“A girl with a secret…
Longbill Beach, 1982. Emily Vaughn gets ready for prom night, the highlight of any high school experience. But Emily has a secret. And by the end of the evening, she will be dead.

A murder that remains a mystery…
Forty years later, Emily’s murder remains unsolved. Her friends closed ranks, her family retreated inwards, the community moved on. But all that’s about to change.

One final chance to uncover a killer…
Andrea Oliver arrives in town with a simple assignment: to protect a judge receiving death threats. But her assignment is a cover. Because, in reality, Andrea is here to find justice for Emily – and to uncover the truth before the killer decides to silence her too…”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter. Girl, Forgotten was published by HarperCollins on 22nd October 2022 and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio and digital formats with the paperback to follow next year. I chose to read a free eARC of Girl, Forgetten but that has in no way influenced my review.

Newly qualified US Marshal, Andrea Oliver, has been an official Marshal for no more than a few minutes when she’s handed a secret mission by a US Senator. Under the guise of an official assignment, Oliver is to head to Longbill Beach, Delaware and investigate the forty-year-old murder of teenager Emily Vaughn in 1982. The case has never been solved but suspicions as to who brutally attacked and killed Emily run high. And finding proof that the one person in Emily’s life at that time who was capable of murder did, in fact, commit the felony would make a number of high powered people very happy indeed. Will Andrea be able to discover who killed Emily all those years ago, or will the killer silence Andrea first…?

Girl, Forgotten is a very intriguing suspense thriller from a master storyteller and I absolutely devoured it! Slaughter is able to draw the reader in from the get-go and you know, without doubt, that you’re in safe hands. You know that the book you hold in your hands is going to hit all of the marks of character, plot, storyline and setting. I have to admit, I’m a fan of the author but I have fallen a little behind with her new releases. For example, when I picked up Girl, Forgotten I wasn’t aware that it was the second book in a short series featuring Andrea Oliver. I’ve read a number of Slaughter’s Sara Linton and Will Trent books, I’ve read a standalone or two. This was my first Andrea Oliver book. I have no idea what happened to Andrea in the first book, Pieces of Her (nor have I seen the Netflix series). The past is eluded to in Girl, Forgotten and enough information is provided by the author to give a new reader the bones of any previous storylines but…you can’t help but feel you’ve missed something. And what I did learn SOUNDS INCREDIBLE so I feel I made a bit of a mistake by not reading the first book in the series before Girl, Forgotten. My bad! Luckily, you don’t need to make the same mistake I did. However, if you do choose to read Girl, Forgotten first then fret not, there is enough information and backstory present to partially fill the gaps.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. Girl, Forgotten is an expertly written, all-consuming thriller from an author who knocks it out of the park every single time. The dual timeline was handled well with flashes back to the 80s, the day of the prom and the days leading up to Emily’s vicious attack. Andrea Oliver guides the reader through the chapters set in the present with her new partner, Deputy Leonard ‘Catfish’ Bible adding words of wisdom to the investigation along with his sometimes humorous insight. His conversations with his wife really add a lighter tone to a fairly dark novel. In a town where everyone has a secret, will Andrea be able to sift through the lies, the half-truths and the misremembered memories to find out who killed Emily? I had my own suspicions which were eventually proved right but that did not take away from the gripping nature of this superb novel. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed Girl, Forgotten from the moment I cracked the spine. Karin Slaughter remains a favourite author of mine and I’m encouraged to re-read all of her books in the near future as they’re that good! If you’re a thriller fan and you haven’t read a book by this author yet, then you’re clearly doing it all wrong. Gripping, intriguing, expert storytelling. Slaughter is a master of the written word. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of Girl, Forgotten. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter was published in the UK by HarperCollins on 22nd October 2022 and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | Foyles | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop | damppebbles amazon.co.uk shop | damppebbles amazon.com shop |

Karin Slaughter is the author of more than twenty instant NEW YORK TIMES bestselling novels, including the Edgar–nominated COP TOWN and standalone novels THE GOOD DAUGHTER, PRETTY GIRLS, and GIRL, FORGOTTEN. She is published in 120 countries with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe. PIECES OF HER is a #1 Netflix original series starring Toni Collette. The Will Trent Series is on ABC (and streaming on Hulu in the U.S, and Disney+ internationally). THE GOOD DAUGHTER and FALSE WITNESS are in development for film/tv. Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, she lives in Atlanta.