Karin Slaughter is the author of more than twenty instant NEW YORK TIMES bestselling novels, including the Edgar–nominated COP TOWN and standalone novels THE GOOD DAUGHTER, PRETTY GIRLS, and GIRL, FORGOTTEN. She is published in 120 countries with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe. PIECES OF HER is a #1 Netflix original series starring Toni Collette. The Will Trent Series is on ABC (and streaming on Hulu in the U.S, and Disney+ internationally). THE GOOD DAUGHTER and FALSE WITNESS are in development for film/tv. Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, she lives in Atlanta.

Interview by Sandra Hoover

Q. Congratulations on the upcoming release of This Is Why We Lied, Will Trent #12, as well as the renewal of the critically acclaimed Will Trent television series for another season. Before we get into the new book, tell us about the process of bringing the Will Trent series to life on the screen, what it means to you, and how involved you are in the production process.  Do you find it difficult to transition from TV Will back into the headspace of a darker, less-talkative book Will?

Karin: I’ve really embraced the idea that the show is the show, and the books are the books.  I think Ramón Rodriguez is doing a terrific job as Will, and he absolutely captures the heart of Will’s character. It’s a gift to me that he doesn’t physically resemble the Will in the books.  That’s gone such a long way toward helping me keep my characters in my head when I’m writing.  I love everything the showrunners and writers are doing with the series because they really get who the characters are and what I’ve been trying to do with them.  That being said, people should understand that it’s an interpretation of my work.  If you go into it with that understanding, I think you’ll love it.  And also, there’s Betty, who is perfect in every way.

Q. Was TRIPTCYH, Will Trent #1, originally written as a standalone, or did you plan to create a long-running series centered around a dyslexic character named Will Trent from the beginning? Who is Will Trent in your eyes?  Are you surprised to still be writing Will Trent books after eleven, now twelve, books in the series?

Karin: I did plan it as a series. The creation of Will was something I had planned several books prior to writing TRIPTYCH.  I needed a story set in a big city where there was some sense of anonymity.  I also saw writing about Will as a way to job security; the GBI can investigate any crime in the state.  I went from limiting myself to one small county in South Georgia to crimes within one hundred fifty-nine counties.  This is the sort of palate a crime writer loves to work with.

Will Trent is likely an amalgamation of all the men I know.  Many of my male characters (at least the good guys) share characteristics with my father.  When I was growing up, I used to follow him around the house on Saturdays while he fixed things.  Some of these things he probably didn’t know how to fix before he started, but he always figured it out.  Will is a lot like that—not just in fixing things around the house, but in the cases he’s assigned.  He’s used to being thrown into unfamiliar territory and having to find his way out on his own. I’m not surprised to be writing about Will and Sara twelve books in. I think there are still many stories to tell in this universe. 

Q. This Is Why We Lied is a locked room style murder mystery with a handful of players, including at least one killer, trapped at a remote location. Give readers an overview of the book and share your inspiration behind writing it. What convinced you to take this one out of the city to an isolated location?

Karin: This Is Why We Lied is set at a hike-in/hike-out resort where Will & Sara go for their honeymoon. They choose this spot for reasons that are sentimental to Will, but this is a thriller so of course things go terribly wrong for them. I wanted to tell a locked room mystery, but I wanted a setting where there could plausibly be a large, dysfunctional family and many guests who are possible suspects. McAlpine Lodge is the perfect place. In addition to the murder, the remote location adds a layer of suspense that was very fun to work with.

Q. Dysfunctional family relationships, especially abusive relationships between spouses and between parents and their children, often result in mental and physical violence against women in your books.  The horrific abuse of Mercy is an example in This Is Why We Lied. Why do you feel it important to continuously draw attention to these issues in a graphic manner? Are these women victims or survivors in your eyes?

