False Witness: The stunning, heart-breaking, crime mystery suspense thriller from the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author

Thank you to the author, publishers HarperCollins and NetGalley for access to an advance review ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.This is a dark story. Karin Slaughter has never shied away from the depths of the adversity her characters face. Child abuse, adult survivors of rape, people in positions of power who abuse that power to extreme extents. These are all fairly common themes in her books. But, False Witness feels even darker.Callie and Leigh are sisters. On the surface they are very different people. Callie is a drug addict, at her best when working part-time at a vet surgery where she steals maintenance level of drugs and sells them locally. Leigh is a lawyer at a prestigious firm, while she’s separated from her husband she loves him and their daughter dearly.But, they have a huge secret in common. A secret that someone else knows, and could tear their lives apart if he shares it.As always it is the strength of Karin Slaughter’s characters that this book finds it’s hook. The desperation and determination shared by Callie and Leigh had me rooting for these characters despite their bad decisions.Yet there was also a big distraction - Covid and the pandemic loomed large over these pages and it really put me off. At one point it felt like every second page was referring to face masks or hand sanitiser. And, every time they were mentioned it pulled me right out of the story. In a note at the end of the book the author explains why she felt the need to make the pandemic part of the setting, but I really wish she hadn’t. Hand washing, face masks and physical distancing should be left in the real world, reading is how I get away from that.A good story, but would have been better without so many Covid references.

I have read all of Karin slaughters books and have enjoyed some more than others but in this one "false witness" I can see her quality of story telling and content of story declining not because it was about drug addiction, child abuse and the effects of them(which were written about expertly) but more because I found this story was quite long and could have been condensed by about 100 pages if the author hadn't put so many references to covid.(the passages about leigh looking Callie contracts covid just seemed to be word quota filling)and though as I type this review , the world is still going through the pandemic(when it will eventually end..who knows?) , referencing covid didn't really add anything to the story as a whole and could have left out . The author did put a note at the end of the book why she included covid but I feel it spoiled some of the excitement and atmosphere build up of the story.I will buy the next Karin slaughter book when it comes , I just hope that the quality of story and subject matter are not overwhelmed by real life and spoil it

Could not read this quite expensive kindle book due to the totally irrelevant Covid references which jar and only serve to detract from getting into the storyline. ITS A BOOK A WORK OF FICTION! We have quite enough of this covid theatre in daily life and do not need this. Genuine question was Karin Slaughter (whose books I usually love) advised or paid to do this to a work of fiction? A bit of honesty would not go amiss.

I always look forward to reading a Karin Slaughter book and only because it was one of hers did I finish it. The emotional content was repetitive using the same dialogue over and over again. I know this was supposed to heighten the tension but it failed to do that and only made it tedious to read from quite early on. Also the numerous and quite often unnecessary references to Covid 19 detracted attention from the story and plot. Although the story is set in this pandemic era that wasn't the main reason I purchased the book, it was to enjoy a crime thriller, and also escape some the reality we are sadly living through at present. Having lost people due to the pandemic I didn't want to keep being reminded of it. I read a fiction novel to enjoy a good "Story" and relax and this book failed badly in all aspects.

Like other reviewers, the Covid references at the beginning of the book really put me off. I know that we are living in the middle of a pandemic but I read to escape (even if into dark places) and having masks and sanitisers thrust in my face by one of my favourite authors was too much! I think that, had I read the "Dear Reader" section at the back of the book, I would have (a) been warned that there were Covid references; and (b) understood better why they were there and been able to accept them.So, the first part of the book was marred for me and it took me a while to get into it - unheard of for a Slaughter novel - but I still thoroughly enjoyed it and raced to the end. Enjoy!

This novel is terrifying, obscenely graphic and heart breaking. It is difficult for me to understand how Karin can put all those thoughts and feelings into a story without having experienced them all herself. Her writing is incredible and I will be reading all her novels again while I wait for the next one. Also, her Dear Reader should be distributed to everyone on the planet.

Loved it! I felt that the COVID references were appropriate and kept the story within real time. COVID and the associated deaths are horrendous and it was nice to see an author deal with it in such a compassionate and honest manner. The book is not all about COVID though!This is one of the books which you don’t want to put down and you start to read slowly, as you don’t want it to end. Karin has managed to compose yet another blockbuster book, while dealing with harrowing topics. If I could award more stars I honestly would. Karin just gets better and better. An immersive and engrossing read.