I used to read a lot of Karin Slaughter’s books back a few years back but have been totally put off picking up any police procedural type novels since a family serious crime. However, remembering, how much I enjoyed her previous novel series and realising that this was the first in a new series of books I picked it up when it arrived on NetGalley UK
There were times when I felt that this book for me was probably too much for me personally being quite close to my family issues and I did think of stopping reading it , however I found but it has enough human interest without all the mass murderer content, to keep me reading.
The story follows Emily Clifton a local small town American police woman who is following in her father‘s footsteps in the police force as he is the town sheriff. We first meet her when she is policing the towns, fourth of July firework celebrations and it is discovered the two girls have gone missing. The story thereafter is a police procedural story of the search for these two missing girls.
What I liked about this author‘s previous novels that I dread was the backstory that you get for the Police characters in the novels are as detailed as those for the victims so you see something of the family history and the stresses associated with being both mother daughter and police woman.
I was about to post that I had predicted the plot twist towards the end, which was rather obvious rationally I said this before I had finished reading the book oops I hadn’t predicted the double twist which was clever
The author has a way of writing that keeps you fully and grossed from very early on novels are an easy read which makes reading the novel quite enjoyable
I read a copy of the novel on NetGalley UK the novel was published in the UK on the 19th of June 2025 by Harper Collins UK Harper fiction
Review with a pair of that gutter UK, StoryGraph, Goodreads, and my book blog bionicSarahSbooks.wordpress.com. It will also appear on Amazon UK and Waterstones.

We Are All Guilty Here is the first book in the new series North Falls by author Karin Slaughter. This is novel of a small town with secrets, guilt, and the danger that hides in plain sight.

North Falls is a town that sounds perfect place to live, a friendly settlement where everyone knows everyone. The novel starts with the night of the fireworks, when two teenage girls mysteriously vanish. The town is obviously shocked and for Officer Emmy Clifton it is more than a case it is very personal. She ignored a cry for help from her best friend’s daughter, and now that decision haunts her every step.

Emily starts to investigate and soon discovers a web of secrets the girls left behind with cryptic notes, hidden truths, and revelations that show a completely different side of the town. Secrets start to be exposed and it appears every girl in this town has something to hide and someone might kill to keep it buried.

Tension builds in this police procedural throughout and Karin Slaughter keeps the reader on the edge of their seats with this nail biting storyline. Emmy Clifton is a very good character who is a determined officer who is flawed and shows emotion making her an easy character to like.

I am already looking forward to the next instalment.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Karin Slaughter’s new series is off with a bang if this first book is anything to go by. Set in the small rural town of North Falls it’s a perfect blend of family drama and dark twisty thriller. The depiction of the town and its people is terrific and the plot is intense with plenty of suspense and Slaughter’s trademark twists, such that I was fully invested in finding out what happened.

It all kicks off with Emmy Clifton, the Deputy Sheriff and her father Gerald, the Sheriff investigating the sudden disappearance of two teenage girls known to her – Madison, the step daughter of her best friend and her friend Hannah. Twelve years later another young girl disappears and retired FBI agent, Jude Archer becomes involved in the investigation. Before the investigation is over and the truth revealed, many secrets, betrayals and lies will be unearthed and many in North Falls will be guilty of hiding what they know to protect others.

As with all Slaughter’s books, the characters are a strong feature, particularly the women. Emmy is strong and tenacious despite her past family history and Jude is one tough and determined woman. They make a great pair and I’m sure we’ll see more of them in the future. I’ll also enjoy revisiting North Falls, a town so well described that I feel I know it well.

I’ll admit up front — I’m not a die-hard Karin Slaughter fan. I like her work, but I wouldn’t camp outside a bookstore for her next release. That said, you always know what you’re getting with her, and We Are All Guilty Here delivers exactly what fans have come to expect: a gritty, tightly-wound thriller that isn’t afraid to get dark.

Slaughter continues to prove she’s in command of the genre. The plot is twisty, the pacing is sharp, and as always, the characters are layered and often deeply flawed. She doesn’t pull her punches — emotionally or narratively — and I respect that. There are some particularly brutal moments here, and a few that genuinely surprised me (not easy to do for seasoned thriller readers).

While it didn’t blow me away, I enjoyed the ride. It’s the kind of book where you keep telling yourself "just one more chapter" — and then you look up and it’s 2 a.m. If you’ve liked her previous work, this one will be a solid addition to your shelf. If you’re new to Slaughter, this is a good example of her style: gritty, intense, and unapologetically bleak in places.

