Girl Forgotten, by Karin Slaughter {Book Review} ⋆ An Ordinary Gal

I’m sure by now a few of you may have watched Pieces of Her on Netflix? The series is based on the book with the same name, authored by Karin Slaughter. I watched the show and quite enjoyed it, though I do believe that it differs from the book a bit, just so you know 😉 Girl Forgotten is the 2nd book in what I assume is now an Andrea Oliver series.

What is Girl Forgotten about?

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…

My Thoughts

Andrea Oliver is now a US Marshall and she’s investigating a cold case, the murder of Emily Vaughn. This murder may or may not be linked to Andrea’s father, Clayton Morrow/Nick. I will say that Andrea has evolved somewhat from the first book (or at least how she was portrayed to me in the series), and she’s not quite as helpless or doe-eyed this time round. Karin didn’t make her a total badass though, the evolution is still a work in progress, so I like that it wasn’t too unrealistic.

The story is told in 2 timelines, present day where the case is being investigated and 40yrs ago, leading up to Emily’s murder. Emily is heavily pregnant, when she is murdered on the night of her prom and dumped in a dumpster. Andrea is investigating the case in the present day, with her partner, Catfish Bible (yes really), and the pool of suspects all involve Emily’s close friends and a teacher of hers. Side note, I did enjoy Bible’s character.

Emily’s story really was a tale of tragedy for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it (in a heartbreaking way)… I was really invested in her as a character, because she was just such a lovely person, friend and just so let down by so many people in her life. This was a book where I wish I could have changed Emily’s fate….that’s how real her character felt to me. That’s also a testament to Karin’s amazing writing skills!

Book vs Series

If you watched the series, and you’re hoping for a lot of Laura, you may be disappointed…..she’d literally barely star in the show if they follow the book. I think people felt Laura was more the star of the first book (and series), so it seems weird for Andrea/Andy to now be the protagonist of the series. If we give it a chance though, I think Andrea may grow on us.

My Rating

Girl Forgotten has a Goodreads rating of 4.21 stars, and I’m giving it a solid 4 stars as well! This book to me was more a slower paced story than a fast paced page turner. Also, it was not filled with gory death, which is what I have come to expect from Karin, but I really didn’t mind. As always, great writing from Karin with a captivating story told over 390 pages. Also, please note….trigger warnings, it was the 80’s, so expect slut shaming and homophobia!