Book Review | False Witness by Karin Slaughter

Leigh Coulton has a good life – a job as a defence lawyer, a thriving daughter, and an amicable divorce from her long-time husband. But when she is given the task of defending a rich man accused of rape, she realises that her dark past is resurfacing. A past that is marred with abuse, secrets, and violence. The only person who can help her is her estranged sister, Callie. She is the last person Leigh wants to talk to… but she has no choice. Because her life and the lives of everyone she loves is at stake.

He said, “It’s been a long time, Harleigh.”

Harleigh.

Only one person in her life still called her by that name.

False Witness is a sombre thriller about sisterhood, family and the secrets that bind people together. At the heart of this book is the relationship between Leigh and Callie, two sisters who grew up in poverty by a neglectful mother and ended up sharing a role in a violent crime. While the act they committed happened when they were only teenagers, the effects linger for years after.

This was only the second book by the author that I’ve read but she has a reputation for portraying damaged characters, and this is no exception. The book shows how trauma isn’t easily swept aside and time doesn’t heal all wounds. Leigh may look like a capable lawyer with a stable personal life, but she’s prone to self-sabotage and pushes others away. Callie resorts to using drugs, choosing the quick fix of heroin to forget her pain. Her addiction ruins her relationship with Leigh, who also carries the guilt of not being able to protect Callie from the worst of abuses when they were younger. Their complicated emotional bond is the strongest point of the book. I wanted to see them heal and move on, because they both deserve a healthy relationship instead of one shadowed by hurt.

Unfortunately, the other parts of the story weren’t as compelling for me. The villain is so obviously evil he’s basically a caricature, instead of a fully fleshed individual also borne by childhood abuse. While the book highlights the privilege of a rich white man, the lengths he went to get what he wanted were pretty unbelievable. Leigh’s decision to represent him could have been explored more considering her history of defending awful men. But the book frames her decision as something she’s forced to do. I thought Callie is a sympathetic character, but the description of her drug usage felt repetitive. The level of violence towards the women in the book also comes across as gratuitous at times.

As a note, this book is one of many recently published that reference the Covid-19 pandemic. I thought it did it in a natural way. There are mentions of characters being masked, places being sanitized and protocols in place. I liked that the book continues this consistently throughout instead of being used as a gimmick and then dropped. But this might be too close to life for some readers who want an escape.

If you’re looking for a dark, brutal thriller with thorny family relationships and a quest for redemption, don’t miss out on False Witness.

CW: rape, sexual assault of a minor, physical violence, drug usage, suicide

I received a copy from Times Reads for review purposes.

About the author: Karin Slaughter

Photo by: Wild Eucalypt via Unsplash