Quick Synopsis

Welcome to North Falls—a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think. Until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanish, and the town ignites.

Publisher’s Synopsis

Until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanish, and the town ignites.

For Officer Emmy Clifton, it’s personal. She turned away when her best friend’s daughter needed help—and now she must bring her home.

But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did.

Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?

Book Review

We Are All Guilty Here is a dark mystery novel that follows police officer Emmy Clifton in the quaint town of North Falls. The novel begins with a Fourth of July celebration during which two teenage girls vanish leaving only their bicycles behind. Emmy finds herself at the center of the investigation, determined to uncover the truth—because one of the missing girls is her best friend’s daughter. As she searches for the girls, Emmy finds that North Falls is not the safe town she thought, and every resident harbors secrets that could shatter lives.

We Are All Guilty Here is a captivating mystery, layered with psychological depth and meticulous procedural writing. The novel’s first half is on the slower side, lingering with details of police procedure and familial machinations as well as gratuitous descriptions. Despite the languid pace, I found myself enthralled with the story and invested in the characters. Slaughter crafts a narrative full of suspense, even in its slower moments.

Told over two periods of time, We Are All Guilty Here is filled with tension as the girls’ disappearance casts a long shadow over North Falls. The narrative gains momentum after a 10-year jump in time when another teen disappears under eerily similar circumstances. As this investigation unfolds, the story’s pace picks up, filled with Emmy’s desperate urgency to make up for past mistakes. Filled with unabating tension, unexpected twists will keep you on edge and questioning what you know.

We Are All Guilty Here‘s strength is in its well-crafted characters and compelling protagonist. Emmy is a flawed but lovable central character who is driven by her powerful sense of justice and suffocating guilt. The side characters and townspeople are also richly developed, laying a strong foundation for this new series.

While I found the book a bit long and a little repetitive, I thought that Slaughter excels at capturing small-town life, with its long memory, suffocating social life, buried betrayals, and desperate attempts at self-preservation. 

Overall, We Are All Guilty Here is a gripping mystery and complex characters. I do not think it is Slaughter’s best novel, but I am excited for this series to continue. I recommend it as long as you do not mind a slower pace initially.