Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter – Book Review

Thank you to Karin Slaughter, Harper Collins and Netgalley for an ARC copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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Synopsis

A terrifying act of violence…
It takes a split second for your life to change forever. And for Andrea Oliver that split second is a mass shooting in her local mall.

A woman whose life is built on a lie…
But this shocking act is only the start. Because then, as the bodies fall around them, Andy’s mother Laura takes a step forward into the line of fire.

A fight for survival…
Hours later, Laura is in hospital, her face splashed over the newspapers. But the danger has only just begun. Now Andy must embark on a desperate race against time to uncover the secrets of her mother’s past before any more blood is shed…

My Thoughts

This is my first time reading a Karin slaughter novel despite many recommendations over the years and it certainly won’t be my last.  Pieces of Her is a stand alone novel and a good one to begin with if you don’t want to invest or prefer not to begin a series.  The whole novel actually reads/plays like a film and would work really well on screen as a film or series.

The main protagonists are other and daughter, Laura and Andy.  Andy had a typical upbringing but is a little disconnected from life.  She lives a rather solitary and colourless existence until one day she is faced with some harsh realities.  At this point Andy begins to emerge as a much stronger character than she originally appears and I really enjoyed seeing her transform throughout the novel.  Laura is a pillar of the community and highly revered in her work as a speech therapist until one day she steps in to save her daughter’s life and reveals that there may be more to her than people realise.  Andy is forced on the run from everything she knows but is also faced with uncertainty around her own and her mother’s past.

The plot moves along at a quick pace and I really struggled to put the book down.  Set across two time zones, there is the current narrative of Andy on the run and  Laura’s back story and they are alternated between.  Slaughter changes perspectives and times at just the right moment, leaving the reader desperate to return to the other story and turning the pages eagerly.

Laura’s backstory unravels a slower pace but is more intense and emotional.  There were times when I really didn’t like her and felt that she wasn’t blameless but then I admired her strength as a mother who really came through for her unborn child.  Her story is one of manipulation and abuse and at times was fairly shocking and incredibly sad.  Andy’s story is more pacey with and has more physical action.  I could really feel the tension and stress she was under, not knowing who to trust or even  what was actually happening for most of the novel.

This is a very cleverly plotted novel that is full of to the brim of action, plot lines and character development and I loved it.

Author Bio – Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular and acclaimed storytellers. Published in 120 countries with more than 35 million copies sold across the globe, her nineteen novels include the Grant County and Will Trent books, as well as the Edgar-nominated COP TOWN and the instant NEW YORK TIMES bestselling novels PRETTY GIRLS, THE GOOD DAUGHTER, and PIECES OF HER. Her most recent book, THE LAST WIDOW, features Sara Linton and Will Trent. Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, Karin Slaughter lives in Atlanta. Her standalone novels PIECES OF HER, THE GOOD DAUGHTER, and COP TOWN are in development for film and television.