Whilst the premise of the book was excellent, I felt that (for my personal tastes) everything felt way too wordy and drawn out. Clearly an excellent author with a fine back catalogue of tomes, but I did find myself floundering amongst detail throughout. Many thanks to Netgalley, publisher and Karin for allowing me to review this ARC.

With thanks to the author, publishers HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for providing me with a DRC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A gripping start to what promises to be a fantastic new series!

Somehow I have never read a Karin Slaughter book before, but I am so glad that this was the book that changed that!

From the start the reader is faced with the disappearance of 2 teenage girls from a local 4th of July fireworks display, and the first part of the book tells the story of the aftermath of that and the investigation that followed. Then fast forward 12 years when another teenage girl disappears in similar circumstances from the same small town of North Falls, and the same law enforcement officer is tasked with solving the mystery and brining whoever is responsible to justice.

Despite being such an absorbing novel, the subject matter was difficult to read at times and might be disturbing for some readers. For those that can get past that though, the pace of the book was unrelenting, moving from tragic to humorous to inspirational with plenty of twists along the way, making it a real page-turner in my eyes.

Definitely one I will be recommending to my bookish friends, and I look forward to turning next to the author’s Will Trent series to get stuck into that!

3.5/5

This is book 1 in the North Falls thriller series by Karin Slaughter. North Falls is a small town where everyone knows everyone. Police officer
Emmy Clifton has lived here all her life. Her best friend's daughter, Maddison asks for help and she blows her off thinking it’s just some teenage drama. She has made a massive mistake as Maddison and her friend have dissapeared.

It is so difficult to put down my thoughts about this book as I had such mixed feelings. It is very slow burn yet it is written extremely well.

There are some devastating and heartbreaking moments yet this wasn’t as dark as Karin’s usual works.

After part 1, I thought the story really improved and the more I read, the more I enjoyed. The characters in this book are really fleshed out and the characters dynamics are amazing to read about.

I did guess a major twist in this book around the mid point so I did have to knock this down half a star! Even though I didn’t rate this super highly, I am genuinely excited to continue on with the series!

Thanks to netgalley for providing this advanced copy for the purpose of review.
I have read all of karin slaughter's Sara Linton series so am already a fan of her writing. This was a gritty, dark read that had complex themes which kept me hooked. The writing is amazing as ever.

Karin Slaughter delivers another intense, emotionally layered thriller with We Are All Guilty Here. The story dives deep into themes of guilt, justice, and teenage abduction, offering more than just suspense.

The pacing is tight, balancing high-stakes moments with quieter, more reflective scenes. Slaughter’s characters are deeply flawed, and that’s what makes them feel real. No one is entirely innocent, and the title reflects that perfectly.

If you’re already a fan of Slaughter, this feels like a mature evolution of her voice, still brutal, still twisty, but with more emotional nuance. And if you’re new to her writing, prepare yourself: it’s not light reading, but it’s incredibly rewarding if you like your thrillers with depth.

It’s a gripping, sometimes uncomfortable read in the best way, one that stays with you long after the final page.

This book is a dual timeline story written in 2013 and present day.

2013 - 2 girls disappear on 4th July and Emmy Clifton is determined to solve the case.

12 years later - Another girl disappears and the crime scene is very similar to the 2013 disappearance can they find her before it's too late.

This was difficult to read at times (definitely check triggers if you need to) it was a rollercoaster of emotions and the twists I did not se coming at all !This was a fantastic start to a new series and I can't wait to see where this goes next.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins UK and Karin Slaughter for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Every Karin Slaughter book is sure to get your pulse racing, your curiosity piqued and your inner armchair detective working overtime. I've completed many of her series' and I'm stoked to see that this is the start of a brand new series.

The setting, North Falls, seems like any other small town you might encounter. But in North Falls, everybody has secrets and as you might have heard...They are all guilty there!

Just when you think you know what will happen, there is curve-ball aplenty, in another beautifully written story from the Queen of Crime herself! The characters are very realistic, the drama's are plentiful and just when you think you have it figured out, there's another twist!

I found this very hard to put down and would highly recommend.
Thanks to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK and Karin Slaughter for a wonderful ARC of this book.

We Are All Guilty Here
Karin Slaughter

This is book one in a new series; North Falls #1.

“These kids make astoundingly bad choices. Sometimes I look at them and I think, 'How is this jackass still alive?''

North Falls is a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think. When the unspeakable happens and two teenage girls vanish, the town ignites. For officer Emmy Clifton, it’s personal with her best friend’s daughter one of the missing girls.

“Ninety-nine percent of my job is making kids believe I've got the time and the wherewithal to outsmart them."

Combing thru the girls lives, interviewing their family members, acquaintances and uncovering their secrets and aspirations, Emmy realises she never really knew the girls. Nobody did.

"No," Hannah said. "Even a caged animal doesn't forget how to hunt."

But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?

