We Are All Guilty Here
I had to step away from Karin Slaughter as an author a few years ago because the discussions around sexual assault in her books were too graphic for me. When I saw she had a brand new series coming out, I decided to risk it and I’m glad I did.
We Are All Guilty Here is the first book in a new series set in North Falls, GA so readers can go into this one fresh without having to play catch up with characters (her other series, Will Trent, has a dozen books already).
The mystery starts twelve years ago when two girls go missing, then fast forwards to present day when the man who caused their disappearance was released from prison after having his conviction overturned. Emmy Clifton was a deputy when he was arrested and worked the investigation closely. Now she’s the acting sheriff and she’s questioning her own work in the past. Jude Archer, a retired FBI agent, comes to consult when another girl vanishes under the same circumstances as the two a decade prior.
One thing I think a lot of readers will enjoy is the fact that Jude is an older woman. A number of mystery heroines are “the brilliant newcomer” to the police or FBI or whatever. Jude just retired from the FBI and says she’s menopausal, so while we don’t get her exact age it’s safe to place her in her late fifties or early sixties. I don’t see women in this age group in popular fiction much at all so I found it really refreshing that a female heroine was allowed to be brilliant in part due to all her experience.
This book is also less graphic than Slaughter’s earlier works. There are elements of child abuse and sexual assault, but they’re off screen and not mentioned in the same level of detail that I found in the Will Trent series. On a scale of one to ten with one being no violence and ten being the most graphic on page descriptions, I’d place this at a five.
The first section of the book moved a little slowly, but it was building up a lot of detail that would come to fruition later. I’m glad I stuck it out because the last half of the book is a one-sitting read, and all the clues (even clues I’d totally missed) come together perfectly at the end.
If you’re interested in a riveting mystery with an older heroine, I’d definitely recommend this book. If you’re a reader who was turned off by violence in this author’s previous series, I’d say it’s safe to wade back in.
– Elyse
The first thrilling mystery in the new North Falls series from Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Girls and the Will Trent series.
Welcome to North Falls—a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think.
Until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanish, and the town ignites.
For Officer Emmy Clifton, it’s personal. She turned away when her best friend’s daughter needed help—and now she must bring her home.
But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did.
Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?
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Have heard lots of good things about this one!
I enjoyed this one as well. I just devoured it!
Federal law enforcement officers, such as FBI agents, must retire by 57, if that helps with her age any. And while I avoid violence in my fictional world, I agree having a female MC in that age range is a great draw to the series.
Pretty sure her age was stated as 57 in the book, which matches Zuzus’s comment.
Loved the book, though it started off slow. And that family twist near the end!