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abeth380's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, and Abortion
emo_erudite's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Like other Slaughter books I’ve read, this one hits the ground running. It’s definitely not for those with a weak stomach. If you’ve read False Witness and enjoyed it, I highly recommend reading this one too!
In a fictional city in Northeast Georgia, Slaughter brings a prodigal daughter home to her estranged father and sister after a tragedy rocks the town. This happens 28 years after the family survived a tragedy of their own, which lead to the murder of mother and matriarch, Gamma.
Young and intellectually challenged Kelly is charged with the crime, and Rusty Quinn steps up and takes her case, until he lands in the hospital. This leaves his lawyer daughters, Sam and Charlie, with the help of Charlie’s estranged husband Ben, to put together what really happened with Kelly that day.
As the family tries to put together what happened, they are badgered by and townspeople, all of whom are certain that Kelly is guilty of this sorrowful crime. This drudges up memories of past events, and they have to figure out how to avoid danger and work together to heal old wounds in order to figure out what really happened.
There are gruesome descriptions of what happened to people during crimes committed in this book. It’s not for the faint of heart.
Living with seeing these things takes a toll on a person. It marks your soul. Sometimes, you get stuck and hyper focus on the worst things that ever happened to you. The story of Charlie and Sam shows how living with these things and keeping terrible things a secret can affect our mental and physical wellbeing- it’s not healthy! If you’ve experienced trauma, please get help.
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Violence, Police brutality, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, and Transphobia
summerspence's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Transphobia, and Vomit
eleanorjo's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Torture, and Vomit
leckner_library's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Abortion
dhodgson01's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, and Death of parent
Minor: Abortion
bertrandlm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Infertility, Infidelity, and Miscarriage
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Abortion
joey1914's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
abbeycadabra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
semeyers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was definitely a victim of overwriting/too much detail. It dragged and parts of it felt like they went on forever. Usually I can barely put one of Slaughter's books down, but I felt myself getting distracted from this one and needing to take breaks here and there to get through it. I appreciated the repeated "Past" timeline from the different perspectives and how new details were added each time, I think it worked to show how failable and easily manipulated memory is. But I did not like the repeated perspectives in the "Current" timeline, especially because it felt like nothing new was gleaned from the retellings. I also felt like a lot of the conversations between the sisters were just constant rehashing that went on for pages too long and did not move the plot forward at all. I wish this book was edited with a more heavy hand and made 100-150 pages shorter, it would have kept things moving and made the events at the end more shocking.
That being said, I think the story was quite good. I loved all of the characters, Sam, Charlie, Rusty, Ben, Lenore, Gamma, flaws and all. I think they were quite well written overall. Every one of them was complex and you continuously learned about them as the book went on. They all (maybe with the exception of Lenore) had a really nice character arc that was wrapped up in the end. I enjoyed that the "Past" timeline was more of a focus.
Overall, did enjoy this book. I always give caution with Slaughter's writing due to the amount and graphic-nature of the violence perpetuated, especially against women. If this is not something that would stop you from reading a book, then I would check this one out.
Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, and Murder
Moderate: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Transphobia