Last Breath by Karin Slaughter

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read the full disclosure here.

Last Breath by Karin Slaugher

The fantastic prequel to The Good Daughter, the stunning new standalone from the No. 1 bestselling author of the Will Trent and Grant County series.

Protecting someone always comes at a cost.

At the age of thirteen, Charlie Quinn’s childhood came to an abrupt and devastating end. Two men, with a grudge against her lawyer father, broke into her home – and after that shocking night, Charlie’s world was never the same.

Now a lawyer herself, Charlie has made it her mission to defend those with no one else to turn to. So when Flora Faulkner, a motherless teen, begs for help, Charlie is reminded of her own past, and is powerless to say no.

But honour-student Flora is in far deeper trouble than Charlie could ever have anticipated. Soon she must ask herself: How far should she go to protect her client? And can she truly believe everything she is being told?  (-synopsis)

Charlie is a lawyer.   She could be making a lot of money if she had moved out to Atlanta but she has stayed in the small town she grew up in.  She even shares a law office with her father.  Her mother was murdered in front of her when she was just a child so Charlie likes to help people.

At a Girl Scouts gathering Charlie falls sick and is in the bathroom.  There she meets Flora, a wide eyed 15 year old who wants to be emancipated from her grandparents.   She doesn’t give Charlie any specifics except that her mother was killed, left her a trust, and her grandparents are blowing through it at a fast pace.  Flora wants Charlie to help her.

Charlie feels a connection to the girl since both their mothers died when they were teens.   She sets out to talk to all of the people close to Flora to see if she can get the information she needs.   Along the way she feels that something isn’t quite right but she keeps motoring through.  She also finds that her illness isn’t going away and she wonders why.

I really liked Charlie as a character.  I found her to care about her friends, her husband, her father, and her young client.   While there are things she would rather be doing she keeps on persisting to talk to the people Flora needs her to speak too.  She just wants to help the girl.

The other characters in the book are likeable as well.   Flora is a sweet teenager who is just looking for some help.  Ben, Charlie’s husband, is also a lawyer but he also cares deeply for his wife.  Charlie’s father, Rusty, is another lawyer but one who has a bad reputation for helping criminals.  However, in the brief glimpse we get of him I found him to really care about his daughter.

The end of this prequel was surprising.  There was a huge twist in the story and everything begins falling apart.  The ending is a little abrupt but it really makes me want to read Karin Slaughter’s book The Good Daughter.

I give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.