Karin Slaughter: my six best books
The bestselling author chooses her favourite books on plagues and lawyers (‘not the same thing’)

Karin Slaughter’s 2018 thriller, Pieces of Her, is being adapted by Netflix, and her latest novel, False Witness (HarperCollins £20), is out now.
1. Pale Horse, Pale Rider
Katherine Anne Porter (1939)
The title story in this collection was my introduction to the visceral horror of the 1918 flu pandemic. The memory lingered so much that I felt compelled to incorporate Covid into my current novel. Fiction captures history in a way that textbooks cannot.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Penguin £9.99; The Week Bookshop £7.99
2. Polio: An American Story
David M. Oshinsky (2006)
Until recently, the distribution of the polio vaccine was the largest public health project in American history. This book delves into the rush to create the vaccine, and the politics surrounding it, and calls out Isabel Morgan, considered the most skilled polio researcher, who had to retire to raise her family
OUP £19.99; The Week Bookshop £15.99
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
3. The Wife
Alafair Burke (2018)
This sly legal procedural is told from the point of view of the suspect’s wife. An excellent read in any setting, but particularly gripping with a margarita on the beach.
Faber £7.99; The Week Bookshop £5.99
4. Your House Will Pay
Steph Cha
Past is prologue in this riveting and at times shocking tale of racial unrest in LA. You wouldn’t think that the city that gave us Rodney King, O.J. Simpson and the Banditos would have any more stories to tell, but Cha manages to frame the narrative through the lens of two families grappling with the fallout fromahorrific decision that turns the city up to its boiling point.
Faber £8.99; The Week Bookshop £6.99
5. Station Eleven
Emily St. John Mandel (2014)
Another flu pandemic, this one set in a dystopian future. While the author didn’t capture the rush on toilet paper, she certainly predicted our reliance on the arts to get us through these horrible times.
Picador £9.99; The Week Bookshop £7.99
6. Make Me
Lee Child (2015)
This young man studied law but went into television, then gave up TV to write novels. I really think he’s onto something with these Reacher books.
-
June 14 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include Donald's 30 dolls, a Flag Day fail and a MAGA Mayflower
-
5 jackbooted cartoons about L.A.'s anti-ICE protests
Cartoons Artists take on National Guard deployment, the failure of due process, and more
-
Some of the best music and singing holidays in 2025
The Week Recommends From singing lessons in the Peak District to two-week courses at Chetham's Piano Summer School
-
Some of the best music and singing holidays in 2025
The Week Recommends From singing lessons in the Peak District to two-week courses at Chetham's Piano Summer School
-
6 bold homes for maximalists
Feature Featuring a restored Queen Anne Victorian in California and a sculpture studio turned townhome in New York City
-
Heiress: Sargent's American Portraits – a 'revelatory' glimpse into the Belle Époque
The Week Recommends Kenwood exhibition shines a light on the American 'dollar princesses' who married into the English aristocracy
-
Gordon Corera chooses his favourite spy novels
The Week Recommends The journalist picks works by James Wolff, Graham Greene and John le Carré
-
Ballerina: 'a total creative power cut' for the John Wick creators
Talking Point Ana de Armas can't do much with her 'lethally dull' role
-
Properties of the week: gorgeous Georgian houses
The Week Recommends Featuring homes in Norfolk, Suffolk and Kent
-
Homework: Geoff Dyer brings 'a whole world' to life in his memoir
The Week Recommends Author writes about his experiences with 'humour and tenderness'
-
Critics' choice: Restaurants that write their own rules
Feature A low-light dining experience, a James Beard Award-winning restaurant, and Hawaiian cuisine with a twist