Karin Slaughter


Karin Slaughter is an American crime writer. She is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty-five novels, including the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and standalone novels Pretty Girls and False Witness. An international bestseller, Slaughter is published in 120 countries with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe.
Her first novel, Blindsighted, was published in 27 languages and made the Crime Writers' Association's Dagger Award shortlist for "Best Thriller Debut" of 2001. Slaughter won the 2015 CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award for her novel Cop Town.
Pieces of Her, based on her novel of the same name, debuted at #1 worldwide on Netflix as an original series in 2022. Her bestselling thriller series, Will Trent, is now a television series in its 4th season on ABC. The Good Daughter will soon be a limited series on Peacock starring Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy.
She is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming.

Writing

North Falls series (2025 to present)

Slaughter's newest series is set in the fictional North Falls region in rural Georgia, featuring Officer Emmy Cliffton and her family.
  • We Are All Guilty Here, 2025
The first book in the series, We Are All Guilty Here, was a New York Times #1 bestseller.

Will Trent series (2006 to present)

The Will Trent series, which takes place in Atlanta, Georgia, features Georgia Bureau of Investigation special agent Will Trent and his partner, Faith Mitchell. So far, the Will Trent series includes:
Characters from Slaughter's two main series, Grant County and Will Trent, were brought together in her novels Undone, titled Genesis internationally, and Broken. In these novels, Sara Linton and Will Trent work cases set in Georgia.

Grant County series (2001 to 2007)

Slaughter first came to attention with her Grant County series:Blindsighted, 2001Kisscut, 2002A Faint Cold Fear, 2003Indelible, 2004Faithless, 2005Beyond Reach/Skin Privilege, 2007
Set in the fictional town of Heartsdale, Georgia, in the fictional Grant County, the narrative takes place from the perspective of three main characters: Sara Linton, the town's pediatrician and part-time coroner; Jeffrey Tolliver, Linton's ex-husband and the chief of police; and his subordinate, detective Lena Adams.

Standalone Novels

  • Cop Town, 2014
  • Pretty Girls, 2015
  • The Good Daughter, 2017
  • Pieces of Her, 2018
  • False Witness, 2021
  • Girl, Forgotten, 2022
Pieces of Her reached #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, the week it was released in late August 2018. Pieces of Her was published through HarperCollins and follows a young woman who learns about a hidden side of her mother, Laura. It was given a positive review by Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews.
Cop Town, Pretty Girls, The Good Daughter, and False Witness have all also been New York Times bestsellers.

Short Stories and Novellas

  • Like a Charm, 2004
  • Martin Misunderstood, 2008
  • Thorn in My Side, 2011
  • The Unremarkable Heart and Other Stories, 2011
  • Snatched, 2012
  • Busted, 2012
  • Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes, 2015
  • Cold, Cold Heart, 2016
  • Last Breath, 2017
  • Cleaning the Gold, 2019
“Like a Charm” is a short story anthology featuring several thriller authors, including Lee Child, Peter Robinson, John Connolly, and Laura Lippman. Each story is linked by a charm bracelet that brings bad luck to its owners. Karin Slaughter wrote the first and last stories.
The audiobook version of Martin Misunderstood is narrated by Wayne Knight. Both the story and the narration were nominated for an Audie Award in 2009.
The Unremarkable Heart won the Edgar Award for Best Short Story in 2013.

Television and Film

Pieces of Her

Slaughter's 2018 standalone novel, Pieces of Her, was adapted into an eight-episode TV series of the same name, which premiered on March 4, 2022. Starring Toni Collette and Bella Heathcote, it debuted at #1 worldwide on Netflix. Between February 27, 2022, and April 3, 2022, the series was watched 227.5 million hours on Netflix globally.

Will Trent

Slaughter's bestselling thriller series, Will Trent, is now a television series starring Ramón Rodríguez in the role of Will Trent and Erika Christensen as Angie. Premiering on January 3, 2023 on ABC, the series has now been renewed for a fourth season slated to premiere on January 6, 2026.

The Good Daughter

Production began in 2025 on The Good Daughter, a limited series for Peacock adapted from her novel of the same name and starring Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy.

Philanthropy

Slaughter is a library advocate and founded Save the Libraries, a non-profit organization that campaigns to support US public libraries. The Save the Libraries fund has provided more than $300,000 to the DeKalb County Public Library in Atlanta, Georgia.

Awards and Honors

Slaughter has won or been nominated for many awards. In reverse chronological order, they are:

Published Works

The Grant County series
  • Blindsighted
  • Kisscut
  • A Faint Cold Fear
  • Indelible
  • Faithless,
  • Beyond Reach, Skin Privilege
The Will Trent series
  • Triptych
  • Fractured
  • Undone, Genesis
  • Broken
  • Fallen
  • Criminal
  • Unseen
  • The Kept Woman
  • The Last Widow
  • The Silent Wife
  • After That Night
  • This is Why We Lied
Andrea Oliver SeriesPieces of Her Girl, Forgotten
North Falls Series
  • We Are All Guilty Here
Standalone Novels
  • Cop Town
  • Pretty Girls
  • The Good Daughter
  • False Witness
Short Stories and Novellas
  • Like a Charm
  • Martin Misunderstood
  • Thorn in My Side
  • The Unremarkable Heart and Other Stories
  • Snatched
  • Busted
  • Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes
  • Cold, Cold Heart
  • Last Breath
  • ''Cleaning the Gold''

Personal life

Slaughter was born in Covington, Georgia and grew up in Lake Spivey. She has two older sisters. She attended Morrow High School in Ellenwood, Georgia. She then studied literature at Georgia State University, but dropped out prior to graduating. She wrote her first novel Blindsighted in three months.