PirateSteve's Reviews > The Good Daughter

If you ever find yourself in need of a good criminal defense lawyer, Rusty Quinn is the man. He is notorious for the acquittals his clients have received. Legendary for his beliefs that all people deserve the best legal defense possible, no matter what their station in life or the crime they've been accused of. With Rusty on your side you'll be singing his praises as well.

"Sunshine is for everyone, Sunshine come back again
Come all without, Come all within
You ain't seen nothin like the Mighty Quinn"

Rusty also enjoys quoting literary greats, so I'll use one here.
F.Scott Fitzgerald once said:
"Show me a hero, and I'll write you a tragedy."
That sentiment certainly applies to Karin Slaughter's book, The Good Daughter.
Twenty Eight years ago tragedy knocked on the Quinn Family's door. For the survivor's, those old wounds will never completely heal. Today in the Quinn family home town, tragedy has struck again. There has been a school shooting. The accused shooter is a teenage girl and as she is taken to the local hospital, Rusty chases the ambulance there in order to secure his role as her defense attorney. This book is the weaving together of what really happened 28 years ago and the truth behind this latest school shooting.
Slaughter Daughter is sensational.

excerpts are spoiler(ish)
(view spoiler)[
narration
"There was an almost imperceptible click.
A second hand on a watch.
A door latching closed.
A firing pin tapping against the primer in a shotgun shell."


Kelly's Mom to Charlie
"Ma'am, you gotta hear me. My baby didn't do what they're saying."


Charlie and Kelly's Mom
"'Did my father explain what's happening to Kelly?"'
'"He said he was working for her, but I don't know." She whispered, "My cousin says Rusty Quinn is a bad man, that he represents low-lifes and rapists and killers."'
"Charlie's mouth went dry. The woman did not seem to understand that Rusty Quinn was exactly the kind of man that her daughter needed."


Rusty to Charlie
"'She thinks the girl's gonna come home."'
"'Like a good little unicorn?''
"'Well, Charlie Bear, there's innocent and there's not guilty, and there's not a lot of rhyme or reason in between." He gave her a wink. "Why don't you drive your old daddy home?'"


Rusty's reply to Sam
"What the hell is wrong with you."
"Rusty listed on his fingers, "I was stabbed several times. I have a heart condition. I have a filthy mouth that I apparently passed on to my daughters. I guess the smoking and the drinking are two separate things, but ..."'


Rusty/Charlie to Sam
"'He said, "Talk to Kelly Wilson yourself. Go to the police station after you eat. Tell them you're my co-counsel. Get Kelly alone in a room and talk with her. Five minutes, tops. You'll see what I mean."'
"'See what?' Charlie asked. "She murdered a grown man and a little girl in cold blood. You want to talk about seeing? I was there less than a minute after it happened. I saw Kelly literally ... Literally ... holding the smoking gun. I watched that little girl die. But Ironside over here thinks that she's innocent."'


Rusty/Sam
"'Honey, I know you came all the way down here expecting to find me on my deathbed, and I promise you, on my life, that it'll get to that point eventually, but for now, I'm gonna say something to you that I have never said to you in your forty-four beautiful years on this earth: I need you to do this for me.'"


Charlie/Sam
'"Charlie asked, "Where are you going?"'
"'Home," Sam said. "I need this shit like I need another hole in my head."'
"Rusty's bark of laughter followed her out the door."


Sam/Charlie
"'Wait, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation interviewed you?'
"I'm a witness"
"Did you have a lawyer?"
"I'm a lawyer."
"Charlie ---"
" I know, I have a fool for a client."


Sam/Anton
"'I worry all the time that I'll drink something, or take something, or move the wrong way, and it will cause a seizure, or a stroke, and break what's left of my mind.''
"Anton had not offered platitudes about the mysteries of life or advice on how to fix the problem. Instead, he had said, '"Many people must have told you that you are lucky to be alive. I think you would have been lucky had you not been shot in the first place."'
"Sam had cried for almost a full hour. No one had ever acknowledged that she had a right to be angry about how she must survive."


Rusty/Sam
"I am fortune's fool" is a line taken from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliette
"'Oh, I am fortune's fool," Rusty bellowed. He was in a wheelchair, right elbow on the armrest, cigarette in his hand."
"Sam said, "Those things are going to kill you."'
"Rusty smiled. "It's a balmy night. I'm talking to one of my beautiful daughters. I've got a fresh pack of smokes. All I need is a glass of bourbon and I'd die a happy man."'
"He laughed, then started coughing."

"Rusty said '"I heard there was some rain-making at the arraignment."'
'"Was the baby killed?"' He made his voice quiver with drama. "Was the baby killed?''
"'Dad, a child was murdered."'
"'I know, darling. believe me, I know."'
"'Rusty asked, "What'd you think of her?"'
"'Kelly?"' Sam considered her answer. "'She could be smarter than we think. She could be lower functioning than any of us wants to believe. You can lead her anywhere, Dad. Anywhere."'
"'I've always preferred crazy to stupid. Stupid can break your heart."'


Sam/Rusty
"'I guess that's why she was always your favorite."'
"'You were both my favorite."'
"Sam didn't but it. Charlie had always been the good daughter, the one who laughed at his jokes, the one who challenged his opinions, the one who had stayed."
"Rusty said, "A father's job is to love each of his daughters in the way they need to be loved."'


Charlie to Sam
"'I hate him for not taking care of himself. And I love him for living life on his own terms."'


Sam/Ben/Charlie. Your knowledge of WD-40, Ms.Slaughter, I am impressed.
"The door groaned on rusty hinges as Sam pulled it shut. "A spray lubricant would alleviate that noise."
"Ben said, " I tried some WD-40."
"That's a solvent, not a lubricant."


Ben speaking of Rusty to charlie
"'He said that the worst sin he had ever committed against anybody in his life was making you keep it a secret."'


Charlie and Sam
'"Nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility.'''
"'Shakespeare?''
"'Mr.Darcy to Bingley."'
"'Of all people."'
"'If it wasn't his pride, it was his prejudice."'

"'That is a complicated question with an equally complicated answer.'"
Charlie laughed. This was rusty's real legacy. They were going to sit around quoting a dead man quoting dead people for the rest of their lives."'


Quote of Shakespeare stage direction
"As the elevator doors closed, Sam whispered, "'Exit, pursued by a bear."' (hide spoiler)]