Fresh thrills for novelist

Karin Slaughter dives into a book series while overseeing TV's 'Good Daughter.'

- BY PAULA L. WOODS

IN HER new book series "We Are All Guilty Here," Karin Slaughter explores the secrets of a small town.

As Karin Slaughter talks about her new thriller book series, “We Are All Guilty Here,” she’s equally wry, reflective and ready to take off on a whole new level.

Her success is formidable: 24 novels have sold more than 40 million copies and been translated into 120 languages. They include the Grant County series featuring Sara Linton, a small-town pediatrician and medical examiner, which was followed by another centering on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Will Trent. The Will Trent series is the basis for the hit ABC TV series starring Ramón Rodriguez that was recently renewed for Season 4. Add to that a half dozen stand-alones, including “Pieces of Her,” adapted into a 2022 Netflix series starring Toni Collette, and an upcoming Peacock adaptation of “The Good Daughter,” and Slaughter’s rise to the present moment makes sense.

Two things are striking when talking to Slaughter over Zoom from her second home near the small town of Blue Ridge, Ga.: One, the massive deep-purple bookshelves that cover the entire back wall of her office and almost dwarf the petite writer do not resemble the brag walls I’ve seen in some writers’ offices. Slaughter’s bookcase — which she reveals she designed herself — includes work by Southern writers she admires and champions. (More on that later.) Two, she seems very much at ease as she prepares to launch the new book in the midst of a grueling schedule to bring “The Good Daughter” to the small screen as a limited series next year.