The Good Daughter

By Karin Slaughter

Rating: 5/5 Stairs

Here’s the question that I have after finishing this book: How have I not heard of Karen Slaughter before?! I picked this up as a random audio book find in the library.

The Good Daughter starts off with a bang, 28 years in the past. The story sunk it’s hooks in me from page one and I found myself wishing for more time in the car to find out what would happen next.

Ms. Slaughter tells the tale of the Quinn sisters – flipping between one evening that changed their world 28 years ago and the present day throughout the book. Now in their 40s, both Sam and Charlie have followed in their father Rusty’s footsteps and become lawyers. Sam works in New York as a patent attorney, and Charlie shares an office in their Alabama hometown with Rusty. Father and daughter are independent defense attorneys. Sam has been estranged from her family for years. The three come together when Charlie becomes personally involved in a horrific incident at the middle school, and Rusty takes on the defendant as his client.

Some parts of the tale are not for the faint of heart – the descriptions were intense and detailed at times. My favorite part of this book was the characters – I find myself hoping she’ll write about them again. Along with the case and the mystery, Sam and Charlie have a lot going on in their lives and personal issues from the past that keep the story moving forward and the reader wanting more. I really enjoyed their dynamic as sisters, and Rusty’s southern charm. The audio book narrator did a great job. Like I said, I wanted more time in the car to continue hearing the Quinn’s story.

If you enjoy a character-driven thriller, look no further than The Good Daughter. I will be adding more books from Ms. Slaughter to my check-out pile in the future. She’s a fantastic storyteller.