“Everything was so dark and oppressive. Like a boulder was pressing down on each of our chests. The not knowing felt like it was going to suffocate us to death."

This was a crime / mystery read at its crux but also so much more. It was a lifetime of secrets and deceptions and the choices people make when life doesn’t go as planned or they’re backed into a corner. It had all spectrum of emotions, just as life does. It was really gripping and a true tour de force of a read.

(Review posted 25th July 2025).

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing me with a copy of *We Are All Guilty Here* in exchange for an honest review.

***

Karin Slaughter once again proves why she's a master of crime thrillers with *We Are All Guilty Here*. This book is an intense, gripping read that immediately pulls you into a dark, complex mystery. Slaughter expertly weaves together multiple perspectives and timelines, slowly unravelling disturbing secrets that kept me utterly hooked.

The novel delves deeply into themes of **guilt**, exploring how past actions haunt individuals and communities. It's a masterful unravelling of **secrets and lies**, showing how buried truths eventually surface, no matter how deeply hidden. As with many of Slaughter's works, **trauma** is a central element, and the book unflinchingly portrays its lasting impact, balanced with subtle explorations of resilience.

**What I liked:** The plot construction is incredibly intricate and compelling, making it impossible to put down. Slaughter's writing is unflinching and gritty, delivering a raw and visceral experience. The characters have impressive psychological depth, and the relentless pacing builds suspense brilliantly.

**My only minor point** is that the content is consistently dark, which might be a bit much for some readers seeking a lighter thriller. However, for fans of intense psychological crime fiction, this is exactly what you expect and want from Slaughter.

I really liked *We Are All Guilty Here*. It's a powerful, expertly crafted thriller that reaffirms Karin Slaughter's standing as a genre titan. It's a challenging but deeply rewarding read.

I rated it **4.5 out of 5 stars**.

This was my first Karin Slaughter book but it definitely will not be my last. It was completely engrossing and drew me in from the first few pages.
Due to the subject matter this was a difficult read in places but the incredible writing made it an addictive read even when triggers were twitched. The characters were superbly drawn so much so that by the last 10% and that conversation between Emmy and Cole, well, it certainly raised emotions in this reader!
The story is told to us over two distinct time periods 12 years apart with all the action being told in very long chapters without breaks so I found my attention fully gripped by the words on the page and they just wouldn’t let me go! Those very long, unbroken chapters just made this a much more emersive experience and one I hope to relive again as I work through this authors back catalogue.

This one was a bit too wordy for my taste. I’m someone who lives for short chapters. I like the satisfaction of flipping through pages quickly, especially when I’m deep in a thriller. So the longer chapters here had me checking how many pages were left a few too many times. But hey, that could totally be a me problem, not a book problem.
That said, I genuinely thought I had this one figured out. I was so sure I’d cracked the case early on... only for the story to keep peeling back layers like a never-ending onion. Each reveal added a little more intrigue, and the twists were spaced out just right to keep me curious.
The first half did feel a little slow, like it was taking a scenic route to wherever it was going but once it hit the halfway mark? It moved. And I found myself way more invested than I expected to be.

Absolutely loved this book. Hooked from the first page. Such a roller coaster of a read with so many twists I just did not see coming. An absolute must read!

What a start to a new series! I love Karin Slaughter and this book did not disappoint. The characters had depth and the storyline was well thought out and kept me guessing to the very end. I thoroughly recommend and can’t wait for the next book.

This is a great crime thriller that's filled with raw emotion and a swirling plot. The characters are nuanced, layered and flawed, in ways that make them feel three dimensional and whole. The betrayals that characters experience during the course of this book are such a gut punch that you feel utterly outraged. An ending I didn't see coming..

"If you don't know what to do, start at the beginning."

The small, quiet town of North Falls in Georgia is stunned when two teenage girls go missing. Young Officer Emmie Clifton feels guilty – one of the girls had asked for her help, and Emmie turned her away. Now, she'll do anything to get the girls back. The clues they left behind are confusing. Because both girls had secrets few could ever have guessed. The question is: who would be willing to kill for them?

What a brilliant start to a new series from the doyenne of gritty crime fiction. Karin Slaughter's introduction to Emmie hits all the right notes: from an idealistic and eager young officer to a jaded, experienced deputy sheriff years later. Slaughter knows how to get readers to form strong connections to her main characters, and I will follow Emmie's journey in subsequent books in the series with relish.

The plot is gritty, dark, mysterious and bold, all hallmarks of Slaughter's southern noir books. She doesn't shy away from shocking details, something that makes her books compelling page-turners that you cannot put down. I was highly invested in this story and didn't guess the twist.

I see some people didn't enjoy the father-daughter duo investigating team (Emmie's dad is the town sheriff), but I loved the dynamic between the two and how Gerald mentors her. The introduction of former FBI profiler Jude Archer in the second half of the book shakes things up, and I cannot wait to read more about the secrets that emanate from this sub-plot.

