Helpful Score: 1
I have always been a fan of Karin Slaughter & I've read all her books..Te Good Daughter was a great disappointment. There were 2 flashbacks that were word for word what had happened previously & did not add anything to moving the plot along although they did increase the length of the book..The interchange between the sisters felt flat & while the ending was different it really didn't grab me the way her books usually do..I bought it from Amazon when it first came out..I wish I had waited & gotten it used
What an excellent story with so many layers...sisters, husbands, fathers, mothers...tragedy that changes lives forever but somehow people get through it to live productive happy lives. Well written.
I happened to pick this book up at a thrift store after reading Slaughter's novel PRETTY GIRLS, a very horrific story of murder and abuse toward women. THE GOOD DAUGHTER tells the story of two sisters, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn (Charlie and Sam), who were part of a vicious attack on their family when they were young. Their mother was murdered, Sam was shot, and Charlie was viciously attacked. The novel tells of this horrific event from both Charlie's and Sam's point of view. Then twenty-eight years later, Charlie is on-site during a school shooting that leaves a school principal and a young girl dead. Rusty Quinn, the father of Charlie and Sam, is a notorious defense attorney in the small town of Pikesville, Georgia, who is not liked by most of the community. Was he the reason for the attack on the family 28 years ago? And when he wants to defend the young woman accused of the school shooting, it adds to the animosity of the town towards him.
This was really a compelling read as Slaughter tells the story of the tragedy that befell the two Quinn sisters. The novel delves into the family dynamics of the Quinns as well as life in small town Georgia with all of the prejudices that reside there. There were some twists to the story that I didn't see coming related to the school shooting as well as what really happened to the two girls and who was involved. I would definitely recommend this one although I did feel at over 600 pages, it was a little longer than it needed to be. I will be looking forward to reading more of Slaughter.
This was really a compelling read as Slaughter tells the story of the tragedy that befell the two Quinn sisters. The novel delves into the family dynamics of the Quinns as well as life in small town Georgia with all of the prejudices that reside there. There were some twists to the story that I didn't see coming related to the school shooting as well as what really happened to the two girls and who was involved. I would definitely recommend this one although I did feel at over 600 pages, it was a little longer than it needed to be. I will be looking forward to reading more of Slaughter.
Charlie and Sam grew up in Pikeville, Georgia, with anything but an idyllic childhood. When the girls were teens, they were part of a brutal assault at their family's farmhouse. The attack left their mother, "Gamma," dead and profoundly affected their father, a prominent local attorney. Years later, Charlie remains in Pikeville, a lawyer like her father, and trying to keep the past behind her. All that changes when the town witnesses violence yet again--and Charlie is right in the thick of it. Suddenly, she's forced to confront so many of the emotions she's buried for years and to fully deal with exactly what happened to her family so many years ago.
Slaughter's latest novel starts quickly out of the gate--with a brutal, graphic, and spell-binding description of the assault and attack on Charlie, Sam, and Gamma--and it never lets up from there. Seriously, this book never lets you take a breath or a break: it's just constant action and second guessing.
Told from the points of view of both Charlie and Sam, including their varying memories of the incident at the farmhouse, we are forced to see all the events and violence through the eyes of the two sisters alone. As I mentioned, this keeps you guessing--and reading. I completely put down the other novel I was reading at the time (FINAL GIRLS) to read this: I had to know how it ended.
All the characters in this book are entwined, and Slaughter does a great job of depicting the small town of Pikeville. It's a mystery at its core, sure, but it also goes deeper with commentary on race, class, and how modern society deals with mass tragedy. The characters are well-drawn: I immediately found myself intrigued by Sam, Charlie, their father (Rusty), the descriptions of Gamma, and by a slew of small-town folk, including Rusty's secretary Lenore, and Charlie's estranged husband, Ben. Slaughter is excellent with the details.
Indeed, she's great at doling out those "whoa" moments. The plot never lets down; in fact, it continues to pick up as the novel continues on. I truly gasped a couple of times and found myself going "wow"! That's not easy to do once, let alone consistently.
This is a beautiful book at times--the way the plot and characters weave together. It even makes you laugh at moments, despite some truly somber subject matter. I found myself a bit irked at times by Charlie and Sam's fighting (I've read a lot of books with sisters fighting as of late), but if that's my only nitpick, that's not bad at all.
Overall, a great mystery that keeps you guessing and surprised to the very end. Excellent, fascinating, and deep characters. Definitely worth a read.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss (thank you!). More at http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com.
Slaughter's latest novel starts quickly out of the gate--with a brutal, graphic, and spell-binding description of the assault and attack on Charlie, Sam, and Gamma--and it never lets up from there. Seriously, this book never lets you take a breath or a break: it's just constant action and second guessing.
Told from the points of view of both Charlie and Sam, including their varying memories of the incident at the farmhouse, we are forced to see all the events and violence through the eyes of the two sisters alone. As I mentioned, this keeps you guessing--and reading. I completely put down the other novel I was reading at the time (FINAL GIRLS) to read this: I had to know how it ended.
