Book Review: The Good Daughter

The Good Daughter

by: Karin Slaughter

Publication Date: August 8, 2017
Finished on: August 7, 2017
Publisher: William Morrow

I received a free finished copy of this book from the publisher (William Morrow) in return for an honest review.

Synopsis:
"Bright white bone.  Pieces of heart and lung.  Cords of tendon, and arteries and veins and life spilling out of her gaping wounds."

The Good Daughter is described by its publisher as a "searing blend of cold-case thriller and psychological suspense that is sure to be the best thriller of 2017."

"'Many people must have told you that you are lucky to be alive.  I think you would have been lucky had you not been shot in the first place.'"

Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn watched their mother ferociously killed in their family home.  Their father was distraught and their normal small-town family life ruined.  Today, Charlotte (Charlie) follows in her father's footsteps to become a lawyer and the protypical "good daughter."  Unfortunately for Charlie, she is at the local middle-school when a school shooting breaks out, leaving two dead and the motive unknown.  Charlie is left trying to cope with her suppressed memories of her mother's death and her survivor guilt, as well as attempting to solve the crime.

"She had seen this before.  She knew that you could put it all in a little box and close it up later, that you could go on with your life if you didn't sleep too much, didn't breathe too much, didn't live too much so that death came back and snatched you away for the taking."

According to her website, this is a standalone novel, but I could see this easily turning into a series (please!).

My review:
I have to put it out there that this novel is not for the weak of heart.  There are several scenes where I physically cringed.  If you have issues reading about fictionalized murder, rape, and pedophilia, then I wouldn't recommend this book, as these themes are explored.  That being said, I have read about much worse barbarous acts on news outlets and I think that Karin does a phenomenal job of writing about these brutal acts while ensuring that nothing is distasteful.

From even the very opening scenes, the murders and plot twists will keep your head spinning and your eyes on the pages.  I had a hard time trying to imagine and guess at how Karin Slaughter would wrap everything up in one book.  I actually felt pretty nervous when I was about 75% finished, as I thought there would be a lot of loose ends or that I would have to wait for a sequel, but Karin does an amazing job with this.  This is novel is stand-alone perfection and just what I needed.

"'Thats the problem with life, Sam.  If you're not rising, you're falling.'"

While The Good Daughter definitely packs a great thriller/suspense punch, Karin Slaughter does not shy away from character development.  Each of the characters - Charlie, Sam, Leonore, and Rusty were well-developed and imperfect people.  I honestly cared about the characters and hoped they would figure out how to resolve all of their issues.  The feel real - like they could be your childhood neighbor.

"A person who has been up close when a gun is fired into another human being never mistakes the sound of a gunshot for something else."

One thing I found interesting about The Good Daughter is that it is told from the perspective of a defense attorney.  My boyfriend's brother is a public defender and when he talks about cases, I can't help but question WHY he would want to defend these people.  Rusty and Charlie are both defense attorneys, although Rusty primarily defends more rough characters - murderers and rapists - Charlie primarily assists her clients with lesser charges such as child support.  One message that I took from this novel is that just because someone does something bad, doesn't make them a bad person.  Also, just because someone is TRIED for doing something bad, doesn't mean they are guilty.  The funeral scene (won't say more because its a huge spoiler) really hit home the point that even convicted criminals are PEOPLE who care about and support others.

"Charlie didn't want to take the Glock.  She hated guns, even though she practiced twice a month at the range.  She was never, ever going to find herself in another situation where she didn't know how to use a gun."

When I started this novel, I thought it was going to throw a powerful pro-gun agenda at the reader.  I can't think of a much stronger picture of why people should have guns as protection as the initial murder scenes.  However, the school shooting seems to serve the opposite view.  I love that Karin Slaughter doesn't paint anything in the novel as black and white. There are sides to every story and we don't always know what the best answer is.

"People were outraged.  They were glued to their televisions, to their web pages, to their Facebook feeds.  They vocally expressed sorrow, horror, fury, pain.  They cried for change.  They raised money.  They demanded action.  
And then they went back to their lives until the next one happened again."

(this is me, binge-reading The Good Daughter while camping last weekend)

Overall, I rate this 5/5 stars.  I rarely give five star reviews, but The Good Daughter definitely deserves it.  Karin Slaughter does an amazing job of weaving together multiple murders, family drama, crime scenes, and the legal system into one amazing book.  I cannot recommend this highly enough.  I am officially a Karin Slaughter fan and want to go out and buy ALL of her books (and there are tons).

I received a free finished copy of this book from the publisher (William Morrow) in return for an honest review.  I highly recommend this book for suspense/mystery/thriller lovers.