This standalone crime thriller is set in Atlanta, Georgia, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The author attempts to weave an incredible amount of social consciousness into the narrative and thus, at times, it reads a bit like an opinion piece. Longer than most popular fiction titles at 512 pages, this book took me a lot longer than I wanted in order to finish.
Leigh Collier is railroaded into taking a case that involves defending a wealthy man accused of rape. When she finds out who he really is, she understands exactly why she has been asked to represent him. He is no stranger. Twenty years prior, Leigh and her sister, Callie, did something that they managed to cover up but now the past has come to collect. NO SPOILERS.
Although quite predictable, this novel was dark, grisly, and full of the details that might make a delicate person a bit queasy. Neither Leigh nor Callie are likeable people and readers spend far too much time in their heads as they go over, endlessly, the same old mantras. Despite the repetition and wordiness, the events in the story move along quickly until the expected conclusion. I really didn't feel the suspense or tension and no twists delivered a gotcha moment. As stated previously, the book covers a lot of topics that permeate our current state of affairs, including heroin addiction, pedophilia, and violence against women.
In her author's note, Slaughter expresses that she relates these many issues in her book in order to elicit empathy and "a deeper understanding." She ends with a quote from Katherine Anne Porter that speaks volumes about how many of us feel as we enter yet another new stage dealing with the coronavirus, hoping that the light is there at the end of the tunnel, "Now there would be time for everything."
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this e-book ARC to read and review.
This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre - dark thriller, themes of pedophilia, drug addiction, misogyny, violence
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