It’s hard to imagine my parents having a life before I was born. It’s fascinating to go back through family albums and see pictures of my mother and father as children, teenagers and then as adults. I often wonder how they were before they had my brother and me. How were they as children? How was high school for them? What secrets are they keeping? This book really got me thinking about what I don’t know about their early lives.

When Andrea Oliver returns home from New York city to support her mother, Laura, through her battle with breast cancer she never suspects dark secrets from her mother’s past. After all, her mother lives in a quiet community working as a speech therapist and is well respected. One morning, during breakfast at a diner, Laura and Andy come face to face with a mass shooter. While Andy freezes in fear, her mother stands between her and the shooter and after talking him down, takes his weapon and ends his life. At the hospital after the attack Andy finds herself with a stranger instead of the mother that raised her.

This begins the story of Laura’s previous life which forces her into the witness protection program. After the news hits about the diner attack, Laura’s face is all over the media. For fear that the dangerous people from her past will find her and Andy, Laura sends her daughter away to keep her safe. Along the way Andy starts to put the pieces of the puzzle together and starts to wonder who her mother actually is.

I’ve read several books by Karin Slaughter and I really enjoy her writing. This book had me in it’s grasp from the very beginning. It’s fast paced, dramatic and heart-wrenching. The circumstances that send Laura into hiding are pretty incredible and it’s amazing how easily someone can get buried so deep that they feel they can’t make it out. I would definitely recommend this book!

If you are interested in purchasing Pieces of Her: