Reviews with content warning for Violence - Valse getuige

“If this is the guilt you’ve been carrying around for your entire adult life, then set it the fuck down.”

The minute I saw Karin Slaughter was releasing a new stand-alone I KNEW I had to read it. She is one of my absolute favorite authors. I plan to get to her series soon and I’m super excited!

This book switches between the POV of sisters Harleigh “Leigh” and Calliope “Callie” with some chapters flashing back to the summer of 1998 and summer of 2005. (Swipe for book description). This is your typical Karin Slaughter book in that it is gruesome and detailed so read trigger warnings prior to picking this up. I love her books. I love her style. I love the gruesome details. She is truly brilliant and this book lives up to the moon expectations I had for it. This book kept me on my toes the entire time. It’s not a book with a lot of major twists but it is completely gripping and a page turner. I absolutely loved Walter, Callie and Leigh’s characters. I loved seeing the dynamics between the sisters. The ending was great. Okay, all of it was great. So go read it if the trigger warnings aren’t too much for you! Then go read all of her other books because they’re amazing

PS. Did you know The Good Daughter is my favorite? I only mention it every chance I get…

Thank you to Harper Collins for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⚠️TW: rape, sexual assault, drug use and addiction, violence

Content Warnings

heyitsmichellehamm's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book gave me so many feelings. It was such a wild ride and even now at the end, I'm not sure how to feel.

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kfalls's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Leigh and Calli are sisters who had a devastating childhood. Now they've grown up and thought that they had put their past behind them -- of course, that's never the case. The past comes back to haunt them, and it's worse than ever.

Karin Slaughter did not disappoint with this one! While I really enjoy the Will Trent series, I live for Slaughter's stand alone's, so I was so excited when I was approved for the audio on NetGalley. I love how different False Witness is from other books. After I heard the first chapter, I was hooked and could barely put this down. False Witness touches on so many different topics -- COVID, addiction, family/sisterhood, childhood guilt and more. Slaughter really finds a way to weave all of it together into one truly great story. I highly recommend False Witness.

Once COVID started becoming a present storyline in television, I've been wondering how I would feel about reading books about COVID. While False Witness isn't strictly about COVID, it touches on the pandemic -- there's a lot of mention of mask wearing, long haulers, etc. I thought this was really tastefully done here where it added to the storyline for sure, but definitely didn't take away from it either. I really liked Slaughter's note at the end about why she chose to include it and how COVID has affected her personally as well.

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outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Defence attorney, Leigh Collier, is doing well; good job, happy and successful daughter, and an amicable relationship with her ex - her only issue is her estrangement from her drug-addicted younger sister, Callie. All their lives are about to be blown apart by Leigh's next case which brings back difficult memories from years ago. Rich, successful business owner, Andrew Tenant, has been accused of kidnap, rape, and torture and it's clear to Leigh that he's probably guilty, but Andrew knows a secret about Leigh and Callie's childhood and he threatens to torpedo their lives unless Leigh wins his case through fair means or foul.

This is one of those books that the author does so well - where you read with a feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach but you can't stop reading anyway. Leigh and Callie are extremely flawed human beings but they are also sympathetic characters too. Their love for each other is evident throughout the book, as they will go to almost any lengths to protect each other and their family. Throughout the story line, the author looks at the blatant misogyny and barriers women and young girls face in receiving justice in cases involving sexual assault. This is grim reading at a time when the justice system in England and Wales is facing scrutiny over its handling of such cases, as successful prosecutions have dropped in numbers. As usual it is graphic in dealing with its themes of violence, sexual violence, paedophilia, and drug-taking, so if those are triggers for you, be warned.

Thanks to NetGalley & publishers, HarperCollins UK, for the opportunity to read an ARC. I am voluntarily giving an honest review.

Content Warnings

tashm's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A much anticipated Slaughter stand-alone that kept me well and truly hooked. Leigh is a sassy defence attorney who gets a request to represent a high profile client accused of rape. She's read about him in the paper and can't understand why he would request her, until she walks into the conference room for the first time and realises that she knows him very well. And he knows an awful lot about her.

Leigh and her sister Callie (endearingly short for Calliope but pronounced Callie-ope as their mother didn't understand how it was supposed to be pronounced) have been running from their past for a long time and are brilliant characters. Leigh is outwardly poised and powerful but actually incredibly vulnerable. Callie has coped with the assistance of opiates and a myriad of other drugs (CW: in addition to the usual Slaughter violence, there are graphic descriptions of intravenous drug use - I'm not squeamish but in the last chapter there was a scene that even made me grit my teeth!).

I am a huge fan of Slaughter's writing and really enjoyed this. I felt for the characters, particularly Callie, and adored her relationship with Dr Jerry. It wasn't quite as twisty and turny as some of her books are but there was a few solid surprises thrown in. It was more an exploration of what you would do to protect the people you love and the morality of decisions you make. It's also set in current time, so is full of references to masks, Covid-19 and the impact of that on the community/country.

All in all an excellent thriller - not my favourite of hers but a brilliant read that made me abandon all other reading plans!

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