Karin Slaughter | PIECES OF HER

Plot (via Goodreads):

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. . . .

Review:

Last year, I read my first Karin Slaughter novel THE GOOD DAUGHTER. I was completely hooked from the first page and loved this psychological tale that had some amazing characterization. Now Slaughter is back with a new novel that is unlike anything I've ever read. 

What I liked about this plot was how it kind of was sensitive to some of the unfortunate events that have taken place way too many times lately across the world. Slaughter tackled this with grace and kept the novel emotionally charged without skipping a beat with the suspense. Now, this review is kind of a Catch 22 so bear with me. I loved the characters in this novel. Andy and Laura are not only fiercely written, but their relationship is truly the shining star of this novel. I could not get enough of their interaction with each other but especially loved how well Karin Slaughter wrote them to really stand on their own in the moments that they were not together. The plot to this one was also really well paced and heavily detailed without lack of the thrills. There are kind of two separate storylines within this one that blend together to give the reader all of the answers they are looking for. While this one comes off more action packed than The Good Daughter, I still found myself immersed in the separate storylines as well as eagerly awaiting to find out the truth about who each of these women really are. 

While I enjoyed this novel and the direction Slaughter went, the backstory to this one was a little heavy for me and kind of confusing as I'm not into novels that feature this kind of genre. I don't want to spoil too much, but I wish I had a better grasp as to what was going on or at least a heads up about the backstory. Don't get me wrong, this novel was still enjoyable and I think would be easily absorbed by others like me who aren't heavy into this kind of tale. While I was initially confused and kind of lost at times, Slaughter did a great job of "dummying" down the answers for me and wrapping everything up nicely. 

Special thanks to William Morrow for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 3.5/5