Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter

Andrea Cooper lives a fairly ordinary life. She works as a 911 operator, a far cry from the aspirations she'd had for using her theater degree. But she's ok with that considering her job came as a result of moving home to help care for her mother while the woman was undergoing cancer treatment. Laura, a speech therapist who makes a living helping others, came through well but Andrea has no desire to return to her former life.

But on the morning mother and daughter are celebrating Andrea's birthday over brunch, the two come face to face with a gunman intent on wreaking as much havoc as he can. Laura steps in, pulling a move no one would expect outside of combat training, bringing down the gunman.

Rather than being recognized for her heroics, though, her actions cause some suspicion amongst local law enforcement. And when someone comes for Laura in her own home, she instructs Andrea to run. 

This book begs the question, how well do we really know our own family? As it turns out, Andrea doesn't know her own mother at all!

Pieces of Her is a bit of a dual timeline tale with sections of the story alternating between Andrea's present and the 1980s. And while it is a page turning read that I literally gobbled up, I do have to admit that I was slightly more interested in Andrea's pieces than the background that got them to this point. Only slightly, though.

Of the books I've read by Slaughter so far, this one is a bit different. At least in terms of what the book is actually about. But I kind of think telling exactly what that is is spilling the beans just a bit for potential readers.

Instead, I'll say that the plot is, as per usual of Slaughter, incredibly well crafted and fast paced. The characters are equally well crafted and keep the reader engaged and intrigued as the story progresses. And because this is a stand alone, it is the perfect diving in point for anyone who may not read Slaughter already as well as a perfect new addition to any Slaughter fan's collection!