Reviews: The Last Widow and Pieces of Her

These reviews of the Last Widow and Pieces of Her are also a tale of me, an author whose books I loved and then quit reading, a jump-off to tomorrow’s discussion post, AND an announcement of a FREEBIE FRIDAY this week (yay!)

I read all the Karin Slaughter Grant County books until Slaughter violently and unexpectedly killed off a central character and I decided that her books had just become too grim and violent for me. So I took a loooong (10?) year hiatus from her books. (Yes, readers do this and that will be tomorrow’s discussion topic, so check it out!)

Recently I dipped a toe back into the Slaughter water (ha!) with both a standalone AND a book back from that former series. So… check out my reviews: The Last Widow and Pieces of Her. *cue suspenseful music*

Here’s what I thought:

Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter

Published August 21, 2019 by William Morrow

Thanks to the publisher for sending a review copy. My links are Amazon Affiliate links and all money raised goes to Metavivor. You can find out more here.

Synopsis adapted from Goodreads: 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 and she’s never kept a secret in her life. 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.

Review: Pieces of Her

I really enjoyed this one – I love stories about ordinary people thrust into extraordinary situations. Andrea (Andy) suddenly realizes her mom has been hiding a BIG secret and has to a) figure out what her mom is hiding and b) how to help her.

Pieces of Her has a dual timeline – one following Andy in the present and the other taking us back to her mom’s secret life in the past. Andy was annoying at times, and the dual timeline wasn’t 100% successful for me, but overall I really enjoyed this and I think it will make a great Netflix series.

The Last Widow by Karin Slaughter

Published on August 20, 2019 by William Morrow

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.

Synopsis adapted from Goodreads:

A mysterious kidnapping: A scientist from the Centers for Disease Control is grabbed by unknown assailants in a shopping center parking lot. A devastating explosion: The serenity of a sunny Sunday afternoon is shattered by the boom of a ground-shaking blast. A diabolical enemy: Medical examiner Sara Linton and her partner Will Trent, an investigator with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, rush to the scene—and into the heart of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to destroy thousands of innocent lives. When the assailants abduct Sara, Will goes undercover to save her and prevent a massacre—putting his own life on the line for the woman and the country he loves.

Review: The Last Widow

So … there were two elements of the book for me: the Sara and Will romance part and the story itself. Full disclosure: I was never the biggest Sara fan (maybe part of why I was so annoyed about the character who was killed off). I like Will well enough.

There was an “it’s not you, it’s me” situation between me and this book which happened the have themes and plots that I strongly dislike.

I don’t like kidnapping plots and all and really don’t like woman-in-jeopardy kidnapping plots. (I think I would have liked this more if Will got kidnapped and Sara had to try to save him.)

The rest of The Last Widow had elements I also wasn’t crazy about, namely pedophilia (horrible) and infectious diseases and germ warfare (really creepy). So, I’ll be honest: I did a lot of skimming.

Will I cautiously go back to Karin Slaughter books? Yes, if they are standalones. And yes, I will definitely try the Netflix series. But I think I’m done with Will and Sara (sorry, guys! Wishing you all the best!)

Have you read Karin Slaughter? Talk to me in comments! Also, come check out my “Author Breakup” post tomorrow.

Looking for thrillers? Check out yesterday’s review of The Turn of the Key!