Pieces of Her
Thriller
William Morrow Paperbacks
May 21, 2019
Coming to Netflix!
Mother. Hero. Liar. Killer. How can you tell when all you have is... Pieces of Her.
What if the person you thought you knew best turns out to be someone you never knew at all . . . ?
Andrea Cooper knows everything about her mother Laura. She’s knows she’s spent her whole life in the small beachside town of Gullaway Island; 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 Saturday afternoon 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 will ever find her. But now she’s been exposed, and nothing will ever be the same again.
Twenty-four hours later Laura is in the hospital, shot by an intruder who’s spent thirty years trying to track her down and discover what she knows. Andrea is on a desperate journey following the breadcrumbs 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. . . .
Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter was so intense and packed with shocking surprises that once I started reading, I didn’t stop until I devoured the whole book. At each chapter I hoped to feel a slight resolve so that I could pause reading, but that was impossible.
Could a suburban mother actually be a trained killer?
Andrea lives in a quaint coastal town with her mother Laura. In her 30’s, Andrea still hasn’t found her career and has kind of drifted through her adult life without purpose. Her mother Laura has always been kind and patient with her. Gently nudging her to carve her path without ever giving her an ultimatum. Until the moment Laura is injured in a random act of violence in front of Andrea. Suddenly Andrea needs to move out immediately. Laura has flipped a switch and is now a cold, distant woman that Andrea doesn’t recognize.
The aftermath of trauma has turned Andrea’s mother into a complete stranger.
Andrea remains in shock not just from her own near brush with death, but from the callous reaction she receives from her mom. The pain of rejection hinders Andrea throughout the story. 
It keeps her from making smart and rational decisions for her own safety. While in hiding without any explanation of whom she’s hiding from, Andrea tries to uncover her mother’s secrets. The sudden push by Laura leads Andrea to mistrust everything she ever knew about Laura. Ultimately this leads her further into danger and encounters with dangerous strangers.
Coming soon to Netflix!
It’s clear to me why this books is being adapted for a Netflix series. There are so many moments that have you nervously hanging on to the edge of your seat. Readers can’t help but place themselves on the run with Andrea. They’ll wonder if they’d be more or less paranoid than her. When she makes mistakes, readers will wonder if they would have made the same choices, or played it safe.
I have a very close relationship with my own mother. That said, I’m not sure I’d be able to blindly trust her if this happened to us. I can’t say that I would just take off into hiding without questions. If I can’t ask my mom for answers, I bet I would go into detective mode as well.
I am very excited to see this series come to Netflix. Karin Slaughter always delivers suspense and keeps her reader’s nerves on edge. I expect Pieces of Her will debut on-top, and will be the next trending binge-watch.
Kristin lives in the PNW with her husband, and three kids. She loves to read YA fiction, fantasy, and romance. She enjoys a few side-hustles, including creating bookreels/booktoks for authors. The only shows she watches are re-runs, and if she’s not reading a book, she’s listening to one.
