Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter, 3 Stars

I’ve had a not-so-amazing day today. Don’t you hate when that happens? I’ve been fighting a cold all week and it just escalated last night. So this morning I was already not feeling amazing and didn’t get the best sleep as I could barely breathe out of my nose and my husband was similarly afflicted…and I bet we were both snoring!

Then I went and let someone else’s judgy behavior and ridiculous opinions get to me. Ugh. Every time. Why can’t I just ignore the critics?
Anyone else have that problem? I know it’s dumb and I just can’t stop.

My son had a worse start to his day on Christmas morning. As he was going to check out the presents under the tree…he stepped right in…cat poop. I told him that when you step in poop on Christmas morning, it’s good luck. Your day can only get better.

The cat may have worse luck. My husband alluded to the day being his “last Christmas!” Eeek. But cats. Gross!

Anyhow, there is no day that curling up in some PJs and reading a book can’t help just a little, right? Today I’m reviewing Pieces of Her by Karen Slaughter.

From the Publisher:

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:

I love Karen Slaughter. And I think I’ve mentioned on this blog that I’m not generally a series person. But sometimes I make an exception. And I made one for Will Trent. But I have also really enjoyed her stand-alone titles as well. So I was clamoring to get my hands on this one.

Pieces of Her started out well enough for me. Andy, a broke and flailing 30-something living in NYC returns home to help her mom after a devastating cancer diagnosis. And they beat it! And then the problem becomes that Andy is just completely unable to return to her previous life, because she didn’t really have one. But also doesn’t know where to go from here.

Fast forward to a crazy violent diner scene and all of a sudden, sweet Laura, Andy’s mom, who beat cancer with her kindness, acts completely out of character. And Andy doesn’t even have time to process this until her whole world gets flipped upside down.

One things is for sure, Laura was a badass in her youth. But really bad? or good guy bad? No one really knows.

I loved the premise of this book. But it didn’t grab me the way Slaughter’s books normally do. I didn’t identify with Andy and I think that made me upset with some of the choices she made in the book. I also loved Laura’s backstory but at times found it the tiniest bit confusing.

I’d say if you are a Slaughter fan, check it out for sure. You might feel differently. But, if you haven’t read Karen Slaughter before, she definitely has stronger books. Check out Pretty Girls, I absolutely loved that one!

This one is available now. Get your copy:

Indiebound