Karin Slaughter delivers another pacy and entertaining thriller - a daughter discovers secrets about her mother's past, secrets that could cost her life. Gripping plot, great characterisation and dialogue. Recommended.

I have been a huge fan of Karin Slaughter’s writing for years now. Her standalone novels are really something special and I adored her last one. It’s a nice break from the typical police/detective dramas around Atlanta. I do have to say that I wasn’t impressed with this one, unfortunately. It’s very lengthy, which I do expect from Slaughter. However, I found it incredibly difficult to get into this one. It took several chapters for the plot to pick up and the pacing seemed a bit off at times. I also wasn’t a fan of the protagonist (the daughter) who made several stupid decisions and was, at times, slower to catch on than myself as a reader. Which is a little frustrating. I did not think that this book was as gripping as the other one, but it does have the element of mystery surrounding the mother, and I liked that.

I do hope that Slaughter continues writing standalone novels and I will definitely continue reading everything she writes.

Andrea Oliver's life turns upside down when she watches her mother kill a young man right in front of her eyes.
Laura Oliver is not whom she seems and has spent her whole life trying to protect her daughter. Laura tells Andrea that she has to leave and never return to her family home.
Andrea is confused and scared she does as her mother tells her but then she witnessed her mother being suffocated by a man and all hell breaks loose.
Andrea leaves and takes the path that her mother told her too but in that process she finds out things that she really doesn't want to know.

Being a huge Karin Slaughter fan, I normally can’t put her books down but after reading a few chapters of this, I was so disappointed. I actually had to force myself to pick it up and continue. I found it quite difficult to keep track of the two time frames, I didn’t warm to the characters and found it hard to keep interested. Having read all of Karin’s books, normally

Andrea Oliver and her mother Laura are enjoying breakfast together at the mall, when a shocking act of violence turns their world upside down. 
Several hours later, with Laura's face all over the news, she is released from hospital.  Unknown to Andy, this is only the start of their troubles.  The events that follow send Andy on a race to uncover the secrets of her mother's past, before it's too late.

I have read a lot of Karin Slaughter books over the years, so it's safe to say I'm a fan of her writing.  Most of her books are part of her two series, following law enforcement or medical examiners.  This one is stand alone, and is very different.

I did find the first few chapters of this a bit slow.  It's obvious that there is more to what is going on than what we are being given, but the main character seems to refuse to acknowledge this initially.  I understand why, given that it is a totally different side of her mum that she never knew existed, but it's frustrating as a reader. Once the story takes off though it moves at a good pace, and once I was in I was well and truly hooked.

I found Andy very frustrating as a character.  Her inability to be able to form sentences or say what she needed to say made her seriously annoying.  It's made clear to you that she isn't stupid, but it's hard to reconcile that with her actions at times.   It seems she has spent her life just procrastinating, or dossing around as my dad would say, and apparently has no drive to do anything different.  Don't get me wrong, she is very well written and believable as a character, just someone who would annoy me too much for me to be friends with her in real life!

I really liked Jane, I felt for her, and could understand why she was in such turmoil over Nick.  Of all the characters though, I think Nick was the one who was most well written.  It made me uncomfortable just reading about him on the pages, I couldn't imagine what it would be like to meet someone like him.  I think that is mostly because I could see how easy it would be for someone so charismatic to control people the way he did.

The way the story is written, moving between two timelines, worked really well for me.  I enjoyed reading about Jane's life as it happened, and putting the pieces together to work out how that led to Andy and Laura being where they are.  I think I actually enjoyed reading about the past more than the present in this book, although all of it was pretty gripping.

Overall I really enjoyed this.  Despite a slow start I found that I got really into the story and every time I had to put the book down (why do I have to go to work?!) I couldn't wait to pick it back up again.  For me this really cements Karin Slaughter as a master of her craft, showing that she can write such a range of characters and storylines.  Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for my copy in exchange for an honest review

Andrea and her mother are involved in one of those awful scenarios whereby a shooting occurs in the coffee shop they are in. This unleashes a chain of events. Andrea learns a lot about herself as well as her mother. Lots of unexpected twists and turns.
I have read and loved many Karin Slaughter books. This one strangely took a while to get going and for it to flow. It flits between present day and when Laura, the mother is a late teenager.

A different sort of book from Karen Slaughter , but as good as ever . Andy is with her , supposedly adoptive mother in a Coffee Shop when a man bursts in shooting . Laura restrains him but he dies , she is suspected of murder but after review is cleared . This is televised and shown over and over again , this sets off a sequence of events when she is recognised after 30 years . Looking back to Oslo at this time and a businessman is murdered by somebody with a grievance against him , it turns out this has been orchestrated by a cult . Who is involved and what is Laura's relationship to this murder ?
A fast moving book which moves between 2 time periods as things unfold with dramatic twists in both interlinked stories .

