Karin Slaughter Recommends
THE FIVE: THE UNTOLD LIVES OF THE WOMEN KILLED BY JACK THE RIPPER by Hallie Rubenhold
A fascinating focus on the women who were victimized first by society, then by a fiendish serial killer, then by a blood-thirsty media that glorified how they died instead of the way they were forced to live.
MY SISTER THE SERIAL KILLER by Oyinkan Braithwaite
What an amazingly fresh voice. I love the author’s style, and the fact that she doesn’t stop to explain dialect and culture to the reader. Anyone with an out of control sister can relate.
BURIAL RIGHTS by Hannah Kent
I read this before a trip to Iceland and was amazed at how real it felt even before I walked along the other-worldly, bitingly cold, volcanic landscapes.
FURIOUS HOURS: MURDER, FRAUD, AND THE LAST TRIAL OF HARPER LEE by Casey Cep
It takes a lot of hubris to pick up where Harper Lee left off, but Cep does an exceptional job of honoring the author and bringing her own voice to a grizzly tale of injustice.
THE BETTER SISTER by Alafair Burke
Another out-of-control sister story, but this one told from a completely different, though still compelling voice. Burke is one of my favorite contemporary authors.
SLAMMERKIN by Emma Donoghue
This came out before CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE, which got far more attention, but holy crap Emma did such a fantastic job of capturing the time and place and the horrible curse of being a woman.
MISTER SANDMAN by Barbara Gowdy
There were parts where I had to put it down because I was crying so hard from laughter that I couldn’t see.
GRIEF IS A THING WITH FEATHERS by Max Porter
I read this after losing my ninth grade teacher, who was my mentor well into adulthood. It’s hard to describe what the story is about, but it so deftly deals with the absurdity of grief that one need only read the first few pages to understand.
SUCH A PERFECT WIFE by Kate White
These books bring me so much joy. I can’t explain why.
GODS OF TANGO by Carolina De Robertis
I love this historical examination of a female musician’s battle with the ruling patriarchy in the Latinx community. It’s is sexy and smart and filled with great twists.