Bestselling crime writer Karin Slaughter reveals the gruesome storytelling culture she grew up in and why she thinks Wuthering Heights’ Cathy is “kind of a whiny bitch”. 

Karin is one of the world’s most well-known and popular crime writers. Since publishing her debut novel, Blindsighted, in 2001, she has gone on to sell more than 40 million copies of her books internationally, including the hugely popular Grant County and Will Trent series. Karin is known for reaching beyond simple formulas of suspense and satisfying resolution. Instead she chooses to explore the darker side of humanity, criminal psychology and the systemic violence against women both in and outside of the home. 

Outside of her writing, Karin is also the founder of the Save the Libraries project - a nonprofit organisation dedicated to supporting local libraries in Atlanta, Georgia - the city where she grew up and continues to draw inspiration from in her writing. 

Karin has adapted a number of her works for TV and is currently showrunner for The Good Daughter, which will star Meghann Fahy and Rose Byrne. Her latest book, We Are All Guilty Here, was an instant Sunday Times No.1 bestseller, and will be published in paperback on 23 April. Her forthcoming novel, The Secrets We Hide, is published on 18 June and available to preorder now; the second book in her bestselling North Fall series, it sees a quiet town shattered in the wake of a brutal attack. 

TW: this episode contains references to rape and sexual violence.

Karin’s book choices are:
** Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
** Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose by Flannery O’Connor
** Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
** Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
** Mister Sandman by Barbara Gowdy

You can buy all books mentioned from our dedicated shelf on Bookshop.org – every purchase supports the work of the Women's Prize Trust and independent bookshops. 

Every week on Bookshelfie, Vick Hope is joined by inspirational women to discuss the work of incredible female authors. The Women’s Prize for Fiction, the greatest celebration of female creativity in the world, is run by the Women’s Prize Trust, the charity building a better future by championing women’s writing. 

Don’t want to miss the rest of season nine? Follow or subscribe now!