By: Karin Slaughter
ISBN: 978-0062430274
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: 8/21/2018
Format: Hardcover
My Rating: 5 Stars
Top Books of 2018 The #1 internationally bestselling author returns with a new novel in the vein of her New York Times bestsellers Pretty Girls and The Good Daughter—a story even more electrifying, provocative, and suspenseful than anything she’s written before. What if the person you thought you knew best turns out to be someone you never knew at all . . . ? 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 and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura. 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 again.
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. . . .
My Review
From the internationally bestselling author of crime fiction, Karin Slaughter returns following (2017) The Good Daughter landing on my Top Books of 2017 with her latest —PIECES OF HER, an emotional heart-pounding action thriller featuring dynamic mother/daughter duo.
What if everything you thought you knew about your quiet, middle-aged mother was wrong?
First, let me begin by saying: "My nerves are fried after reading PIECES OF HER—this is one INTENSE novel! I went into tachycardia many times (not good for my heart, nor my current Epstein-Barr Virus Reactivation status). But, you cannot put it down.
Can you really truly escape your past?
Yes, I am a die-hard member of #SlaughterSquad! Have read all her books, and she continues to be on my Top Booklist each year.
Questions abound: What if, when violence erupts at your local mall, and a shooter goes on a rampage, the person who stops him, dead, is your mother? What if everything you thought you knew changed in an instant?
PIECES OF HER follows Andrea, a woman who thought she knew everything about her mother, Laura, until the moment she realized she didn’t, and their world unravels.
A riveting, poignant, and compelling story of family — with so many twists and turns. I loved Andrea (Andy)! What a journey (always plenty of Slaughter dark humor mixed with the fear and violence).
I was thinking Andy must have felt somewhat like Paige Jennings (Holly Taylor) in The Americans watching her mom, Elizabeth Jennings-Nadezhda (Keri Russell) turn into a fierce killer in front of her eyes for the first time.
Who is this woman and how did she achieve these skills?
A shocking secret life. With a mix of Charles Manson and The Following, the queen of Southern crime steps out of her box (she could never really be in a "box") for a tension-filled, nail-biting, gripping, adrenaline high suspense crime thriller—with past involvement of a cult and the Army of the Changing World, which comes face to face with the present.
With flashbacks from 1986 to 2018, from abuse, control, rage, injustice, obsession, betrayal, violence to love.
"She had always believed—vehemently, with great conviction —that the only way to change the world was to destroy it."
I couldn't agree more with the Kirkus Review of PIECES OF HER:
"[R]eading anything by Slaughter is like riding a particularly scary amusement park ride. Reading this one is like booking a season ticket on a ride that never lets you off."
A day at the spa is in order at Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa Palm Beach to ease my tension and stress after reading PIECES OF HER! However, will have to put my day of relaxation on hold. . .
My #WeekendRead is Trust Me. If you know Hank Phillippi Ryan's books, the tension will continue with another dose of epinephrine. (minus my Epi-Pen). Have already begun. (Not sure my heart can take more than two of these in a row). Of course, next on my list is The Other Woman by Sandie Jones and I hear it is not "calm", by any means.
Karin Slaughter, a born storyteller —always entertains with a splash! May add more here after I gather my thoughts. Get this one on your pre-order list and join the #SlaughterSquad.
Wow! There are so many great books coming August, 2018
A special thank you to Edelweiss and HarperCollins for an early reading copy.
JDCMustReadBooks
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How exciting is this??
Latest News!
Pieces of Her is Slaughter’s 18th novel. She is published in 120 countries with more than 35 million copies sold across the globe. Her standalone novels The Good Daughter and the Edgar-nominated Cop Town are in development for film and television.
Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories is partnering with Endeavor Content to develop Karin Slaughter’s upcoming thriller novel Pieces of Her for television, with Lesli Linka Glatter (Homeland, Mad Men) attached to direct and Charlotte Stoudt (Homeland, House of Cards) to pen the adaptation. Read More
Praise
"[R]eading anything by Slaughter is like riding a particularly scary amusement park ride. Reading this one is like booking a season ticket on a ride that never lets you off."
—Kirkus Reviews
“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
“Readers will find themselves totally immersed in the suspenseful, alternating story lines and won’t want either of them to end.” —Booklist, Starred Review
“Simply one of the best thriller writers working today. I’d follow her anywhere.”
—Gillian Flynn
“Enter the world of Karin Slaughter. Just be forewarned, there’s no going back.”
—Lisa Gardner
“Breathtaking…. Fiction doesn’t get any better than this.”
—Jeffery Deaver, New York Times-bestselling author
“All of Slaughter’s books... are satisfyingly surprising and plausible, but it’s Slaughter’s prodigious gifts of characterization that make her stand out among thriller writers…Slaughter’s satirical touches are as deft as her grimmer renditions of real life.”
—Washington Post
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 The Good Daughter and Cop Town are in development for film and television as well as Pieces of Her! Read More
