The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter

One of our favorite authors, Karin Slaughter, has a brand new standalone mystery out. The book is called the Good Daughter, but I'm looking at that cover and thinking that maybe she's not such a good daughter after all. Kerry Hammond tells us what she thought.

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter releases on August 8 from Harper Collins. Slaughter is the author of the Will Trent mystery series, as well as the Grant County series. She also writes gripping and suspenseful standalone mysteries, and The Good Daughter is her most recent.

The book opens 28 years ago, when two young sisters, Charlotte and Samantha, experience the worst kind of brutality that could ever hit their family. When it’s over, their mother is dead and their family is forever torn apart. Flash forward to current day and Charlotte, who now goes by Charlie, is witness to a school shooting that leaves two dead, one teacher and one small child.

Rusty Quinn, Sam and Charlie’s father, is a local defense attorney. He is known for representing the worst offenders that the small town of Pikesville has to offer. He decides to represent the teenager involved in the school shooting and the entire town is up in arms. Charlie, who is also an attorney, is caught up in the case and the reaction of the town that never forgave her for testifying against her mother’s killer.

The beginning of the book was extremely intense. We went from a horrific situation 28 years ago to an equally horrific scene in present day. I almost put the book down to take a break from the intense violence that poor Charlie had to experience—twice. I decided to power through and my diligence was rewarded. The aftermath of the events and Charlie’s handling of it drew me into her story and her life. I sided with the Quinn family and was angered by the treatment they received and the long held grudges and secrets.

The Good Daughter is my favorite Karin Slaughter novel to date. I absolutely loved the characters despite, or maybe because of, their messed up lives. I like a few twists in my mysteries and these were kindly provided by the author at the end of the book. I can’t say that I ever quite fell in love with Rusty Quinn, but by the end I at least understood him. The book is a well-written, face paced, emotional roller coaster that will have you thinking about the characters days after you turn the last page.

For more about Karin Slaughter, see Mystery Playground Recommends Karin Slaughter here.

This book was provided to Mystery Playground by the publisher. The review is fair and independent.

Author Interview with Mary Marks

Today we have a special interview from Mary Marks, author of the Knot What You Think quilting mysteries. Don't forget to enter her contest at the end of the post. 

What is the best thing that has happened to you as a result of your novels? 

Thank you for inviting me to the Mystery Playground. 

I’d love to talk about the incredible changes in my life since publishing my stories. First you need to know that my first book wasn’t published until I was 70 years old. That means I spent most of my life doing something else. So to find a new career at this stage in my life has been a tremendous gift. I’ve met fascinating people, authors whose work I’ve admired, plus law enforcement and legal professionals I never would have otherwise known. I’ve heard from many of my readers, which gives me a thrill each time it happens. Plus, my teenage granddaughters think I’m kind of cool.

What was the last mystery novel you read, other than your own, that you LOVED? Why did you love it?

I just finished reading James Ziskin’s Heart of Stone, a fast-pace story featuring a young female reporter. I love the series because the stories take place in the 1960,s an era I lived through and identify with. And he does something I don’t think many men could pull off as well: he dares to write in the first person from a female perspective. I also like the fact that he’s chosen to make his main character Jewish – something I’ve also done in my stories.  

If your protagonist were actually a real person, would you be friends with them? Why or why not?

LOL! My protagonist is a real person – sort of. Martha Rose was loosely modeled after me; an overweight, Jewish quilter of a certain age living in the San Fernando Valley. So I definitely know all about her. But the biggest thing that sets us apart is the fact that I do not stumble across dead bodies wherever I go, and I’ve never been shot at. I lead a very sedate life, except for coloring my hair turquoise and getting my nose pierced. Martha Rose hasn’t done either of those – yet, but I have. 

If you could meet any author alive or dead, who would it be and why?

It’s a toss-up between Agatha Christie and J.K. Rowling. Christie because I’d want to thank her for firmly establishing the cozy mystery genre. That’s where I found my writing voice. And I’d love to meet Rowling because she’s such an enormous talent. I’d like to thank her not only for her fabulous stories, but for making children want to read again. She changed the literary world forever. 

How long did it take you to get your first draft done of this book? How much time do you spend in revisions? 

I’ve developed a schedule that seems to work for me. I begin writing Chapter one on October first of each year. I finish a chapter a week and bring those pages to my writers workshop every Friday morning. After receiving valuable feedback from authors I respect, I bring those critiques home and work in revisions and suggestions that make the story better. In this way, each chapter is written and revised as I go along.

I do this for nine months and complete the first draft by the end of June the following year. Then I check this finished draft for things like continuity, pacing, and plot points. When I’m satisfied I’ve done all I can, I send the manuscript off to my agent for another round of editing, and finally to my publisher. By adhering to that schedule, I’m able to take a summer vacation and enjoy time with friends and family. When October rolls around again, I’m refreshed and ready to start a new book.