All in all, a solid 3.5 stars — rounded up to 4 for keeping me turning the pages and not letting me off the hook easily.

A small town should be safe because you know everyone but alas everyone has their own secrets and agendas . Emmy was a cop working for her Sheriff dad when one night two teenagers went missing and sadly they didn’t escape to the city full of bright lights and opportunities. No their story ended that night or did it ? Fast forward a few years and everything that Emmy thought was done and dusted gets overturned and suddenly the past is alive and haunting her !
I thoroughly enjoyed this twisted story about the lies and deceit that these characters were capable of . I think I particularly enjoyed the way these characters are flawed and the dynamics of Emmys family was a shock but my lips are sealed . If you want a story that has you metaphorically scratching your head as you try to work it out then this is definitely one for you !
This take is of an advanced copy and my thoughts are I believe fair

I enjoyed We Are All Guilty Here, though it took me a little longer to get into than Karin Slaughter’s other books. That said, once it picked up, I was hooked. The story kept me guessing the entire time- I could never quite figure out where it was going, which made it all the more intriguing. A suspenseful, twisty read that explores guilt, secrets, and the gray areas of morality. Worth sticking with!

Another fantastic gritty book from Slaughter. Completely new characters which you adore instantly and can’t wait to find out more about them! A very harrowing and dark story spanning over a period of time but it was fantastic. Thought I’d guessed the whodunnit but as usual, I was hoodwinked by Slaughter again. Loved this!

This book kicks off Karin Slaughter’s new series with a bang. Set in the small, secretive town of North Falls, the story follows Officer Emmy Clifton as she investigates the disappearance of two teenage girls during the Fourth of July celebrations. Emmy is not only dealing with the pressure of the case, but also carrying the weight of past guilt, which adds another layer of intensity to the investigation. The deeper she digs, the more she realizes just how many secrets this town is hiding.

This book is gritty, emotional, and deeply suspenseful. The tension builds steadily, with each chapter revealing new twists and shocking truths. I really liked that we experienced everything through Emmy’s eyes, which kept the suspense high and made me feel like I was solving the case right alongside her. Slaughter doesn’t hold back from hard topics, but she handles them with care, making the emotional moments hit even harder.

The town of North Falls is so well written it almost feels alive. It is tight-knit on the surface but full of cracks underneath, and no one is truly innocent. Emmy is a fantastic main character—flawed, real, and incredibly determined. I also enjoyed her dynamic with Jude and hope she plays a bigger role in future books. If you’ve read Slaughter’s earlier series, you’ll get a similar small-town crime vibe, but this one still feels fresh and different.

This was such an addictive read. It blends a fast-paced police procedural with an emotional family drama, all while diving deep into themes of guilt, trauma, and buried secrets. If you enjoy dark thrillers with layered characters and small-town intrigue, this one is absolutely worth picking up.

The first instalment in a new series by Karin Slaughter had me excited! But sadly, not for long,

The story centres around Emmy, deputy Sheriff to her father, in a small town in the USA, when two girls go missing, and then twelve years later, when Emmy is Sheriff and another girl disappears, with similarities to the two older, unsolved cases.

The premise sounds amazing and I was eager to get stuck into to getting to know Emmy and the people around her who will, presumably, become regulars in the series, whilst enjoying a gritty and tense police procedural. I found the pace too slow, the characters under developed and there was a lot of filler, making the book far longer than it needed to be. There wasn't the psychological thriller element I had expected and no huge shocker of an ending. If you plan to get into this series and stick with it, then this is ok as a scene setter, but it didn't work for me.

2 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

This is my first Karen Slaughter book, and it's clear I've been missing out! This book, the first in a new series, perfectly balances a gritty crime novel and a thriller with a heart. It starts with a dramatic big bang and doesn't slow down, with plenty to keep me intrigued throughout. Slaughter cleverly weaves together a gripping and hard-hitting police procedural drama with both family dynamics and the community secrets of a small town.
As the publicity blurb says - Welcome to North Falls. A small town where everyone knows everyone. But nobody knows the truth.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes their crime thrillers tough but not traumatising, and enjoys being kept guessing right to the end.
What a cracking start to a new series!
With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC.

Karen Slaughter is bringing it with her latest novel We Are All Guilty Here. The book follows Emmy Clifton who has lived in the same small town all her life. When her best friend’s daughter asks for help, Emmy, in that exact moment, is unable to. And that will set in motion a series of events that they will not be able to return from.

