Haunting. Uncomfortable. Engrossing.

We follow two timelines and two points of view. Emily Vaughn - 18 years old, bright, and pregnant - was brutally murdered the night of her high school prom. 40 years later, brand-new Marshal Andrea Oliver is trying to solve her cold case. She’s in town on assignment to protect Emily’s mother, a no-nonsense judge receiving very personal death threats.

 

While you could argue MOST of the content of this story is pretty upsetting, Emily’s chapters in the months leading up to her death were heart-wrenching.  She faced cruelty from all sides, and the people who should have protected her turned their backs. There were so many moments (“if only this person had listened” or done this and so on) that could have changed the trajectory of her tragedy.

 

It’s fast-paced, but not super action-y. The tension builds over time and we have the rug pulled out from under us as readers at quite a few moments.

 

The characters were so distinct! Slaughter is such a skilled & descriptive writer. I especially loved Andrea’s Marshal partner Bible and his playful relationship with his boss-slash-wife.

 

(I will say, though - while Slaughter is generally an excellent writer, there were a few phrases that were painfully overused. “Caught out” was one of them.)

 

There were several distinct threads which came together brilliantly. This is a dynamic story with many layers of subplots. If you like the vibes of a sinister small town where everyone knows each other a bit too well, you’ll enjoy this. Past secrets intricately play a role in modern day dynamics, and things are slowly revealed.

 

I had a little bit of confusion at the end as there was some open-endedness around the circumstances of the crimes in the past & present. 

 

There was a very clear opening for a third book in the series at the ending! (Oh, and I should add that I have not read Pieces of Her. I didn’t feel lost at all - Slaughter offers some recaps of things that presumably happened in the first book - and this felt like a full standalone story.)

 

CW: murder, rape, suicide, pedophilia, eating disorder, domestic abuse (physical & emotional & child), pregnancy, homophobia, bullying, self harm, slavery, drug abuse, fatphobia, gun violence, misogyny, racial slurs, terminal illness, vomit, medical trauma, dementia