Girl, Forgotten (Andrea Oliver #2) by Karin Slaughter

The writing was Karin at her best and the character development was indeed the most beautiful part of this story.

In 1982 when Emily Vaughn was drugged and raped at a closed-door party that consisted of only her best friends, she became pregnant and went searching for the father of her unborn child. But that leads to her being murdered by a mysterious killer in the close-knit town of Longbill Beach, where people turn a blind eye to all the crime that’s happening around them, and secrets are buried deep.

Forty years later, when Andrea Oliver graduates as a US Marshal, she is assigned her first duty to protect Judge Esther Vaughn in Longbill Beach, who is receiving death threats from God knows who. But Andrea has an additional agenda, and she finds herself secretly investigating the murder of Emily Vaughn, which will help add to her father’s lengthy years in prison.

I honestly don’t have patience for a slow-burning thriller, but the suspense at the end of every chapter of this book had me in a chokehold.

In this true crime whodunnit, Slaughter wows her readers with an immaculate gripping twist that focuses not just on solving Emily Vaughn’s murder but also showcasing the cruelty of society and evolving Andy into a more compelling, more powerful character than she was in Pieces of Her, which was the first book from the series.

I feel Girl, Forgotten is a much better book than the first one. The plot was constructed to perfection. The writing was Karin at her best and the character development was indeed the most beautiful part of this story.

But I honestly can’t imagine the injustice in this book. The selfishness of people and that of Emily’s parents, especially her mother, who I think deserves everything she went through. I despised Emily’s clique to the extent of my being. I pray we never encounter such kinds of friends in our lives. 

The author is less interested in revealing the whodunnit than showcasing the trauma Emily has been through by being rejected by her peers, teachers and her family. I wish the chapters were shorter, as that would have added more to the sense of urgency in the story as it progressed. The long, dragged narration was honestly unnecessary. I kind of enjoyed the ending more than I thought I would.

Girl, Forgotten is highly recommended if you’re a fan of true crime podcasts.