All the characters in this book are entwined, and Slaughter does a great job of depicting the small town of Pikeville. It's a mystery at its core, sure, but it also goes deeper with commentary on race, class, and how modern society deals with mass tragedy. The characters are well-drawn: I immediately found myself intrigued by Sam, Charlie, their father (Rusty), the descriptions of Gamma, and by a slew of small-town folk, including Rusty's secretary Lenore, and Charlie's estranged husband, Ben. Slaughter is excellent with the details.
Indeed, she's great at doling out those "whoa" moments. The plot never lets down; in fact, it continues to pick up as the novel continues on. I truly gasped a couple of times and found myself going "wow"! That's not easy to do once, let alone consistently.
This is a beautiful book at times--the way the plot and characters weave together. It even makes you laugh at moments, despite some truly somber subject matter. I found myself a bit irked at times by Charlie and Sam's fighting (I've read a lot of books with sisters fighting as of late), but if that's my only nitpick, that's not bad at all.
Overall, a great mystery that keeps you guessing and surprised to the very end. Excellent, fascinating, and deep characters. Definitely worth a read.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss (thank you!). More at http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com.
Karin Slaughter never disappoints. Enjoyed the story a lot, about the relationship of two estranged sisters with a couple of mysteries as the backdrop. Some good twists -- one I kind of figured out early on (although the motive was a surprise) and the other was shocking and a complete blindside.
I always enjoy Karin Slaughter's books.
This is a good psychological thriller with some horrific hard to read acts, and lots of tension and anxiety. Two estranged sisters find each other again and realize they always loved and needed each other.
Good ending with a twist I never saw coming.
This is a good psychological thriller with some horrific hard to read acts, and lots of tension and anxiety. Two estranged sisters find each other again and realize they always loved and needed each other.
Good ending with a twist I never saw coming.
Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn's happy small-town family life was torn apart by a terrifying attack on their family home. It left their mother dead. It left their father; Pikeville's notorious defense attorney; devastated. And it left the family fractured beyond repair, consumed by secrets from that terrible night.
I found Karin Slaughter's new book to be a brilliant story that exceeded my expectations. The fascinating characters of Charlotte, Samantha and Rusty are wracked with pain and their family life is torn apart by tragedy. The powerful, disturbing scenes in the beginning of the novel are not for the faint of heart. Slaughter's excellent descriptions allow you to feel what the characters are feeling. It is a fast-paced read with lots of twists and turns. I have read every book that Karin Slaughter has wrote and I would have to say that this may be the best book she has written so far. Hopefully, she will turn it into a series as I would love to revisit these characters. I look forward, as usual, to the next book she writes and I would highly recommend her books to those who love psychological thrillers with lots of suspense.
I found Karin Slaughter's new book to be a brilliant story that exceeded my expectations. The fascinating characters of Charlotte, Samantha and Rusty are wracked with pain and their family life is torn apart by tragedy. The powerful, disturbing scenes in the beginning of the novel are not for the faint of heart. Slaughter's excellent descriptions allow you to feel what the characters are feeling. It is a fast-paced read with lots of twists and turns. I have read every book that Karin Slaughter has wrote and I would have to say that this may be the best book she has written so far. Hopefully, she will turn it into a series as I would love to revisit these characters. I look forward, as usual, to the next book she writes and I would highly recommend her books to those who love psychological thrillers with lots of suspense.
Twenty-eight years ago, the Quinn family's lives changed forever. Two masked men looking to get even with Defense Attorney Rusty Quinn break into his home. Rusty was not home but his wife and daughters were. In a matter of minutes, the mother is dead. The oldest daughter, Samantha, is show and buried alive. Charlotte, the youngest in the family, runs for her life. The repercussions of that night left the family devastated.
Now twenty-eight years later, Sam is estranged from her father and sister. Charlie works as a lawyer in the same office as her father. When Charlie stops at the middle school to talk to one of the teachers, she witnesses a horrific crime...a crime that causes her to remember things in her past that are better off forgotten.
This story is split between what is happening in the present, and what happened in the past as told by Charlie and Sam. Sometimes it was a little repetitious because we were getting two points-of-view, or we were told what happened...then was "really happened". Both the mystery in the present and the story in the past would not let me put this book down. I thought I had everything figured out, but there was a jaw-dropping moment in this book that I never saw coming. My rating: 4.5 Stars.
Now twenty-eight years later, Sam is estranged from her father and sister. Charlie works as a lawyer in the same office as her father. When Charlie stops at the middle school to talk to one of the teachers, she witnesses a horrific crime...a crime that causes her to remember things in her past that are better off forgotten.
This story is split between what is happening in the present, and what happened in the past as told by Charlie and Sam. Sometimes it was a little repetitious because we were getting two points-of-view, or we were told what happened...then was "really happened". Both the mystery in the present and the story in the past would not let me put this book down. I thought I had everything figured out, but there was a jaw-dropping moment in this book that I never saw coming. My rating: 4.5 Stars.
