Pieces of Her: “Mother. Hero. Liar. Killer?”

TW: Violence, Murder 

Pieces of Her is a novel written by Karin Slaughter. It is a thriller novel published in 2018. It has 3.83/4 stars with 67,358 ratings on Goodreads.

Karin Slaughter starts the book off with a note from herself addressing the reader, “Have you ever looked at the person you know best in the world, and wondered what really lies below the surface? Whether what you see is genuinely what you get? I’ve always been fascinated by the secrets and lies that underpin our lives, and so that’s the question Pieces Of Her asks: Can you ever know anybody completely?” 

Karin Slaughter’s book, Pieces of Her dives into the life of Andrea “Andy” Oliver, centering around her relationship with her mother, Laura Oliver, a beloved speech pathologist who lives in Belle Isle, Georgia. Andrea works as a 9-1-1 phone operator and is struggling with finding her way through life, unlike her mother who is confident, settled, and sure of herself. Andrea’s world gets turned upside down after a mall trip with her mother ends with a horrifying act of violence, resulting in Andrea seeing a new side of her mother after witnessing Laura calm face down and kill a murderer. Andrea soon finds out that her mother’s life had all been a facade, resulting in Andy embarking on a journey to uncover her mother’s past. 

The book starts with an extremely unexpected and tone-setting scene, in a shopping mall a young man (armed with a knife and revolver) opens fire, killing and injuring innocent shoppers. The attacker’s attention was drawn to Andy, who was dressed in her police uniform, as he had been hoping she would be armed and would kill him, so he could die by suicide by cop. Unfortunately, Andy was only a 9-1-1 operator, therefore she was not armed. In an attempt to save Laura’s life she attempts to reason with the attacker, resulting in the attacker stabbing her through her hand. Unexpectedly Laura attacks the attacker, using the knife (still embedded in her palm) to slice his neck. 

 Following the attack, Laura is under suspicion as her extremely unusual response to the attacker is questioned by the police. Laura informs Andy (who is shocked by her mother’s actions) not to speak to the police, and that Andy was to move out of her home with her mother immediately. 

Andy is confused and still in shock from the attack earlier, however, none of this would prepare her for later that night when Andy walks into her home to find Laura being tortured in her living room. Andy accidentally kills the attacker and calls the police, resulting in Laura giving her the man’s wallet, his car keys, a handgun, and another key that belonged to Laura and unlocking a storage unit in a far-off town. Laura instructs Andy to leave her phone behind, not to contact anyone and take what was in the storage unit, and to head to Idaho. Andy, unbelievably shaken up, follows her mother’s orders and embarks on a journey for the truth. 

Throughout the rest of the novel, Slaughter chose to alternate between two plot lines, Andy’s search into the past, and the drama surrounding a small cult, The Army of the Changing World, which took place years before. Through Andy’s search into the past, her original impression of her mother is shattered, resulting in Andy questioning not only who her mother really is, but who she is as well. 

Pieces of Her is a gripping, thrilling novel with countless twists and turns, leaving readers on the edge of their seats. In an interview by the New York Times Karin Slaughter explains that when it comes to her novels, “character has to matter as much as the plot.” In Pieces of Her, the characters are extremely detailed and complicated, allowing the reader to dive deep into their lives thrillingly. If you enjoy thriller novels, I highly suggest you dive not only into Pieces of Her but also into Karin Slaughter’s other novels, including one I thoroughly enjoyed, Pretty Girls. 
Pieces of Her was picked up by Netflix and transformed into a TV series, starring Toni Collette as Laura Oliver and Bella Heathcote as Andy Oliver. If you would like to read more about the Netflix adaptation, Forbes goes into detail about the storyline adaptation into the series.