’ lives and the secrets they keep, showing us how little we know about the people closest to us. The teenage girls had lives of their own, woven with desire, deception, vulnerability. This is a recurring theme throughout the book, and brings out some of Emmy’s own deeply personal troubles, showing us that although she is resolute and brave, she also has a deeply vulnerable side to her character.

Slaughter doesn’t shy away from exploring the murky waters of guilt, betrayal, and the hidden lives of teenagers. Her characterisation shines through; these are real people, layered, complex and replete with their own secrets.

This is a dual timeline story; the novel has two major arcs.  First is the disappearance of the two girls and the discovery of what happened to them; second, is the disappearance, twelve years later, of another young girl, Paisley Walker. Here, Slaughter introduces a new character, Jade Archer. A former FBI criminal psychologist wangles her way into this new case. The dynamic between Jade and Emmy positively crackles. Emmy is local, emotionally entangled; Jade brings an outsider’s scepticism and polished methodology. It’s a classic but addictive tension: hometown instinct versus professional detachment. By the time they reluctantly collaborate, you feel the stakes in every analysis and accusation they volley at each other. Once Jade enters the picture, the pace, which has been methodical and determined, picks up to a breathless sprint.

By the finale, plot twists come fast and they are brutal. There are red herrings galore, a revelation, a conviction, the re-emergence of dangerous locals, even an early shootout—just enough to keep your heart hammering. The pace is fast and furious and the shocks keep coming.

Verdict: This is a novel about guilt, memory, and small town secrets. Emmy Clifton emerges as a heroine forged in regret and resilience. Jade Chandler’s measured expertise lifts the stakes. And North Falls becomes a character in its own right—its beauty tainted by tremors of betrayal.

Slaughter has delivered a rich, layered novel with superb plotting and emotional depth. If you love character-driven crime laced with gut‑punch suspense, this series opener is a knockout. I can’t wait to see where Emmy and Jade go next.

A rip-roaring start to a brand new series by much beloved best-selling author, Karin Slaughter. The title gives the nod to the central theme of this crime thriller – although we purport to know each other in small towns, how much do we really know? And do we care enough?
This is a typical Slaughter read – tightly plotted, fast and furious, characters with real depth, unexpected twists - and then twists to the twists, as well as a satisfying, unexpected ending.
Recommended!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Really enjoyed this book even though it was pretty dark. Loved Emmy and Jude and hope to see more of them

Review to come.
Due to a family emergency and needing to step away from my book commitments.
I will be reviewing at a later date.
My apologies.

Thank you to Netgalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

“We Are All Guilty Here” centers around Officer Emmy. She investigates two girls who went missing in a small town. Emmy deals with a past trauma as she is searching for these two girls. This book effectively illustrates the lengths people will go to keep secrets and protect those they love.

This is my first Karin Slaughter book, and it will not be my last.

This small town thriller mystery novel was one that I loved! It was extremely emotional, dark, and tense. I enjoyed the dual timelines. It is full of twists that shocked and kept me guessing.
The world-building of this small town drew me in.
I liked all of the characters in the story. I loved how Emmy became so involved and had a personal connection with these two girls. This is a small town community that is full of betrayals and past traumas. I enjoyed reading this book from the very first page.
If you're a fan of her other works, please don't walk, run, and get this one in your sweet little hands.

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter
I give this book 4.75 stars.

Emmy Clifton has lived in North Falls all her life.
When her best friend's daughter asks for help, she thinks it’s just some teenage drama. She thinks it can wait. She’s never been more wrong in her life.
As the town ignites in the wake of the girl's disappearance, Emmy throws herself into the search. But then she realises: You never really know a town until you know its secrets.

This author really is a master of her craft especially when starting a compulsive new series. Hard hitting and meticulously plotted,small town close knit community set up and already establishing authentic characters with depth. I was gripped from the very first chapter, told from different POV’s and involving a past present timeline which I loved as it gives more background to the overall story. Officer Emmy is a strong FMC and I’m already intrigued by the whole Clifton family dynamics.I enjoy a chilling crime thriller and this one peels back the layers and is filled with twists, secrecy, trauma and redemption.
There’s a hint of so much more to come in the ending and I’m totally there for it, just how long do I have to wait for book 2 ?!
With thanks to Netgalley, Karin Slaughter and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for my chance to read and review this book.

