Pieces of Her: A chat with Karin Slaughter.

I’m so happy to be kicking off the blog tour for the incredibly addictive “Pieces of Her” the new standalone from Karin Slaughter.

I was also lucky enough to have a chat with Karin  on the phone about the book, which is more of a fast paced thriller than her previous novel, something I asked her about.

She tells me yes, it is completely different both psychologically and emotionally. In a pretty perfect analogy she said that if The Good Daughter is the Blues, then Pieces of Her is Jazz. As a reader I can say that is spot on..

In the novel we have both past and present telling the tale – the Andy of present day is not set up to deal with the turmoil thrown at her so suddenly due to a relationship with Laura, her mother, who has protected her throughout her life. This led to a chat about so called “Helicopter parents”. Karin tells me that any country she has visited have a version of this- in Denmark apparently they are known as “Curling Parents”. Of course Laura has good reason for her over protective nature and as Karin pointed out Andy may surprise us all with what she can and can’t cope with- you’ll have to read to find out of course and it’s quite the journey..

We then talked about charismatic yet controlling characters, Karin referring to the “Cult of Personality” another strong theme in “Pieces of Her”. Karin spoke about reading true crime novel “Helter Skelter ” and how people look for that something more especially during times of political turmoil. They become more inclined to give over their autonomy for the hope of a better way. Certainly in the novel, Laura’s journey feeds into this theme.

We finished off with a brief chat about some exciting news you can read about here. Some of that I’ll be able to talk about later – watch this space!

I’ve probably missed out a fair bit, remember I was talking to one of my writing heroes and that comes with not some little trepidation- Karin was absolutely lovely to talk to, I really hope to chat to her again and with any luck meet her in person- for now though I leave you with more details about “Pieces of Her ” plus a little review from me..

Make sure you pick a copy up, it is genuinely fantastic, you won’t be disappointed. Follow the tour all this week for much much more..

 

About the Book: 

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 knows she’s spent her whole life in the small town of Gullaway Island; she knows she’s never had any more ambition than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life.

But one day, a trip to the mall explodes into violence and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura.

Twenty-four hours later, Laura is in hospital, shot by an intruder who’s spent thirty years trying to track her down. Now, Andrea must go on a desperate journey to follow the breadcrumbs of her mother’s past. If she can’t uncover the secrets hidden there, there may be no way back for either of them.

Another standalone from Karin Slaughter and possibly one of my favourite books of hers so far.

A cross between a fast paced page turner and insightful psychological thriller, this was one I read fast, so caught up was I in Andy’s story as she tries to put together the pieces of her Mother and discover the truth about her background.

We have past and present colliding as Laura saves the day but in doing so exposes herself to some dangerous people. Daughter Andy gets caught up in the aftermath, sending her on a scarily dangerous road trip to answers.

As we learn what secrets lie in Laura’s past it is utterly compelling, often edge of seat thrilling and beautifully plotted to keep things unexpected and addictive.

As usual Karin Slaughter brings huge depth to her characters and sets the scene with aplomb. Pieces of Her is an incredibly powerful novel exploring themes of family and human nature, as such it is hugely fascinating and just proves that this author is right at the top of her game.

You can purchase Pieces of Her (Harper Collins) Here.

Follow the Tour.

 

 

Happy Reading!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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