Book review: Big secrets lurk in a small town’s shadows

Karin Slaughter is still at top of her game with latest thriller

Karin Slaughter: Ranked as one of the greatest crime and thriller authors. 

• The Secrets We Hide
• Karin Slaughter 
• Harper Collins 

It is no surprise that Karin Slaughter is ranked among the greatest of crime and thriller authors. 

She has been at the top of her game for years now, and her new novel, The Secrets We Hide, proves that she is nowhere near slowing down.

Her latest release is the second instalment in her popular North Falls series, but it can also be enjoyed as a standalone. Aside from a few backstory moments, which are explained in enough detail for new readers, the book mainly focuses on a heinous crime and the lengths its characters will go to solve it.

The Secrets We Hide starts on a sombre note. Emmy Clifton, the protagonist, is at her mother’s burial. It has not been long since the sheriff also lost her father, who was tragically killed in the line of duty while confronting a criminal, a heartbreaking scene witnessed by Emmy. 

If that is not enough, she also finds herself face to face with her long-lost older sister, Jude, a former FBI profiler who has returned to the tiny South Georgia town to tie up some loose ends.

After the burial, Jude, Emmy, and her son Cole, who works as a deputy under his mother, are on their way to meet the rest of their family when they hear sudden gunshots. 

Their instincts immediately kick in, and all three jump into action, quickly tracing the sounds to Allison Vickery’s house.

Emmy, a friend of Allison’s, fears the worst, as she is well aware of the abuse the woman regularly suffers at the hands of her husband, Bill.

They each cover a different angle of the house before creeping inside, where they are met with a horrifying sight: Allison lying dead on the floor.

The next moments pass in a flash as Jude is grazed by a bullet that barely misses her head and the attic comes crashing down, revealing Allison’s teenage daughter, Mandy, who has been shot in the skull.

Emmy instantly does her best to bring the young girl back to life and manages to buy her enough time before backup and an ambulance arrive.

But she does not have long to feel relieved about the girl’s condition, as she is forced to recount the entire scene to her staff before beginning the truly difficult part: Figuring out what exactly happened.

Sometimes the smallest towns hold the biggest secrets, and the further Emmy and Jude investigate, the more bizarre things they discover.

Some of them even involve the sisters’ own family, including their recently deceased father, whom Emmy truly idolises. With every red herring she encounters, she increasingly second-guesses herself and loses confidence in her abilities, all while grappling with the trauma that haunts her every waking moment.

Domestic violence is at the centre of the novel and is a sad reality that many of its female characters face. No matter how courageous or strong-willed they are, it follows them like a dark shadow, nipping at their heels, and Slaughter writes about it with both sincerity and skill.

The further you get into this intense novel, the more theories you come up with as you try to figure out who is capable of such a crime. 

But Slaughter, skilled as she is, never once loses your attention. You will not even think about the other books piled up on your desk waiting to be read. Instead, you will find yourself firmly planted in the fictional region of North Falls with an amateur detective’s badge pinned to your uniform.