Karin: I feel like telling honest stories of violence against women helps shine a light on what is really going on, sometimes not even behind closed doors.  For so long, polite society decided that we were willing to put up with a certain level of violence against women because we told ourselves that bad things only happen to bad women:  Why was she drinking?  What was she wearing?  Why was she in that part of town?  My stories take those questions and expose the danger inherent in their positioning.  No one hears about a robbery and asks what the victim was doing in that part of town. The cops never say to the family of a murder victim, “hey, this investigation is going to be difficult. Are you sure you want us to do it?”  Rape, assault, harassment and coercion are traumatic, life altering, soul-shattering crimes.  We need to openly talk about them and discuss the psychic toll they take on not just women, but husbands, fathers, sons and communities, because the only people who are protected by our silence or worse, apathy, are the perpetrators.

Q. Evidence of the power of love to transform and change a person’s life is prevalent in This Is Why We Lied. Talk about the power of love as a theme employed for both good and evil in this book and in the series overall.

Karin: I’ve talked about it before, but there is a point in the series where Sara realizes that she is the only person who can love Will the way he deserves to be loved. There is a lot of mutual admiration and respect between the two. And in many ways, finding each other saved them both. Sara was reeling from the loss of Jeffrey and their life together. Will was in the repetitive cycle of an abusive relationship. Finding each other allowed each of them to move on into a new part of their lives.  

On the other hand, the McAlpine family uses the idea of familial love to manipulate and hurt one another. So, I guess it cuts both ways.

Q. Will still can’t believe he deserves a beautiful and smart woman like Sara, and yet despite his reservations, they’re finally man & wife. Fans have waited a long time for this. Talk about the power dynamics between Will and Sara along with the barriers scaled for each of them to get to this point in their relationship.

Karin: Will and Sara are both very hard-headed and they both expect that the other person can read their mind. So when one of them is unhappy it throws the whole relationship off balance. Will is very good at retreating in these moments. He doesn’t like confrontation. But Sara doesn’t let him go into a hidey-hole. So there can be real friction between them. Luckily it doesn’t happen too often.

Q. Will comes face to face with ghosts from his past in this story beginning with his choice of a honeymoon location, to the appearance of a bully from his orphanage days to the flood of memories about his mother.  Why is it important for Will to put unsettling memories to rest during his honeymoon?

Karin: Over the past several novels, Will has been discovering that he doesn’t have to live under the dark burden of his childhood. He has realized that he can create the life that he wants to live. So going to McAlpine is about giving himself something that he’s always wanted, and sharing that with Sara, which is a really vulnerable thing to do. It is one way of showing Sara that he trusts her as his partner. Acknowledging his past, while actively creating his future, is a part of his evolution.

Q. Sara and Faith question Amanda’s reasons for dropping everything to rush to the lodge. Talk about the dynamics between Will and Amanda, how they’ve evolved over the course of the books, and what needs in each are satisfied by their relationship.

Karin: Amanda is both Will’s boss and his dysfunctional mother figure. She clearly loves Will but is also completely exasperated by him. She is hard-edged and impatient and borderline abusive to Will at times, but despite being an unrelenting hard-ass, she’s always looked out for Will and he is grateful to her.  

Q. Other than Will or Sara, which character is the most satisfying to bring to life in the Will Trent series? Do you envision a spin-off series for this character at any point in the future?

Karin: I really like writing Faith’s character because a lot of grumpiness gets to come out with her. I don’t have any spinoffs planned right now, but you never know.

Q. What do you hope readers recall long after reading This Is Why We Lied?

Karin: I hope it’s a really satisfying read, with twists they didn’t see coming, and I hope it feels like something totally new from me.

Q. Share how growing up in a small, one-horse (so to speak) southern town influenced not only the writer, but the person you’ve become today.  

Karin: Growing up in a small southern town, we’re just raised to think everyone—even the most exceptional person—has a deep dark secret. I remember when I was a little girl I’d go to church with my grandmother, who would introduce me to her friends, and as soon as the person turned their back she would whisper a horrible secret about them, like “oh you know she drinks too much,” or “you know her husband’s cheating.” It’s made me exceptionally distrusting of everyone I meet, which is very helpful for good storytelling.

Q. What can fans look forward to next from Karin Slaughter?

Karin: My next novel is a standalone I’m very excited about.  Then I’ll do another Will Trent.  I’ve also got more TV stuff I’m working on that I hope people love.