Mary is here courtesy of the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. Here are the other tour stops:

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

August 1 – Babs Book Bistro – REVIEW

August 2 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW, GUEST POST

August 2 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – SPOTLIGHT

August 3 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW, INTERVIEW

August 3 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 4 – Island Confidential – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

August 5 – Texas Book-aholic – REVIEW

August 6 – Mystery Playground – INTERVIEW

August 7 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 8 – Bookworm Cafe – REVIEW

August 9 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

August 10 – Bibliophile Reviews –  REVIEW, GUEST POST

August 10 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

August 11 – My Funny View of Life – REVIEW

August 11 – Teresa Trent Author Site – SPOTLIGHT

August 12 – Sleuth Cafe – SPOTLIGHT

August 13 – A Blue Million Books – INTERVIEW

August 14 – Valerie’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

August 14 – A Holland Reads – GUEST POST

Dial M for Murder Earrings

August is Hitchcock month this year here at Mystery Playground. All month long we're celebrating the work of Alfred Hitchcock. Today were revisiting one of our past crafts - Dial M for Murder earrings. For full instructions click here. 

Don't forget to check out dinner and a movie with The Birds, the Dial M for Murder Martini and our Hitchcock inspired greeting cards that you can make at home. There will be more fun with Hitchcock in the coming week, and all month long. 

Alfred Hitchcock Martini & A Movie: Dial M For Murder

All month long we are celebrating the life and work of Alfred Hitchcock. Today our Drinks with Reads is really a Drinks with Movie. Lorraine Masonheimer created a special drink in an homage to his 1954 classic Dial M For Murder.

The sound of ice swirling in a glass.  Sipping martinis with a husband and visiting lover.  A missing adulterous letter, a latchkey, a meticulously planned murder, a pair of stockings, a well-placed scissor and it all unravels.  Be it family, friends or an indulgent night to yourself, snuggle in and watch one of Hitchcock’s popular classic films: Dial M For Murder. 

Margot, a wealthy sophisticated Londoner has an affair with Mark, a charming American mystery writer while married to the upper crust British ex-tennis pro Tony.  Tony, realizing his wife may divorce him then plots the perfect murder in order to get his hands on her inheritance.  A little blackmail, a carefully coordinated plan that doesn’t quite work out, leaves Margot very much alive.  Tony is left scrambling to stay one-step ahead of the detective so he remains a free man to enjoy Margot’s money. 

Based on Frederick Knott’s popular stage play, this taut sophisticated thriller is thoroughly watchable with Grace Kelly as Margot.   As most women are depicted in Hitchcock films, she plays the detached, cool and luminous blonde.  Ray Milland plays Tony with evil, slippery charm, and Robert Cummings plays the earnest, determined hero and lover—Mark Halliday.  Interestingly, Hitchcock originally wanted Deborah Kerr, William Holden, and Cary Grant.  Holden and Kerr were working on other films and Grant would not play a villain. 

Hitchcock didn’t consider this film among his better work.  He wasn’t interested in a talky stage play and thought there wasn’t much more a director could add to the script.  He shot the film almost entirely in one room with challenging camera angles and, at the insistence of the studio heads, in a new technology known as 3-D.  However, the movie was widely released in the typical flat format.  Exquisite plotting and well-built tension keep the film taut throughout.  Hitchcock lost nearly 20 pounds filming the murder scene, obsessing until the glint on the scissors was just right.  Careful use of color was also a common Hitchcock technique and he used it here to depict Margot’s journey.  Early in the movie, Grace Kelly wears a vibrant, sexy red party dress and her character progresses into grays and browns near the end. 

This was the first of three films Grace Kelly made with Hitchcock and it is credited with making her a star.  While filming Dial M For Murder, Kelly remarked that Hitchcock was already working on Rear Window, a movie in which she would co-star with Jimmy Stewart one year later. 

Dial M For Murder has one of the most ingenious cameos for Hitchcock as he is seated at the table in the Cambridge Class Reunion photograph about 13 minutes into the film.  This movie is rich with detail and such a pleasure to watch. The remake, A Perfect Murder, filmed in 1998, stars Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow. 

To serve the perfect drink with this classic film, I’ve chosen another classic—the martini.  In an early scene in the movie, Margot scolds Tony to stop stirring the martinis as he’ll water them down, so take care when making Hitchcock’s favorite drink—a very dry gin martini.   

The recipe, straight from Hitchcock himself is five parts gin and a “quick glance at a Vermouth bottle.”  Add a lemon peel garnish, settle in with a bowl of salty popcorn and enjoy a great classic from a beloved filmmaker.  Make it a double-header and watch A Perfect Murder.

Be sure and check out our other Alfred Hitchcock posts this month, we have so much more in store. On Tuesday we featured a plan for dinner and a movie with The Birds, and yesterday we started a series of DIY greeting cards inspired by Hitchcock's movies.