Review by Booklist Review
The illusion of small-town perfection in Clifton County, Georgia, was shattered when the tortured bodies of two missing local teens were found. Deputy Emmy Lou Clifton and her father, Sheriff Gerald Clifton, arrested local troublemaker Adam Huntsinger for the murders. But 12 years later, a podcast has uncovered evidence that seems to exonerate him. When another teen disappears, Gerald is killed while protecting Huntsinger from an angry mob, leaving acting sheriff Emmy Lou at the helm. Is it the true killer, resurrected, or a copycat crime? Emmy Lou sets out to solve the mystery, grudgingly accepting the assistance of famed FBI criminal psychologist Jude Archer (who has her own secrets). Emmy Lou squashes emotional distractions and pivots to dig deep into the original investigation, determined to find the answers in their mistakes. She owes it to her father to bring order back to Clifton County, even if it means exposing lifetimes of rot, from sensitive issues of pedophilia to dangerous secrets. Fans of the Grant County series by Slaughter (This Is Why We Lied, 2024), will enjoy the familiar rural Georgia scenery and small-town secrets, but will find something new in instinct-driven Emmy Lou and her messy, fascinating family.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this uneven series launch from bestseller Slaughter (This Is Why We Lied), Georgia police officer Emmy Clifton investigates the abduction of 15-year-olds Cheyenne Baker and Madison Dalrymple during a small-town Fourth of July fireworks celebration. Despite evidence suggesting the teens were murdered, Emmy remains hopeful, nudged toward optimism by Madison's adoptive mother, Hannah, her best friend since kindergarten. As Emmy collaborates with the FBI, she learns of devious characters swirling around the case, including pimps, drug dealers, and a potentially predatory teacher. Her exceptional instincts eventually lead her to the girls' mutilated bodies, and DNA evidence points to local troublemaker Adam Huntsinger as the killer. However, a true crime podcast identifies Adam as the perpetrator of a different crime on the night the girls died, complicating Emmy's investigation. The tension escalates when 14-year-old Paisley Walker goes missing under similar circumstances to Cheyenne and Madison, sending Emmy into another frantic search. Though the narrative is bolstered by strong characterization and a shocking final twist, it gets bogged down with excessive backstory and flavorless small-town scene-setting. Slaughter's devoted fans will find plenty to appreciate, but others might want to sit this one out. Agent: Victoria Sanders, Victoria Sanders & Assoc. (Aug.)Correction: An earlier version of this review referred to the main character by the wrong first name. It also misdescribed the book as a standalone.
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Review by Library Journal Review
Slaughter (author of the Will Trent series, which was recently adapted for TV) begins a new suspense series set in the small Georgia town of North Falls, where every resident has a secret, and resentments and grudges last for generations. The novel opens at a fireworks show; when the fireworks are over, police officer Emmy Clifton and her sheriff father come across a pair of crumpled bikes belonging to 15-year-olds Madison and Cheyenne, neither of whom can be found. When a pool of blood is found nearby, it's clear that the girls have been kidnapped and are likely dead or soon will be. Madison's mother is Emmy's lifelong best friend. Earlier in the evening Madison had tried to talk to Emmy, but Emmy brushed her off. Now Emmy is driven by love and guilt to find the girl. The investigation leads Emmy into a yearslong quest to discover the truth. Along the way, she'll uncover the hidden lives of the people she's known forever. VERDICT This intense novel starts big and never lets up, as layer after layer is revealed and peeled away. Another suspenseful winner from Slaughter.--Jane Jorgenson
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
More than a decade after a Georgia man is convicted of a monstrous double murder, an uncomfortably similar crime frees him and resets the search for the guilty party. In Clifton County, home to the Rich Cliftons and the other Cliftons, the disappearance of teens Madison Dalrymple and Cheyenne Baker during the Halloween festivities hits everyone in North Falls hard. Working with her father, Sheriff Gerald Clifton, Deputy Emmy Lou Clifton hears the clock ticking down as she races frantically to get leads on the two friends, who'd been secretly plotting to take off for Atlanta after some undisclosed big score. As a longtime friend of Madison's mother, Hannah, Emmy hopes against hope to find the missing teens before they're both dead. By the time Emmy's hopes are dashed, two unpleasantly likely suspects with strong attachments to underage sex partners have emerged, and one of them ends up in prison. In a bold move, Slaughter jumps over the next 12 years to the case of Paisley Walker, a 14-year-old whose disappearance catches the eye of retiring FBI criminal psychologist Jude Archer, who promptly crosses the country to come to Clifton County and take charge--um, that is, consult--on this heartrending new investigation. Emmy, suddenly and shockingly deprived of counsel from the parents who've supported her all her life, doesn't get along any better with Jude than with the larger circle of Cliftons and the Clifton-Cliftons. But together they identify one new suspect, then another, before a shootout that arrives so early you just know there are still more surprises to come. Although it lacks the surgical precision of Slaughter's very best nightmares, this one richly earns its title. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
