Julia Carroll is missing. Her parents and sisters have been looking for her for years but there are no leads. Then one night her sister Claire's husband, Paul, is attacked and killed and when Claire arrives back from the funeral there has been a break - in at her house and the FBI are waiting. Who was Paul Scott and what did he really have to do with the Carroll family? Suddenly Claire and her sister Lydia are not sure about anything any more. 
 I have been a fan of the Grant County/Will Trent books for years but have been lucky enough to have also recently read Karin Slaughter's stand alone novels and I have to say, they did not disappoint! Slaughter is a great painter of character - for example Claire isn't particularly likeable to start with but as the story progresses we can see why the whole family behave in the way they do and come to have sympathy with them all. 
 I also like the way that the suspense builds in the story - it doesn't hide any of the nastiness but it doesn't excuse it either and the way that the characters react towards each other is very believable and rather terrifying. 
 I am very pleased to see that this is clearly a standalone novel. I like to read series and I like familiar characters but I also like to see an author who knows that the characters have run their course and won't be leaving a contrived cliffhanger to get more from them than they can give. This is a very enjoyable story but there's no more to it and nor should there be. 
 A great read and yet another recommendation for the brillian Karin Slaughter