First off, if you have not watched the series on Netflix, you should. I caught a pre-release of the first episode and then binged the series when it was released. After I watched it, I knew I had to read the book.
Andy and Laura are living a quiet life in Belle Isle, Georgia. Andy works as a dispatcher and Laura, her mother, is a therapist. It’s Andy’s 31st birthday and they are at a diner when a tragic accident occurs. (Seeing this play out on the screen was OMG!). Afterward, they both ward off an intruder to Laura’s home.
Suddenly, Laura is pushing Andy away and telling her to drive to Carrollton to a specific storage shed but Andy does not know why. Andy soon finds herself on the run but she’s not sure who’s she’s running from. She encounters other people that she thinks may be able to help her.
The book alternates between Andy running and learning some things about her mom’s past and her mom’s story as a wealthy pianist with a domineering father and the man she meets that is involved in a terrorist cult.
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Wow … this story starts out with a huge bang in the first chapter, and rarely lets up throughout the book. Andy’s helpless failure attitude is thrown shrieking to the winds when her mother’s life—her life—is turned upside down by strange men and events beyond her control. Suddenly, Andy wonders if anything her mother ever told her was true. The answers are out there but finding them while she’s on the run will be difficult. Without knowing who she can trust, Andy is on her own with no fallback plan, and no time to form one, for the first time in her life.

Watching Andy’s character development was one of the coolest parts of this story, especially since she’s doing it while being under fire, and has no idea what to do or where to go next. This is one of those books that grabs you by the throat (as in, your heart will be in your throat throughout) and won’t let you go until the last page is turned.

The author has done an excellent job at placing tantalizing clues throughout the narrative. I found myself looking for them, piecing them together, and trying to predict what the outcome would be. Spoiler alert: I failed. This puzzle was too complex and multi-layered to even come close until I was three-quarters of the way through, following and swallowing hook after excellent hook.

(As an aside, this story is now a limited run series on Netflix; they did a good job, but as usual, the screen adaptation took liberties with the narrative that diverged in a big way. While at the end of the book, both Andy and Laura/Jane are empowered, the Netflix series puts their power into the hands of a man, and not a nice guy, at that. My suggestion? Read the book first, then watch the series.)

If you love a great, thrilling read, this book is definitely for you. Highly recommended. ( )

Once again this author has done it! Edge of my seat. ( )

The story is told from two very different points of view, Laura's in 1986 and Andrea's in the present day bringing together a plot so full of twists and turns that it leaves you checking back through the book to make sure you've got the storyline straight!

This isn't your typical Karin Slaughter book, no gruesome murders and psychotic serial killers on the loose this time. This time the storyline is slightly more sinister in some respects, dealing with a wanna be cult leader and the power of people's believes, how far human nature can be manipulated and how far we are willing to go to protect our children, family and loved ones.

1986 - Martin Queller, head of the Queller Healthcare and Queller Correction and his 3 children, Jane (Jinx), Andrew, Jasper and Andrew's best friend, Nick Harp - charming, handsome, charismatic and full of ideals wanting to change the world, and the only way to change it is to destroy it first.

2018 - Laura and her daughter Andrea, a quiet family living by the sea until their world gets spun on its axis by getting caught in the middle of a shooting in a restaurant. As they witness people getting shot Andrea freezes and fear paralyses her, unlike her mum! Laura protects her daughter by putting herself in the line of fire and the situation resolves in a way no-one saw coming!

As Andrea begins to realise there is more to her mother than she knew, the only way to keep both herself and her mother safe is to dig back through a past that she never knew existed.

Switching between past and present the truth slowly starts to unravel and the two timelines start to come together in ways you probably won't expect!

As I've already said, this book is unlike her previous novels, taking a more political, morel path dealing with corruption, terrorism and family bonds which all in all made for some really good reading but for me personally this isn't her best book! Sorry! My heart is still back in Grant County!!

If you are new to Karin Slaughter's work then you will want to go back and read the rest of her novels after this one, and trust me, they are definitely worth reading! Or if you are already a fan of hers you will love this book and it goes to show the level of talent she possesses! ( )

The story is told from two very different points of view, Laura’s in 1986 and Andrea’s in the present day bringing together a plot so full of twists and turns that it leaves you checking back through the book to make sure you’ve got the storyline straight!

This isn’t your typical Karin Slaughter book, no gruesome murders and psychotic serial killers on the loose this time. This time the storyline is slightly more sinister in some respects, dealing with a wanna be cult leader and the power of people’s believes, how far human nature can be manipulated and how far we are willing to go to protect our children, family and loved ones.

1986 – Martin Queller, head of the Queller Healthcare and Queller Correction and his 3 children, Jane (Jinx), Andrew, Jasper and Andrew’s best friend, Nick Harp – charming, handsome, charismatic and full of ideals wanting to change the world, and the only way to change it is to destroy it first.

2018 – Laura and her daughter Andrea, a quiet family living by the sea until their world gets spun on its axis by getting caught in the middle of a shooting in a restaurant. As they witness people getting shot Andrea freezes and fear paralyses her, unlike her mum! Laura protects her daughter by putting herself in the line of fire and the situation resolves in a way no-one saw coming!

As Andrea begins to realise there is more to her mother than she knew, the only way to keep both herself and her mother safe is to dig back through a past that she never knew existed.

Switching between past and present the truth slowly starts to unravel and the two timelines start to come together in ways you probably won’t expect!

As I’ve already said, this book is unlike her previous novels, taking a more political, morel path dealing with corruption, terrorism and family bonds which all in all made for some really good reading but for me personally this isn’t her best book! Sorry! My heart is still back in Grant County!!

If you are new to Karin Slaughter’s work then you will want to go back and read the rest of her novels after this one, and trust me, they are definitely worth reading! Or if you are already a fan of hers you will love this book and it goes to show the level of talent she possesses!

Pieces of Her will be published on 9th August 2018 in the UK

Thanks to William Morrow Books for my complimentary copy in exchange for my review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
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