REVIEW:

Any horror author: “Check out this dark and graphic novel I just wrote.”

Karin Slaughter: “Hold my beer.”

Anyone who’s read a Karin Slaughter thriller knows she doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to gory descriptions of violence and depravity. Her latest, False Witness, is no exception. Though it certainly isn’t her most graphic book, readers are subjected to scenes of child molestation, murder, brutal rapes, and drug use over the course of 500+ pages.

So why 5 stars for something that sounds so hard to read? Because this author is just so dang reliable in her storytelling and characterization. False Witness’s tale of two sisters, Leigh and Callie, dealing with the resurrection of long-buried secrets and crimes while simultaneously navigating life during the COVID era never lags despite its length. (Unlike that sentence.)

If you like Karin Slaughter, you'll like this. If you haven't read her before, what are you waiting for?

PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:

AN ORDINARY LIFE

Leigh Coulton has worked hard to build what looks like a normal life. She has a good job as a defence attorney, a daughter doing well in school, and even her divorce is relatively civilised - her life is just as unremarkable as she'd always hoped it would be.

HIDES A DEVASTATING PAST

But Leigh's ordinary life masks a childhood which was far from average... a childhood tarnished by secrets, broken by betrayal, and finally torn apart by a devastating act of violence.

BUT NOW THE PAST IS CATCHING UP

Then a case lands on her desk - defending a wealthy man accused of rape. It's the highest profile case she's ever been given - a case which could transform her career, if she wins. But when she meets the accused, she realises that it's no coincidence that he's chosen her as his attorney. She knows him. And he knows her. More to the point, he knows what happened twenty years ago, and why Leigh has spent two decades running.

AND TIME IS RUNNING OUT

If she can't get him acquitted, she'll lose much more than the case. The only person who can help her is her younger, estranged sister Calli, the last person Leigh would ever want to ask for help. But suddenly she has no choice...