Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter

This one was heavy. Misogyny, conservatism, murder, cults… for me it was a constant, internal battle of “omg, I need to know what’s about to happen” and “I think a mental health break might be necessary” throughout the entire read.

This is my first Karin Slaughter read—and I wondered if it would work without having read Pieces of Her. Short answer, yes, it does work! Long answer? The internet says to read them in order to be armed with a lot more backstory. Also, as I read Girl, Forgotten, some names and details felt familiar, and halfway through I realized I had actually seen Pieces of Her on Netflix… so I kind of—accidentally—cheated. Definitely slotting it in for a future read (because now I have to compare it to the series AND match it back to Girl, Forgotten. Obviously.)

I always love a novel with two storylines, especially when each chapter alternates until you get what you need out of both. In this particular story, such a technique was very appreciated as I found myself (as mentioned above) needing breaks from Emily’s distressing tale.

I love the connective tissue between Emily’s short life in the 80s and Andrea’s professional debut. I love how the opening scene sets you on edge for the rest of the read, curiosity burning as Slaughter meticulously builds tension and slowly reveals potential clues. I only have a few qualms with some pieces of prose that felt a bit too easy… I’m a bad reviewer and I did not take the time to bookmark examples, but there were some analogies that felt either cliché or amateur and sort of made me cringe here and there. Just a sprinkling, not enough to stop me from reading at least 5 more Slaughter titles this year.

All in all, this was a thrilling who-dun-it, and the author did an appreciable job of developing empathetic connection between reader and each main character, making it that much more heartbreaking, hopeful, and rewarding throughout.