Pieces of Her

by Karin Slaughter

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Everyone knows their own mother, right? Pieces of Her would beg to differ, reminding us that before moms were moms, they very well might have been nothing short of deadly. It’s up to Andrea to unravel the mystery of her own dangerous mother… or else.

The #1 internationally bestselling author returns with a new novel in the vein of the 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 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. . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062845764
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/21/2018
Edition description:	Large Print
Pages:	736
Sales rank:	613,087
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular and acclaimed storytellers. Published in 36 languages, with more than 35 million copies sold across the globe, her sixteen novels include the Grant County and Will Trent books, as well as the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and the instant New York Times bestselling novel Pretty Girls. A native of Georgia, Karin currently lives in Atlanta. Her Will Trent series, Grant County series, and standalone novel Cop Town are all in development for film and television.

Editorial Reviews

A propulsive, high-stakes thriller rife with intrigue and suspense.

USA Today

Enter the world of Karin Slaughter. Just be forewarned, there’s no going back.

Lisa Ko

It’s a compelling story that swept me along, unable to resist and unable to stop reading.

Suspense Magazine on Pieces of Her

If you’re into mystery thrillers, then you’re into Karin Slaughter.” 

theSkimm

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

Breathtaking…. Fiction doesn’t get any better than this.

Jeffery Deaver

[Slaughter’s] talent for writing convincingly flawed yet sympathetic characters is in high relief here... Readers will find themselves totally immersed in the suspenseful, alternating story lines and won’t want either of them to end.”

Booklist (starred review) on Pieces of Her

Simply one of the best thriller writers working today. I’d follow her anywhere.

Gillian Flynn

The ever-popular crime novelist is back with another pulse-pounding standalone, this one considering the twisted relationship between a mother and a daughter after the latter realizes she may not know the woman who gave birth to her at all.

Entertainment Weekly on Pieces of Her

A stunning family tragedy and a hold-your-breath pedal-to-the-metal thriller magically blended by Karin Slaughter’s trademark passion, intensity, and humanity. Certain to be a book of the year.

Lee Child on Pretty Girls

But the success of writers like Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins and Karin Slaughter isn’t just due to the fact that they’re women... It’s about writers comprehending why women are so compelled by stories about brutal, graphic violence in the first place.

The Atlantic

If you’re into mystery thrillers, then you’re into Karin Slaughter.” 

The Skimm

If you’re into mystery thrillers, then you’re into Karin Slaughter.” 

Skimm

It’s a compelling story that swept me along, unable to resist and unable to stop reading.

Suspense Magazine

[Slaughter’s] talent for writing convincingly flawed yet sympathetic characters is in high relief here...Readers will find themselves totally immersed in the suspenseful, alternating story lines and won’t want either of them to end.”

Booklist on Pieces of Her

Certain to be a book of the year.

Lee Child

[Slaughter’s] talent for writing convincingly flawed yet sympathetic characters is in high relief here...Readers will find themselves totally immersed in the suspenseful, alternating story lines and won’t want either of them to end.”

Booklist

Karin Slaughter has – by far – the best name of all of us mystery novelists. More to the point, The Good Daughter is Karin Slaughter’s most ambitious, most emotional, and best novel. So far, anyway.”  

James Patterson on The Good Daughter

05/28/2018
At the start of this gripping standalone from bestseller Slaughter (The Good Daughter), down-in-the-dumps Andrea “Andy” Oliver and her mother, Laura, a gifted speech therapist, meet for lunch at the Rise-n-Dine in her hometown of Belle Isle, Ga., to celebrate Andy’s 31st birthday. When a gunman opens fire in the diner and kills two women, Laura confronts the man and shows remarkable courage in putting an end to his spree. In the ensuing media frenzy, Andy realizes how little she knows about her mother, who turns out to have been involved in some shady activities in the late 1980s, as revealed in flashbacks. As Andy tries to track down the pieces of her mother’s past, her curiosity puts others in danger. Readers will be fascinated by Laura’s backstory if sometimes frustrated by timid Andy’s woes. The plot takes a while to build momentum, but once it does, it speeds to the satisfying payoff. Slaughter reinforces her place at the top of the thriller pack. Author tour. Agent: Victoria Sanders, Victoria Sanders & Assoc. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

A propulsive, high-stakes thriller rife with intrigue and suspense.” — USA Today

“The ever-popular crime novelist is back with another pulse-pounding standalone, this one considering the twisted relationship between a mother and a daughter after the latter realizes she may not know the woman who gave birth to her at all.” — Entertainment Weekly on Pieces of Her

“[Slaughter’s] talent for writing convincingly flawed yet sympathetic characters is in high relief here... Readers will find themselves totally immersed in the suspenseful, alternating story lines and won’t want either of them to end.”
— Booklist (starred review) on Pieces of Her

“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

“If you’re into mystery thrillers, then you’re into Karin Slaughter.”  — theSkimm

“Enter the world of Karin Slaughter. Just be forewarned, there’s no going back.” — Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers

“Breathtaking…. Fiction doesn’t get any better than this.” — Jeffery Deaver

“Simply one of the best thriller writers working today. I’d follow her anywhere.” — Gillian Flynn

