Seeking dark and twisty with a dash of funny? Try Karin Slaughter’s ‘The Secrets We Hide.’

On this episode of Fully Booked, legendary crime writer Karin Slaughter joins us to discuss The Secrets We Hide (Morrow/HarperCollins, Aug. 11)—the eagerly anticipated second installment in her North Falls series, which launched last summer with the instant No. 1 New York Times bestseller We Are All Guilty Here.

There’s been a lot of loss in Clifton County, Georgia, since we last met police officer Emmy Clifton and her much older, recently returned prodigal sister, retired FBI agent Jude Archer. In the wake of their father’s death, Emmy is now acting sheriff, and it’s the day of their mother’s funeral when a death call comes in: Detective Allison Vickery was shot dead in her own home. Her teenage daughter, Mandy, was also shot, and clings to life by a thread.

Here’s a bit from our admiring review of The Secrets We Hide: “Working closely together even though their troubled family history puts them constantly at odds, Emmy and Jude thrash through a thicket of wrongdoing, from a thriving drug ring to a corrupt cop who’s rumored to have buried some crucial evidence, before they link Allison’s killing to an ancient murder trial that took a 180-degree turn after one of the jurors died. Every twist in the path to the truth is riveting—especially the final revelation, which puts all the others in the shade—but the most important relationship is between the two investigators, one of whom harbors a secret the other can’t imagine.”

Slaughter is the internationally bestselling author of more than 25 novels, including Pretty Girls,The Good Daughterand the Will Trent series, which has been adapted for TV and film. She is the founder of the Save the Libraries project, which supports libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, she lives in Atlanta.

In a rollicking conversation, we discuss the ins and outs of series writing, Emmy and Jude’s evolving relationship, and why she’s just not that into unrelenting darkness. We talk plot twists, the five stages of grief, local policing, Save the Libraries, and much more.

At the end of our interview, Slaughter recommends some new nonfiction about one of the world’s most successful, most mysterious business titans. Follow @kirkus_reviews on Instagram, DM us the title of that book, along with your email and location, and you’ll be entered in a drawing to receive a $100 Visa gift card, courtesy of Kirkus. The giveaway is open to legal residents of the U.S. who have reached 18 years of age or older at the time of entry.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

This Never Happened by Kent Heckenlively

The Hypókrisis Mirror and Other Stories by Raymond Fortunato

Tapestries by Patrick Summers

Virtuality, Book Two, by Ragnar Kroll

Avatars of the Pantheon by Jackson Owens

Fully Booked is produced by Jessica Lockhart and Megan Labrise.