I am a massive fan of Karin Slaighter so I was thrilled to receive this book from NetGalley and the publishers!

I really enjoy books with different time perspectives and this was was fantastic. Karin Slaghter always creates interesting and well written characters and this book was no exception! I was intrigued all the way through and raced to finish just to find out exactly what had happened.

I was rooting for both Andy and Laura as the story raced towards it's conclusion but you won't find any spoilers here- you'll have to read it yourself!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was unsure at first because I felt quite confused with the action moving between modern day Andrea and 1986 Jane. Then, all the "pieces" started to slot together and I was completely enthralled. I was even waking in the middle of the night and picking up my Kindle to see what happened next.. I found the plot, with all its twists and turns, both fascinating and sad at times. The ending was a total surprise.
Thank you Karin Slaughter for such a well written and enjoyable book and thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read it.

What a roller coaster ride of a book. A top notch thriller, with twists and turns from beginning to end. Really enjoyed it, even though it’s not my normal read. I’m more of a scary serial killer type person, rather than espionage and family plotting. Would definitely recommend. Thank you for letting me read and review.

Absolutely loved!! Thought it was so well written.. as always! Review coming soon on the blog. Will update again with full details.

Absolutely amazing thriller. Mysterious and gripping. This is the first thriller I have read from this author and will definitely not be the last. Highly recommended xx

I am a huge Karin Slaughter fan and this stand alone book did not disappoint.
Took a few chapters to really get into but then I was hooked. Fast paced from there on in.
Brilliantly weaved past and present stories and twists that kept me guessing to the end.

I hated this book. The story is so lengthy and long-winded and I found the characters completely unbelievable. I persevered to the end, but was bored after the first fifty pages.

I was disappointed with this book it wasn’t her usual standard I found it hard to concentrate with it having two times I couldn’t warm to the characters and found them unbelievable it was very tedious and found it really hard to understand story.

I really enjoyed this book - I have read some Karin Slaughter and always enjoyed them so was interested to read one of the stand alone books!

Really interesting story set in the past and present - and a good reminder that sometimes appearances can be deceptive.

A good, solid, twisty thriller - perfect for you if that's your bag!

Ah I'd forgotten what a good writer Karin Slaughter is! I love her books. but I hadn't read one for a while. She is so good at character, so the result is always a pacey thriller with real heart. This one was well thought out and beautifully described. Thank you for the copy.

I'm a big fan this author's work, especially the Will Trent series, so I knew this would be good.
The story starts with a bang with chaos and conflict and continues pretty much like that right to the end. I had to keep reading to find out just what was the truth and what would happen next.
The plot and the writing are very clever, complex and full of murder, manipulation, and suspense.
The characters are well developed and three dimensional, the manipulative Nick particularly so.
I didn't take to Jane or her daughter Andy. Too much crying and Andy finding nothing to say and I could just never forgive Jane for letting someone do something so horrific to her and yet stay with that person. But not liking every character is part of the experience, I still loved the book.
It does switch back and forth between two different times and points of view, but the switch is clearly made and easy to follow.
A great read, very exciting page turner.

Absolutely loved this book. Whenever you see a book by Karin Slaughter you know it’s going to be good. This is one of her best. From the first few pages I was hooked. Couldn’t put the book down.
We join Andy on a journey of discovery. What started off as a breakfast in a cafe. End up with people dead and Andy in a desperate race to find out just who her mum really is. Read this. You won’t be disappointed

A mother/daughter drama, Andy only knows her mother as just that - a mother. But Laura has a past, one that’s far removed from the happy woman who lives in the small beach side town, and Andy will soon find herself wondering just who her mother really is.

This is told in two parts, and in two different eras, as we follow Andy in her journey to understand why her mother acted the way she did during that trip to the mall, as well as flashbacks to Laura’s previous life. Slowly, the two interweave to tell a tale of murder, loss and lies. There’s a definite feeling of dread and inevitability that permeates the story as Andy begins to uncover the truth, and the story itself is well written as things slowly to get out of control for Andy. She’s naive though, especially for a woman in her 30s, who seems to have little experience of life and the wider world. She stumbles a lot from one situation to the next, and although I feel this is purposeful to show the differences between mother and daughter, it did grate on me slightly. A woman of that age should have some semblance of common sense at least, and unfortunately her character doesn’t really develop beyond this.

The plot is also rather slow, unveiling its secrets at a snail’s pace with a large host of secondary characters who felt a little redundant and underdeveloped. I found a lot of the plot was sacrificed to compensate for the two main women and their relationship, however Laura far outstripped Andy for originality and interest. This made the plot very one sided, as I was engaged with the backstory more than Andy’s side. At times I found it trying too hard to get me invested, especially when the plot starts to veer into the over the top territory, and I just wasn’t feeling it.

A different take on mother/daughter relationships in a thriller style setting, this just failed to really get me interested in the story and the sometimes absurd plot.