“It’s a compelling story that swept me along, unable to resist and unable to stop reading.” — Suspense Magazine on Pieces of Her

“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 on Pieces of Her

“Karin Slaughter has – by far – the best name of all of us mystery novelists. More to the point, The Good Daughter is Karin Slaughter’s most ambitious, most emotional, and best novel. So far, anyway.”   — James Patterson on The Good Daughter

“This is a great writer at the peak of her powers. Karin Slaughter is at her nail biting, heart stopping, emotionally draining best.” — Peter James on The Good Daughter

“A stunning family tragedy and a hold-your-breath pedal-to-the-metal thriller magically blended by Karin Slaughter’s trademark passion, intensity, and humanity. Certain to be a book of the year.” — Lee Child on Pretty Girls

“Searing, searching, soulful: a major achievement from a writer of extraordinary talents. Every Karin Slaughter novel is a cause for celebration—but simply put, Pretty Girls is the finest novel of her career.” — Kathy Reichs, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Speaking in Bones, on Pretty Girls

“A hell-raising thriller . . . a genuinely exciting narrative driven by strong-willed female characters who can't wait around until the boys shake the lead out of their shoes.” — New York Times Book Review on Pretty Girls

“But the success of writers like Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins and Karin Slaughter isn’t just due to the fact that they’re women... It’s about writers comprehending why women are so compelled by stories about brutal, graphic violence in the first place.” — The Atlantic

“It’s a top-notch story that will keep the reader engrossed from start to finish. Karin Slaughter is a fabulous writer and one thing I love with her books is she has a way of creating characters that you care about.” — Freshfiction.com

From the Publisher

A propulsive, high-stakes thriller rife with intrigue and suspense.

USA Today

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

Enter the world of Karin Slaughter. Just be forewarned, there’s no going back.

Lisa Gardner

A propulsive, high-stakes thriller rife with intrigue and suspense.

USA Today on Pieces of Her

It’s a top-notch story that will keep the reader engrossed from start to finish. Karin Slaughter is a fabulous writer and one thing I love with her books is she has a way of creating characters that you care about.

Freshfiction.com

This is a great writer at the peak of her powers. Karin Slaughter is at her nail biting, heart stopping, emotionally draining best.

Peter James on The Good Daughter

Searing, searching, soulful: a major achievement from a writer of extraordinary talents. Every Karin Slaughter novel is a cause for celebration—but simply put, Pretty Girls is the finest novel of her career.

Kathy Reichs

A hell-raising thriller . . . a genuinely exciting narrative driven by strong-willed female characters who can't wait around until the boys shake the lead out of their shoes.

New York Times Book Review on Pretty Girls

Praise for Pieces of Her: “[Slaughter’s] talent for writing convincingly flawed yet sympathetic characters is in high relief here...Readers will find themselves totally immersed in the suspenseful, alternating story lines and won’t want either of them to end.”

Booklist (starred review)

Once listeners start Karin Slaughter’s new mystery, stopping won’t be an option. From the first words, Kathleen Early’s narration snares us in a labyrinthine web of lies, deceits, betrayals, and truths that span decades. Andrea Cooper thinks she knows her mother, Laura, better than anyone, but in one shocking, violent moment, Andy wonders who her mother really is. As more violence erupts, Early faultlessly navigates Andy’s dangerous quest to uncover Laura’s truths. As pieces of Laura’s secret life begin falling into place, Early’s deftness at defining characters and her remarkable skill at revealing well-hidden emotions make Andy’s discoveries both stunning and satisfying. Slaughter’s clever plotting and Early’s high-voltage performance will keep listeners glued to their listening devices. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2018 - AudioFile

2018-05-15
A plain-Jane daughter's 31st birthday celebration explodes into a nightmare within a nightmare in Slaughter's latest stand-alone.Andrea Oliver's always felt inferior to her parents. Her father, Gordon Oliver, is a trusts and estates attorney; her mother, Dr. Laura Oliver, is a speech therapist. Andy herself has never aspired to any career goal higher than serving as an assistant to someone important. Even when she left Belle Isle, Georgia, for the Big Apple, she got nowhere, and she was only too eager to return home when her mother announced three years ago that she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer. As the two women mark Andy's birthday by sharing lunch in a mall cafe, a crazed shooter opens fire on a mother-and-daughter pair who've stopped to greet Laura, and Andy's life changes in an instant. Or rather two instants, the first when the shots ring out and the second when Laura, after inviting the killer to shoot her next, coolly and dispassionately dispatches him. It takes the dazed Andy hours to realize that her mother's not at all who she seems to be, and by the time she's ready to accept the fact that Laura Oliver is a woman with a past, that past is already racing to catch up with both mother and daughter. Cutting back and forth between Andy's harrowing flight to nowhere after Laura pushes her out of her home and a backstory 30 years earlier involving the Army of the Changing World, a cell of amateur terrorists determined to strike a mortal blow against greedy capitalists and, it eventually turns out, each other as well, Slaughter (The Good Daughter, 2017, etc.) never abates her trademark intensity, and fans will feel that the story is pumping adrenalin directly into their bloodstreams. Long before the end, though, the impostures, secret identities, hidden motives, and double-crosses will have piled up past the point of no return, leaving the tale to run on adrenalin alone.Reading 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