This one is going to keep you turning the pages way past bedtime if you love:
· Small towns where everyone knows everyone’s business
· Secrets that always have a way of revealing themselves
· Playing detective

A detailed, complex thriller with a tough concept at its heart. Slaughter fills the world of the local community with huge detail (to a degree, almost felt too much detail of family relationships, and the large range of characters invoked in the storyline) and covers a difficult topic extremely well. It's not a comfortable read at times (quite rightly) but keeps you reading until the end. It's the first book of hers that I've read and suspect not the last.

Loved this book and the start of a new crime series!
Found it really enjoyable, engrossing & suspenseful.
Always love this author so didn't expect anything else.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a free book in exchange for an honest review.

This book took a while to get into and felt like a heavy going book. It picked up pace becoming interesting about half way through. It initially starts with 2 girls going missing and it is a race against time to find them. We are introduced to Emmy, the Deputy Chief and her dad Gerald who is the Sheriff. They are members of the large Clifton family, who either work in law enforcement, or have built part of the town.

The story then moves forward 12 years in which another girl goes missing. Skeletons come out of the closet and a few twists occur. There was the usual Karin Slaughter gore that made me wince.
The Clifton family did grow on me and I feel like I will pick up the next book be to see how they progress.

However, this book was let down by how slow it was to read this. There were a lot, and I mean a lot of characters - over 50 that were notable characters and likely another 20 mentioned. It was way too many for a book! Trying to work out who everyone was, really slowed down the pace of the reading. Unfortunately, it felt heavy and took a lot of brain power to read it, even with me making a character list.

Overall this was an interesting book, but was a the slow read due to the number of characters.

Tell me why I haven't ever read a book by Karin Slaughter before? I am ashamed of myself. Her books are clearly right up my street. Small town USA, a strong but flawed female cop, a murder that ripples throughout the community and impacts on longtime relationships. It is a winner.
I really enjoyed We Are All Guilty Here and I will certainly recommend it to a wide audience. )I just told a friend who is about to go on a beach holiday with her husband to take it - as they will both really like it.) It is one of those books. I am glad I have discovered this new to me author.

Karin Slaughter never fails to completely blindside you; every twist, every turn had me reeling but that last one?! MIND. BLOWN 🤯🤯🤯
I absolutely love her writing style & the way she tackles difficult topics. The descriptions can be heavy but they’re delivered with such raw honesty.
I really hope this turns into a series I really enjoyed the dynamic between Emmy, Jude & Cole.

No one writes complex female characters like Karin Slaughter and the women in this book are no exception. It’s a gripping read, telling the story of the abduction of young girls, investigated by the Clifton family. I couldn’t stop thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it. I was worried about the timeline, it starts 12 years ago and then moves to present day, but this was handled seamlessly, with a clear idea as to why. I enjoyed everything about it, and I’m hoping there’ll be more in this series

Karin Slaughter honestly couldn't write a bad book if she tried! We Are All Guilty Here is an explosive and thrilling start of a new series set in the insular small town of North Falls. The characters are brilliant - each and every one, good or evil, is compelling, layered and utterly fascinating. The plot is full of secrets, family drama and some blisteringly surprising twists and turns. It's a fairly long book but it felt short because I tore through it so quickly, desperate to get to the truth of these shocking crimes and unable to put the book down for a single second. I cannot wait for more of this series - hopefully as soon as possible! Highly, highly recommended to anyone looking for a brilliant, addictive and heart-stopping thriller to read this summer. A very easy five stars from me.

I'm a big fan of Karin Slaughters’ books and couldn’t wait to get stuck into We Are All Guilty Here and boy this did not disappoint with a great plot, some unexpected twists and well written characters it had me up late into the night, I’m really hoping that this is the start of a new series, well done Karin Slaughter you’ve done it again brilliant read.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review

I typically read fantasy fiction but have read the odd thriller or horror. I hadn't read anything by this Author before unfortunately, but I knew they were a firm favourite of my mother's. I can finally see why. Despite the grim subject matter, this was an enjoyable read. I connected with the characters and rode an emotional journey with them. Emmy was so beautifully written with all her complexities. The story had twists and turns which kept me hooked. Throughly enjoyed this and will definitely be looking to read more from Karin Slaughter. Definitely would recommend. My mother also enjoyed this title. She couldn't put it down and can't wait for Karin's next book. (She recently won a signed copy).