Karin Slaughter

Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter

August 2018 – William Morrow

Book courtesy of the publisher

Description:

What if the person you thought you knew best turns out to be someone you never knew at all?

Andrea Oliver’s mother, Laura, is the perfect small-town mum. Laura lives a quiet but happy life in sleepy beachside Belle Isle. She’s a pillar of the community: a speech therapist, business owner and everybody’s friend. And she’s never kept a secret from anyone. Or so Andrea thinks.

When Andrea is caught in a random violent attack at a shopping mall, Laura intervenes and acts in a way that is unrecognisable to her daughter. It’s like Laura is a completely different person – and that’s because she was. Thirty years ago. Before Andrea. Before Belle Isle.

Laura is hailed as a hero for her actions at the mall but 24 hours later she is in hospital, shot by an intruder, who’s spent decades trying to track her down.

What is Andrea’s mother trying to hide? As elements of the past return and put them both in danger, Andrea is left to piece together Laura’s former identity and discover the truth – for better or worse – about her mother. Is the gentle, loving woman who raised her also a violent killer? (publisher)

My take: Being at the scene of a shooting starts a young woman on a journey that will present a side to her mother she didn’t know existed. Andrea witnesses her mother Laura methodically kill the shooter – something she would never expect to happen. A frantic solo car trip with stops in Alabama, Texas, and Illinois quickly ensues and results in the discovery of a huge truth about her mother. When I started reading this novel I didn’t know it would be a page-turner that would take just two days to read. I couldn’t stop reading! There are two time periods that allow the plot to develop: the current time when the shooting occurs and the 1980s when Laura lived a completely different life than the one Andrea knows. That’s all I’ll say. Recommended to fans of the author and a fast paced thriller. I enjoyed it.

Note: I also used an Audible credit. Narrator Kathleen Early did a great job with the various characters’ voices.

Pieces Of Her by Karin Slaughter

On sale: August 21, 2018

William Morrow Hardcover

In development for TV from the producer of BIG LITTLE LIES and the writer and director of HOMELAND

Description:

Andrea knows everything about her mother, Laura. She knows she’s spent her whole life in the small beachside town of Belle Isle; she knows she’s never wanted anything more than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life. Because we all know our mothers, don’t we?

But all that changes when a trip to the mall explodes into violence. Celebrating her birthday over lunch with her mother, they find themselves in the middle of a deadly shooting and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura. While Andrea freezes in fear, Laura is calm, cool, and collected—jumping into action to stop the killer in his tracks. How can a quiet, middle-aged speech pathologist possibly stop a shooter on a rampage? Because it turns out that before Laura was Laura, she was someone completely different. For nearly thirty years she’s been hiding from her previous identity, lying low in the hope that no one would ever find her. But now she’s been exposed, and nothing will ever be the same.

The police want answers and Laura’s innocence is on the line, but she won’t speak to anyone, including her own daughter. Andrea is on a desperate journey following the breadcrumb trail of her mother’s past. And if she can’t uncover the secrets hidden there, there may be no future for either one of them. Told from Laura’s point of view in 1986 and Andrea’s now, PIECES OF HER begs the question, can you ever truly escape your past? (publisher)

About the author:

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 eighteen 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 and The Good Daughter. 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.- Library Journal

Early Praise for Pieces of Her:

“Her talent for writing convincingly flawed yet sympathetic characters is in high relief here…Readers will find themselves totally immersed in the suspenseful, alternating story lines and won’t want either of them to end.” – Booklist starred review

“Slaughter reinforces her place at the top of the thriller pack.” – Publishers Weekly

“With an intrigue and suspense-filled plot, Slaughter’s well-crafted, tense, and exhilarating story will keep readers on the edge of their seats.” – Library Journal

Slaughter has outdone herself with Pieces of Her – a novel that sets the standard for psychological thriller writing. Rarely in fiction have the past and the present collided with such force and in such a distinctive and compelling voice.” – Jeffrey Deaver

“Slaughter’s eye for detail and truth is unmatched…I’d follow her anywhere.” —Gillian Flynn

“Her characters, plot, and pacing are unrivaled among thriller writers…” —Michael Connelly

“Karin Slaughter has – by far – the best name of all of us mystery novelists…” — James Patterson

“One of the boldest thriller writers working today.” — Tess Gerritsen

“A writer of extraordinary talents. Every Karin Slaughter novel is a cause for celebration.” — Kathy Reichs