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Content Warning: violence, death, sexual assault, rape, pedophilia, murder, drug addiction/abuse, parental abuse.
Leigh has spent her whole life trying to run from her past. She and her sister, Callie, did something when they were teenagers that has been haunting them ever since, and although Leigh has built a life for herself up from the ground as a successful defense lawyer and a wife and mother, she knows it's only a matter of time before her life implodes. And this possible destruction of everything she's worked for comes in the form of a high-profile client accused of a violent rape. This client makes it clear to Leigh that he knows exactly what happened twenty years ago, and that he's going to make her life a living hell. Forced to seek out Callie, who she has been estranged from, the two sisters will have to face a reckoning and, in the process, confront their own demons.
When people say that Karin Slaughter is one of the best thriller writers of this generation, they're not exaggerating. Although I've only read one of her previous novels, Pretty Girls, it's clear from the get-go that Slaughter possesses a talent that makes everything she puts out intensely and frighteningly readable. False Witness, like her other works, is dark, heavy, and in spite of the aforementioned readability, filled to the brim with topics that are often difficult to read about. However, she manages to pull off writing about this sort of stuff with grace and class, and though the material is graphic (and rather graphically written about), it never feels exploitative.
The two main characters, Leigh and Callie, are sisters, and it is this bond that drives the entire novel forward. Their relationship is deeply complicated, with Leigh feeling more like Callie's mother than her sister, mostly due to their abusive mother, while also dealing with guilt from something that Leigh believes is her fault that led to Callie's heavy drug abuse and the subsequent destruction of her entire life. Callie, on the other hand, deals with everything with a careless attitude that belies the turmoil she's experiencing inside. Slaughter perfectly captures a sister relationship, with all its complexities, anger and love.
The stakes are extremely high, and there's not a moment where you're allowed to forget it. I was tense reading this, wondering what was going to happen next, if Callie and Leigh were going to be able to pull off their next crazy stunt. This book is primarily a study of womanhood, sisterhood, and how sexual violence pervades women's lives, from childhood until old age. It could be depressing and, yes, it sometimes is, but throughout Slaughter manages to make this a beautiful and moving story about the devastating effects of sexual abuse and the end somehow leaves you with hope.
Overall, I'd highly recommend it, and I will definitely be seeking out more of Slaughter's books in the future.
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