A review by tashm
False Witness by Karin Slaughter

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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