“Welcome to North Falls―a small town with big secrets.
The house at 1601 Iris Drive looks like any other in the quiet, residential street. But rumours are rife about the Vickery family – a couple in the midst of a volatile separation and a daughter with secrets of her own.
Then one afternoon gunshots ring out. Allison Vickery is found murdered in her own kitchen, her teenage daughter bleeding and left for dead. Her husband suspiciously absent.
Everyone in North Falls thinks they know what happened. Gossip and rumours spread like wildfire. But the truth is far more shocking than anyone could ever have imagined.
Secrets are everywhere in this small town. Everyone is hiding something. It’s up to Detective Emmy Clifton to uncover the truth, but the deeper she looks the darker it gets…”
Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of The Secrets We Hide by Karin Slaughter. The Secrets We Hide was published by HarperCollins on 18th June 2026 and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats. I chose to read a free eARC of The Secrets We Hide but that has in no way influenced my review.
Karin Slaughter is a crime fiction legend. No bones about it. She’s a safe pair of hands. An author you can implicitly trust to deliver the goods, and the proof of that is in 1) her popularity, and, of course, 2) her extensive back catalogue. A go-to author for many, myself included, you can always guarantee a beautifully written, edgy tale, often with a gut punch to send you reeling. This latest book, The Secrets We Hide, is the second book in the North Falls series featuring Sheriff Emmy Clifton. It was also one of my most anticipated books of the year (proof here from early January 2026). Before I go any further, though, it’s worth mentioning that this is a series that should probably be read in order. There’s a lot going on in North Falls, and it’s worth coming in on the ground floor. So with that in mind, my advice would be to pick up a copy of We Are All Guilty Here if you haven’t already.
The Secrets We Hide opens with a bang. Quite literally. Detective Allison Vickery is viciously gunned down at her home. Having survived the worst Clayville has to offer, this is how things finally end for the twenty-year veteran. On hearing gunshots whilst driving past, Sheriff Emily Clifton and her estranged sister, Jude Archer (who is also an ex-FBI Agent), stop to investigate. It’s clearly too late for Allison, but the echo of the gunshots is still ringing in their ears, so the killer may still be on the premises. Upstairs, Sheriff Clifton discovers Allison’s teenage daughter, Mandy, badly injured and left for dead. But no killer. Who could have carried out such a brutal attack on a mother and daughter? In small towns, gossip and rumour spread quickly, and everyone knows everyone else’s business. North Falls has already decided who is guilty. Following a tempestuous, volatile relationship, all fingers point to Allison’s husband and Mandy’s stepfather, Bill. It’s down to Sheriff Clifton to discover the truth, and the truth is a whole lot darker than anyone ever expected…
It’s that tricky second novel in a series. Well, it would be for anyone whose name is not Karin Slaughter! The character development, for me, was what shone about this book. Which takes me back to my earlier comment about reading We Are All Guilty Here first, before The Secrets We Hide. You will get so much more out of this second book if you know where Emmy Clifton has come from, what she has come from and the intricate relationships she has to navigate on a daily basis. For those that aren’t familiar with this series, here’s what you need to know. The multiple generations of the Clifton family rule North Falls. Most of the townsfolk are related in some way. They’re all Cliftons to one degree or another. Which means Sheriff Emmy is policing her relations a lot of the time. Granted, they’re not all Cliftons otherwise that would be…weird, to say the least! But a lot of them are. It’s a delicate business which often needs a sprinkle of finesse and a backbone of steel. Which Emmy is luckily developing as the current acting sheriff. I won’t go into Emmy’s family dynamic now as it’s quite involved, will take too long to go over in detail and may spoil the earlier book for some. So trust me when I say, things are complicated. Emmy’s sister has recently arrived back in town following decades away. Emmy doesn’t really know her (she was tiny when Jude left) but Jude brings with her her big-city ex-FBI profiler take on things, which Emmy neither wants nor asked for. The relationships, the family dynamics, the resentment and the unspoken anger all make riveting reading.
Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. The Secrets We Hide is a compelling tale from an author I will always, always read. I am currently enjoying the direction this particular series is going, and I hope there will be many more books featuring Sheriff Emmy Clifton in the coming years. Emmy is an intriguing character and I, in particular, look forward to seeing how her relationship with her sister, Jude, develops over time. I can’t help but feel there are going to be a number of explosive, cataclysmic moments for them! One thing I will say, and I don’t think I’ve ever said this about a Karin Slaughter book before, but I guessed one of the twists fairly early on and was disappointed to discover that I was right. Often, it doesn’t bother me if I guess a twist in a book. This time, it did. I don’t think I’ve experienced that before with this author. There were, of course, the whys and the wherefores to reveal, but the crux of the twist, I felt, was a little too blatant. All in all, and despite my disappointment, I did enjoy this book. I feel I’m fully invested in the series now and ready and raring to go with book three. Although, according to a couple of websites, we have nearly a whole year to wait for that (June 2027!). A character-driven, intricate tale for the reader to fully invest in. Full of drama, threat and packed to the brim with tension and suspense. Recommended.
I chose to read and review a free eARC of The Secrets We Hide. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.
Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular storytellers. She is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty- five novels, including the Edgar nominated COP TOWN and standalone novels PRETTY GIRLS and FALSE WITNESS. An international bestseller, Slaughter is published in 120 countries with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe. PIECES OF HER, based on her novel, debuted at #1 worldwide on Netflix as an original series in 2022. Her bestselling thriller series, Will Trent, is now a television and streaming sensation in its 4th season. THE GOOD DAUGHTER will soon be a limited series starring Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy, and further projects are currently in development for film/TV. Karin 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.
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