This is the first book in a new Karin Slaughter series. Set in the small town of North Falls, Georgia, Slaughter skillfully builds the community into a mixture of good and evil, old and young, rich and poor, and.....well, you get it. The town is one of the characters, setting the tone for the story. A first in the series story must contain a complete mystery, plus weave in threads and characters to set up the following books. Slaughter is a proven expert in this craft. Millions have read her Will Trent series alone. As the backstory is developed, readers become familiar with the characters and how they interact within the plotline. This adds depth to the thriller that so many others lack.
During the 4th of July parade, two young women are taken from the crowd. MC Officer Emmy Clifton, along with her father, Sheriff Gerald Clifton, are first on the scene. Emmy realizes she knows one of the girls, who had tried to speak to her earlier that evening. The investigation into the disappearance is the central theme here. As the police follow the few clues they have, the story flips back and forth, showing Emmy's determination to find and bring back the girls. Readers will be unable to set the book down until the reveal.
Slaughter is well known for her police procedural thrillers, which take readers into the thick of the investigations to see for themselves how dark the trail becomes when victims become casualties. Her main characters are human, and she does not shy away from showing their pain and emotions as they perform the jobs they love and hate.

We Are All Guilty Here marks the beginning of a new series by Karin Slaughter, set in the small town of North Falls, Georgia. The abduction of two teenage girls sees our central character, Officer Emmy Clifton racing against time to save them before they are murdered. Then twelve years later and promoted to deputy sheriff, she finds history repeating itself…

This is a highly character-driven thriller. We really get inside the head of protagonist who is well-rounded and complex. We feel her anguish as she watches the clock ticking down on any likelihood that the two abductees, one of whom is the daughter of a lifelong friend, will be safely found. It’s always a pleasure to encounter strong and realistic female characters in fiction.

The lean towards character does not mean this is a book that drags. The pace and plot twists keep on coming. A satisfying read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers, HarperCollins, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Karin Slaughter novel—I’ve known her through the Will Trent TV series, so I was really excited to finally read one of her books.
I had my doubts early on, but then those final chapters ? Total game-changer!

Heads up before going in: some scenes deal with very dark and graphic subject matter, so definitely check the trigger warnings below if you need them.

The story is told across two timelines: one follows what happened to Madison and Cheryanne 12 years ago, and the other picks up in the present day, when a similar case shakes the town all over again.

I’ve gotta admit, the first 20% felt a bit slow. There were a lot of details—and while I normally love a solid police procedural, this one got slightly repetitive and heavy on the telling instead of showing.

But, the slow burn paid off the moment the real digging began and the truth about the girls began to surface. That’s also when Jude came onto the scene—and things instantly got more interesting. Her skills helped Emmy crack the case, but her mysterious past kept me guessing too.

The final 30% ? Absolutely thrilling. So many twists, buried secrets, and a finale that seriously caught me off guard—I couldn’t put the book down. That last twist really sealed the deal!

Since this is the start of a new series, I’m really curious to see where the characters go from here and what kind of case they’ll tackle next.

If you’re into thrillers with a heavy dose of police work—profiling, chasing leads, and strategy—you’ll probably enjoy this one.
I’m glad I pushed through and gave it a chance, and I’ll definitely be watching for book two!

⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: violence, child abuse, murder, adult/minor relationship, pedophilia, kidnapping, grief, dementia, child death, sexual assault, rape, drug use, infidelity, toxic relationship, brief mention of misogyny, vomit, car accident, alcoholism, torture

The twists are relentless, the tension is off the charts, and just when you think you’ve got it figured out... you absolutely haven’t. The characters are brilliantly layered, the writing razor-sharp, and the small-town setting adds this eerie, claustrophobic feel that ramps everything up. It’s dark, it’s brutal, and it’s completely unputdownable – a proper five-star thriller that had me racing to the final page with my heart in my mouth. An absolute masterclass in crime fiction!