An intriguing, pacy plot, complex characters and dark themes make this a one-sitting kind of thriller. I cannot wait to read more books in this series.

A solid, twisty, and gripping story of betrayals, hope, and fighting for what is right. It kept me hooked and reading, a real page turner
highly recommended
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Wow, what an utterly fantastic book this was to read, I think it’s going to be my book of the year! Characters that you get into; a superb storyline that has you from the off; twists and turns that you simply don’t see coming that leave you speechless! Definitely a book to be read!

I always like Karin Slaughter, but unfortunately I couldn't get through this book. I DNF'd it at 35%. The pacing was off, the storyline all over the place, too many annoying characters (especially daughter/father combo). Honestly, this is a miss.

Okay so, We Are All Guilty Here, first of all, what a title. I went in expecting secrets, guilt, drama, and hopefully a plot twist that would knock my socks off. What I got... was a whole lot of chapters. Like, a lot. So many chapters. Were some of them thrilling? Yes. Did others make me check how many pages were left in the chapter every couple of minutes? Also yes.

Karin Slaughter's writing is solid as always, gritty, smart, and emotionally charged, but I'll be honest, this one felt like it took the scenic route. I kept waiting for that ooo moment that never quite landed for me. Maybe it was the pacing, maybe it is just my attention span these days (I blame TikTok), but I was left kind of.. floating in the middle. Not in love, not angry. Just there.

Would I recommend it? Maybe. If you're a die hard Slaughter fan, you'll probably enjoy peeling back the layers. But if you're looking for something fast paced, this might feel like reading in slow motion with dramatic music playing in the background.

In conclusion, we are all guilty.. of not knowing how we feel about this book!!!! Even if I didn't love it, I respect it.

I chose to read a free eARC of We Are All Guilty Here but that has in no way influenced my review.

Karin Slaughter is a bit of a legend in my eyes. I've been a fan of her books for a very long time now. She's one of those authors who never lets the reader down. You go in with high expectations (because it's a Karin Slaughter novel!) and those expectations are always met, often surpassed. So, a brand new series from this author is a very exciting prospect indeed for us crime fiction fans. We Are All Guilty Here is the first book in the North Falls series. Still set in Georgia, but brand new characters, brand new murders and brand new investigations.

Deputy Emmy Clifton has problems of her own. So when her best friend's daughter, Madison, tries to talk to her during the North Falls fourth of July celebrations, she just doesn't have the time or the patience to deal with the teenager. A decision she later regrets when Madison and her best friend, Cheyenne, are reported missing. Leaving behind a broken bicycle and a large puddle of blood. The town turns out to search for the girls, but Emmy, weighed down by her decision to ignore Madison, is consumed by grief and regret. Determined to find the girls alive, despite what the evidence says, she throws herself into the investigation alongside her ageing Sheriff father. As her relationship with her best friend deteriorates, as her obsession to find the girls consumes her and as her marriage crumbles around her, will Emmy be able to find Madison and Cheyenne before it's too late? Or will North Fall's secrets be the death of her and all those she holds dear...?

Oh my goodness, you get your money's worth with a Karin Slaughter novel! There is so much going on in this book, so much packed into the 448 pages. I loved it! The characters have so much depth to them, the setting comes alive on the page, and the plot is full of clever twists and turns. Emmy is a great character. Stuck in a marriage with a dead-end loser that she knows just isn't working (and hasn't been for years). It's a complete contrast to the Emmy we see at work. As a Deputy she's driven, determined and will go ten extra miles to solve a case. But her home life is the opposite. She puts up with Jonah and his cr@p because that's what she's done ever since they first got together in high school. However, Emmy is a Clifton of Clifton County. She's surrounded by family, no matter how much she would prefer not to be. Cousins at every turn! The characters, as I have come to expect from a Karin Slaughter novel, are extremely well drawn. They felt real, believable, and I found myself invested in Emmy, in particular.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. We Are All Guilty Here is a dark, compelling and intricate crime thriller. The characters are all beautifully developed and contributed to the building storyline. The emotion is unflinching and intense. The small-town setting where everyone knows everyone else (or they're related to each other!) was gorgeously claustrophobic and added to the overall feel of the plot. Secrets run rife in this small town, that's for sure. The twists and turns were unexpected and in one particular case, really quite shocking. The emotion! This is one of those books where the blurb only gives you a tiny peek into the storyline. You really don't know the half of it. I would advise future readers to try to avoid reviews that reveal all (you're safe with this one 😉). I wasn't aware of what was coming, and it knocked me for six! Gosh, this book was good. But then I've come to expect that from this author. Slaughter always, always delivers. All in all, We Are All Guilty Here is a compelling, tense, extremely well-written crime thriller. Complex but easy to read and follow. Where characters, plot and setting work in perfect harmony together. Lots of gorgeous suspense throughout, bucketloads of mystery and highly atmospheric. I lived this book alongside the characters, and I cannot wait for the next instalment. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of We Are All Guilty Here. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.