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Girl, Forgotten Review: Back-of-Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
“It’s Slaughter’s prodigious gifts of characterization that make her stand out among thriller writers.” — Washington Post
From the New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her, comes an electrifying thriller featuring newly minted US Marshal Andrea Oliver as she investigates a cold case with links to her father’s past.
A small town hides a big secret…
Who killed Emily Vaughn?
A girl with a secret…
Longbill Beach, 1982. Emily Vaughn gets ready for the prom. For an athlete, who is smart, pretty and well-liked, this night should be the highlight of her high school career. But Emily has a secret. And by the end of the evening, that secret will be silenced forever.
An unsolved murder…
Forty years later, Emily’s murder remains a mystery. Her tight-knit group of friends closed ranks; her respected, wealthy family retreated inwards; the small town moved on from her grisly attack. But all that’s about to change.
One final chance to uncover a killer…
US Marshal Andrea Oliver arrives in Longbill Beach on her first assignment: to protect a judge receiving death threats. But, in reality, Andrea is there to find justice for Emily. The killer is still out there—and Andrea must discover the truth before she gets silenced, too…
Girl, Forgotten Review: My Thoughts
Well, it is no secret that I like Karin Slaughter books. I’ve read A LOT of them. And my last book review was actually the prequel to this one.
See what had happened was… This book, Girl, Forgotten, was a Book of the Month choice back in August of 2022. So of course, because of my adoration for this author, I chose it! But then somehow, I learned that it involved a “returning character”. So, naturally, I wanted to read the first book with that character. So it waited on my shelf for almost a year until I purchased and read the first one, Pieces of Her (click the title to check out my review of that book).
All that to say…I appreciate a recurring character enough to go find the other books. But I understand not everyone is going to do that. And luckily – you don’t have to! I think this story would still be enjoyable and make sense without knowing the complete history of a few of the characters. Plus, we learn all kinds of new history in this one that adds an appropriate amount of color to the returning crew.
Girl, Forgotten follows a similar pattern to the style of the last book; it has a nonlinear timeline and multiple points of view. I really enjoyed it and think it was a great way to deliver the two aspects of the story. It also has other similarities to all Slaughter books – graphic violence, gore, and sometimes sexual abuse. So, reader beware of possible triggers.
Some of the story took place in present-day with Andrea, a newly minted US Marshal as the focus, and other parts took place in the early 80s with a young girl as the focus. We don’t find out until close to the end how this other girl is connected to present-day Andrea and I think that was really intriguing. I kept wanting to read more to figure it out.
As the plot progressed and things from past and present started to connect, I was hooked! I could not put it down. There was plenty of action as well as tension and a few twists. I do wonder if some of the action was always necessary? But I suppose it was useful to really understand the awfulness behind the ‘bad guys’.
Another few times I wondered if dialogue or actions taken by characters were a little far fetched. But, again, I think that’s kind of common in a lot of thrillers like this. And they weren’t enough to pull me out of the story.
I feel like the overarching theme of Girl, Forgotten is how families hold onto secrets and that you never really know anyone as well as you thought – including yourself at times.
I didn’t find as many good quotes in this one, but to be fair – so much of what this author writes about is not really the kind of thing that that’s going to resonate in a one-liner.
Favorite Quotes from Girl, Forgotten:
“Dementia was nothing if not a stroll through the many skeletons lining the family closet.”
“I know you’re sorry. We’re all sorry and none of it matters.”
“Neither one of them knew what to do with failure.”
“Being dead is a bit like being stupid, isn’t it? Easy for you, but hard for the people around you.”
“Jesus, if I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any at all.”
“Life usually makes you pay for your personality.”
Girl, Forgotten Review: In Conclusion
As always with this author, I loved this book! I wanted to read it all the time. However…Girl, Forgotten is getting only 4 stars. I just felt like there was so much she was trying to fit into the story that some pieces felt a little unrealistic and hard to believe. Or maybe too conveniently wrapped up.
That being said, it was still a good book and I would still recommend it to people who like suspense and thrillers. I don’t think it’s necessary to read the one that came before – Pieces of Her – but I do think it helps a little to have a deeper understanding of some of the characters.
In any case – pick it up for yourself, or share this review with someone you think would enjoy! If she puts out another book with Andrea I will be sure to add it to my list.
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