The Cast of Karin Slaughter’s ‘The Good Daughter’ Share Their Favorite Books (Exclusive)
From audiobooks to other titles written by the bestselling author herself, here are the stories the stars cannot get enough of
Key Takeaways
- Olivia Williams loves ‘Captain Corelli's Mandolin’ and Barbra Streisand's memoir.
- Harper Steele shares what drew her to Karin Slaughter's ‘The Good Daughter.’
- Producer Bruna Papandrea praises Karin Slaughter's ‘North Falls’ series.
Karin Slaughter’s 2017 novel The Good Daughter, which follows two sisters who return home after a devastating tragedy, is officially being turned into a six-episode TV series starring Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy as sisters Sam and Charlie Quinn, with Olivia Williams, Harper Steele and Bruna Papandrea attached. We sat down with some of the cast and crew to find out what about the book made them want to become a part of the project. We also learned what other books they’re reading and loving. Read on for more.
Olivia Williams loves a good audiobook
Olivia Williams, 58, enjoys listening to audiobooks, especially those written by Slaughter.
“I wasn’t familiar with her work prior to the show, but now I’ve got a whole lot on Audible,” the actress says. “She’s astonishing. Her writing is exquisite, and we’ve become total nerds together. We send each other pictures of public signs that don’t have apostrophes in the right place.”
Along with Slaughter, Williams noted that she thinks “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin is the most beautiful book, and it’s read beautifully. And Barbra Streisand reading her own memoir—you can’t beat it, I don’t think.”
Williams plays Harriet “Gamma” Quinn, the mother of Samantha (Rose Byrne) and Charlotte “Charlie” Quinn (Meghann Fahy) in the show.
Harper Steele also loves a good Karin Slaughter book
Like her costar Williams, actress Harper Steele hadn’t read The Good Daughter until she signed on for the show, and when she picked up a copy she was pleasantly surprised by how inclusive it was.
“The story really appealed to me. I think it was really cool that the trans issue is a sort of nonissue in this story, and that was appealing to me too,” Steele adds. “As a trans woman, usually, if you’re included in a story as a trans woman, that becomes part of the story, and in this case, it’s not at all, which is how I like to traverse the whole universe right now—as not being a story, even though it’s very hard in our political situation right now. We are able to go about our lives, and it happens in this story, and I hope that that’s something people can latch on to.”
In the show Steele plays a woman named Lenore, who helps run a law office in town.
Bruna Papandrea calls Slaughter’s new series ‘phenomenal’
Bruna Papandrea is an executive producer on the show and like everyone else on set she is a fan of Slaughter’s work.
“We’re also adapting another one of her books, False Witness, which I love. It also has a sister relationship at the center,” Papandrea says. “Her new series [North Falls] is phenomenal. Her Will Trent books. I mean, she’s incredible. She’s written 25 books.”
“If you know anything about my work, you know I love complex female thrillers. I had adapted and made Karin’s book Pieces of Her in 2022, and after I had asked her if she’d be interested in adapting or writing a film for us, and she said no,” the producer adds. “And then she said, ‘Well, one of my books is not in option anymore,’ and she wrote a pilot, and so she sent it to me, and I was in love from the get-go. It was exactly the kind of thing that I wanted to make. And I am shocked to say I did not see the twist [in The Good Daughter] coming. I pride myself on always being able to get the twist right, but I did not see it coming.”
Steph Green wants everyone to pick up this prequel
Director Steph Green became obsessed with the world of Slaughter after reading the script for The Good Daughter. Naturally, we had to know what her favorite Slaughter book was, and she said, “The prequel for The Good Daughter, which Meghann Fahy did the audio for. I would highly recommend it. It’s really fun to watch our show and then go listen to Megan as Charlie in the prequel.”
She also said if that prequel is ever adapted for TV, she would “love to have a job.”
“I think Karin’s dialogue is iconic in a way for how it uses humor and wit to often hide what’s really going on, or …taking grief and turning it into dark comedy,” Green continued. “And I loved that Karin and Bruna had a vision for this, to use one director to direct all six episodes, which felt like we were going to make three 2-hour movies, basically. And once I read the material, I was gripped. I was hooked. I couldn’t stop thinking about how I could shoot this.”
Be sure to catch The Good Daughter on Peacock now.
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