Title: Girl, Forgotten
Series: Andrea Oliver #2
Author: Karin Slaughter
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Release Date: August 23, 2022
A small town hides a big secret…
Who killed Emily Vaughn?
Prom Night. Longbill Beach, 1982. Emily Vaughn dresses carefully for what's supposed to be the highlight of any high school career. But Emily has a secret. And by the end of the night, because of that secret, she will be dead.
Nearly forty years later, Andrea Oliver, newly qualified as a US Marshal, receives her first assignment: to go to Longbill Beach to protect a judge receiving death threats. But Andrea's real focus isn't the judge – it's Emily Vaughn. Ever since she first heard Emily's name a year ago, she's been haunted by her brutal death. Nobody was ever convicted – her friends closed ranks, her family shut themselves off in their grief, the town moved on – so the killer is still out there. But now Andrea has a chance to find out what really happened…
Glad we got more Andrea!
I read Pieces of Her in 2019 and I remember thinking reading more books with Andrea and Mike in it was something I was down with.
Thankfully, Karin Slaughter felt the same way.
Andrea drove me crazy in Pieces of Her. She was so lost and I was annoyed by her actions. By the end of it, she grew on me and in Girl, Forgotten, she has matured.
The novel begins with Andrea's graduation as a US Marshall. Of course, her mother is not happy about it, and let's just say that I would never want to upset Laura Oliver.
For her first assignment, Andrea is sent to Longbill Beach to protect a judge who has received death threats. She gets a new partner, "Catfish" Bible. Yet, Andrea has another assignment and it is to find out the killer of the judge's daughter, Emily Vaughn.
Emily was a teenager who was murdered in 1982 on prom night. Emily was part of a group nicknamed the clique. The other girl in the group was Ricky. Her twin Blake, Nardo, and Clay Morrow complete the ensemble. Andrea has a connection to Clay, one that she wishes didn't exist.
When Emily was murdered, she was pregnant. Her child survived the attack but she didn't. Forty years later, it is up to Andrea to find out the truth. There were so many candidates for the attack. Any member of the clique, Jack Stilton (police chief's son) or Dean Wexler, their teacher.
Karin Slaughter's books are not easy to read. There is violence against children and women in most of her books. The scene in this book with the doctor had me fuming, to say the least. So many abusers in different skins. So be aware before you decide to jump in.
I love Bible as Andrea's partner. He was funny and supportive and I love his relationship with his boss and his wife too. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, I liked how Andrea has matured. The two years in between books have really helped her. I do root for her and Mike's relationship to be successful.
I can't end my review without saying how much I enjoyed Kathleen Early's narration. She is one of my favorite narrators.
Cliffhanger: No
4/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by William Morrow/Blackstone Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.