The Good Daughter
Karin Slaughter, 2017
HarperCollins
528 pp.
ISBN-13: 978062430243
Summary
The stunning new novel from the international #1 bestselling author — a searing, spellbinding blend of cold-case thriller and psychological suspense.
Two girls are forced into the woods at gunpoint. One runs for her life. One is left behind…
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.
Twenty-eight years later, and Charlie has followed in her father's footsteps to become a lawyer herself — the ideal good daughter. But when violence comes to Pikeville again — and a shocking tragedy leaves the whole town traumatized — Charlie is plunged into a nightmare.
Not only is she the first witness on the scene, but it's a case that unleashes the terrible memories she's spent so long trying to suppress. Because the shocking truth about the crime that destroyed her family nearly thirty years ago won't stay buried forever…
Packed with twists and turns, brimming with emotion and heart, The Good Daughter is fiction at its most thrilling. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—January 6, 1971
• Raised—Jonesboro, Georgia
• Education—Georgia State University
• Currently—lives in Atlanta, Georgia
Karin Slaughter, an American crime writer, was born in a small southern Georgia community in 1971. She now lives in Atlanta where, in addition to writing, she has been active in the "Save the Libraries" campaign on behalf of the DeKalb County Library. Slaughter is widely credited with coining the term "investigoogling" in 2006.
Publishing history
Slaughter's first novel Blindsighted, published in 2001, became an international success. It was published in almost 30 languages and made the Crime Writers' Association's Dagger Award shortlist for Best Thriller Debut of 2001. Since then, Slaughter has written some 20 books, which have sold more than 30 million copies in 32 languages.
Fractured (2008), the second novel in the Will Trent series, debuted at number one in both the UK and the Netherlands, and it was the number one adult fiction title in Australia. At the same time, Faithless (2005) became the number one bestseller in Germany.
Two of Slaughter's stories, "Rootbound" and "The Blessing of Brokenness," are included in Like a Charm, an anthology of mysteries, each of which features a charm bracelet which brings bad luck to its owner. The stories' settings vary greatly, ranging from 19th-century Georgia to wartime Leeds, England. The anthology's contributors include Lee Child, John Connolly, Emma Donoghue, Lynda La Plante, and Laura Lippman, among others.
Series
Slaughter was first known for her Grant County series set in Heartsdale, Georgia, of Grant County (both fictional locales). The stories are told through the perspectives of three primary characters: Sara Linton, the town's pediatrician and part-time coroner; Jeffrey Tolliver, the chief of police and Linton's husband; and Detective Lena Adams.
The Will Trent series, debuting in 2006, takes place in Atlanta. The series features special Agent Will Trent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and his partner Faith Mitchell.
Next came the Georgia Series, beginning in 2009 with Undone. This series brings together characters from the Grant County and Will Trent/Atlanta novels.
Stand-alone works
Martin Misunderstood is an original audio novella narrated by Wayne Knight. Both story and narration were nominated for an Audie Award in 2009. The book was translated into Dutch and given away to over one million readers. Thorn in My Side (2011) is an ebook novella.
Other stand-alones include Cop Town (2014), Pretty Girls (2015), and The Good Daughter (2017) — all of which received strong reviews. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 10/8/2015.)
Book Reviews
[N]ot for the squeamish.… The plot twists here are satisfyingly surprising and plausible, but it’s Slaughter’s prodigious gifts of characterization that make her stand out among thriller writers.… Some readers may find that at 500 pages The Good Daughter is a little longer than it needs to be … but in Slaughter’s big tome neither does there seem to be a word wasted, which is quite a feat.
Richard Lipez - Washington Post
Slaughter’s work is like a professional athlete coming to the playground to show the kids how it’s done. With her themes, tensions and metaphors, she has a talent for classic literature that is often missing in recent fiction.
Romance Times Reviews
[G]ripping.… Slaughter keeps the twists coming, but some plot developments come at the expense of psychological depth.
Publishers Weekly
Though this is a crime novel, suspenseful and thrilling in every way, at its heart it is an exploration of family and the ties that persist through the most difficult moments.… Slaughter delves into our darkest selves to reveal what is truly human.
Library Journal
Slaughter is a master of her craft. Her characters … are deep and multifaceted, and here, the tightly packed story unfolds at a perfect pace that leaves readers frantically turning pages even as the harrowing violence within makes them cringe. — Rebecca Vnuk
Booklist
It’s hard to think of any writer since Flannery O’Connor, referenced at several key moments here, who’s succeeded as consistently as Slaughter at using horrific violence to evoke pity and terror. Whether she’s extending her franchise or creating stand-alones like this, she really does make your hair stand on end.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for The Good Daughter … and then take off on your own:
1. What do you think of Rusty Quinn? Why is he so roundly disliked in Pikeville? Why does he defend seemingly "indefensible" people? Does he have any justification?
2. Follow-up to Question 1: How does the book portray the town of Pikeville? Consider, especially, the justice system.
3. If you can handle its grisly nature, discuss the night of the murder and rapes at the beginning of the novel. Why do you think the author wrote the scene in such a graphic manner?
4. How would you describe Charlie's character? How have the violent events of 30 years past affected her life? Talk about her husband and their relationship. Is Ben a sympathetic character in your eyes?
5. Talk about Sam? For one so determined never to turn back, why does she decide to return home and take the case?
6. What is the relationship between the two sisters? (Consider the coffin lid scene in the funeral parlor.)
7. Who is the good daughter?
__________
GENERIC DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Mystery / Crime / Suspense Thrillers
1. Talk about the characters, both good and bad. Describe their personalities and motivations. Are they fully developed and emotionally complex? Or are they flat, one-dimensional heroes and villains?
2. What do you know...and when do you know it? At what point in the book do you begin to piece together what happened?
3. Good crime writers embed hidden clues in plain sight, slipping them in casually, almost in passing. Did you pick them out, or were you...clueless? Once you've finished the book, go back to locate the clues hidden in plain sight. How skillful was the author in burying them?
4. Good crime writers also tease us with red-herrings—false clues—to purposely lead readers astray? Does your author try to throw you off track? If so, were you tripped up?
5. Talk about the twists & turns—those surprising plot developments that throw everything you think you've figured out into disarray.
- Do they enhance the story, add complexity, and build suspense?
- Are they plausible or implausible?
- Do they feel forced and gratuitous—inserted merely to extend the story?
6. Does the author ratchet up the suspense? Did you find yourself anxious—quickly turning pages to learn what happened? A what point does the suspense start to build? Where does it climax...then perhaps start rising again?
7. A good ending is essential in any mystery or crime thriller: it should ease up on tension, answer questions, and tidy up loose ends. Does the ending accomplish those goals?
- Is the conclusion probable or believable?
- Is it organic, growing out of clues previously laid out by the author (see Question 3)?
- Or does the ending come out of the blue, feeling forced or tacked-on?
- Perhaps it's too predictable.
- Can you envision a different or better ending?
8. Are there certain passages in the book—ideas, descriptions, or dialogue—that you found interesting or revealing...or that somehow struck you? What lines, if any, made you stop and think?
9. Overall, does the book satisfy? Does it live up to the standards of a good crime story or suspense thriller? Why or why not?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)