Welcome to North Falls. A small town where everyone knows everyone. But nobody knows the truth.
Emmy Clifton thinks she knows her neighbours. She's wrong.
She thinks it’s just another hot summer night like any other. She's wrong.
When her best friend's daughter asks for help, she thinks it’s just some teenage drama. She’s never been more wrong in her life.
As the town ignites in the wake of the girl's disappearance, Emmy throws herself into the search. But then she realises: You never really know a town until you know its secrets.
Pages: 439
Published: 2026
Amazon Rating: 4.6 out of 5 from 30,000 reviews
Genre: Modern Thriller
Our review in brief:
| 1. Rating: 6.7 out of 10 (Range 5 to 8) |
| 2. Recommended: Half of the members said they would recommend the book. Some said it would be a good holiday read, even though the subject matter was depressing. |
| 3. Audience: The book would appeal to an adult audience. Women are more likely to enjoy the book than men. It was not suitable for teenagers. |
| 4. Type of Read: It was an easy read. Some said it was a page turner, others felt it w as too slow. So a very mixed review. The book was very long and a number of people had not finished reading it which was unusual. To quote a member "it went on a bit". |
| 5. Quality of the Author: The quality of the writing in terms of the use of language was fine, but the book introduced far too many characters. There were too many coincidences and a lot of the incidents were unbelievable. That said, some members found the book gripping and raced to find out "who dun it." Even though the murders and abuse were horrific, the book did not make you feel very upset, so the impact of the writing could be questioned. |
| 6. Other observations: In the middle of the book it jumped 12 years. Some thought that the book could have been divided into two books. This would have made it more accessible. For the genre it was quite good, but not as good as other books by Karin Slaughter. The book resulted in some interesting discussions about male dominance in small town America. |