I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

"Take Me Apart" just wasn't what I expected for a thriller. It didn't really grip my attention or keep my interest. I found it a bit predictable.

"Take Me Apart" by Sarah Sligar was fantastic. Miranda, a photographer who committed suicide in 1993, her son Theo, and Kate, an archivist hired by Theo 25 years later to organize his mother's papers, are the three main characters. Each of the novel's three main characters has issues that are addressed appropriately as the story progresses. Minor characters are introduced and then returned to the story in such a way that their roles are remembered (no searches through previous chapters to identify them). Miranda is introduced to the reader through documents discovered by Kate, the archivist. The documents offer a more intimate look into Miranda's life than flashback scenes with dialogue. There are some surprises, including the answer to whether Miranda's death was truly a suicide or murder. The ending was realistic and satisfying to me.

I started this book and found that it was not for me. I didn't want to rate a book that I wasn't able to finish.

I started this book a while ago, put it down and eventually came back to it. It took a bit of time to get into the story, and my interest in the main character (Kate)'s story never really matched my interest in that of the artist (Miranda)'s story. I think I would have enjoyed it more had the whole thing been told purely about Miranda Brand and not included Kate and her separate story. Ultimately, the mystery wound up being a bit predictable.

This wasn't what I consider a thriller to be. Despite that, it was intriguing enough to keep reading.

In Take Me Apart, Kate is trying to put her life back together and accepts a job archiving renowned photographer Miranda Brand's papers. But she becomes obsessed with both Miranda herself and the suspicious way she died, while getting immersed in the lives of Brand's son Theo and his children. The book alternates Kate's experiences and Miranda's papers. The writing in this book was lovely, and it's really propulsive - Kate can be rash and I kept saying "no Kate, stop." I also really appreciated Miranda's voice as we slowly start to figure out what happened to her. This book reminded me of another book about a famous photographer, Myla Goldberg's Feast Your Eyes, and if you liked that one I'd definitely pick this one up as well. Both grapple with art, motherhood, and who gets to decide an artist's legacy, especially when that artist is a woman.

If you are into photography, this book is a dream. If not, this is still sophisticated, psychological suspense that is brimming with original prose, stimulating, and compelling.
This is a story of two women, Miranda Brand, a famous photographer, think Diane Arbus, or Cindy Sherman. And Kate Aitken, the one hired to archive her personal effects.
I loved the flashback parts; they follow the famous photographer Miranda and are written in diary form; they are frenzied, saturated in alienation, and Miranda's utter dedication to her art. Miranda left New York to move to with her painter husband. Whereas her passion, depression, and artistic consumption were fitting in New York, it becomes a problem in Callinas, California. Miranda doesn't fit in, and once her son Theo is born, and she suffers a debilitating Postnatal depression and ends up in a mental institution, and her life grows out of control. The irony is that her mental illness makes her even more famous; even her husband profits from it. The one that seems to suffer the most is her son. And then Miranda commits suicide. At least that is the story.
Decades later, Kate Aitken, an ex-journalist, is hired to archive Miranda's personal effects. Having fled New York herself, after an embarrassing workplace incident, she feels as ill at ease, mimicking Miranda's isolation. And it doesn't help that Miranda's son, Theo, is always lurking in this big house and is somewhat menacing and disagreeable.
And there are rumors that her then-teenage son Theo might have killed Miranda.
As Kate delves deeper into Miranda's life, she risks getting dragged down with it. Putting her amateur detective skills to use, she confronts all the men in Miranda's life, the ones that turned her life into a living hell.
One of them might have even killed her. And might do it again to hide that fact.
What blew me away in this too tightly woven, intricate, gorgeous book was the style in Miranda's diary. It is hard to breathe life into such a creative talent, but Sara Sligar let us believe it by executing the tone flawlessly; the prose is a rupture of artistic genius. Miranda lived on another plane of existence, with a mind that longed to be free but had to deal with the constraints of a competitive marriage, the lack of freedom and understanding for a woman of her caliber, motherhood, and society as a whole. The characterization is done so convincingly, letting Miranda transcend her restricting life, making her voice still feel alive decades later. Creating a true artist. And the main story, led by a sympathetic, nosy, precise woman, is heartfelt and suspenseful.
This is a superb, tense, ingenious masterpiece and one of my favorite books this year.

It's hard to write a convincing protagonist with bipolar disorder. I think the author succeeds in drawing the contradictions of the character's behavior, but ultimately, it keeps the reader rather distant. I even started wondering if she was going to be the protagonist, or if the woman whose papers she's been hired to catalog would really be the center of it all. Like all debut novels, there might be a little too much going on, but it was an interesting read.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC for the purpose of an unbiased review.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

this was such a suspenseful read, the characters were great and I really loved the plot. I had a great time reading this book and look forward to the next book by Ms. Sligar.

For a debut, I do think this was a solid, and fun book. I just think that the execution of plot was a bit predictable. The writing was great, and I enjoyed the characters and their developments. Just needed more grit and excitement from the actual plot

2.5 STARS
I was expecting a thriller, but was given more of a psychological drama with a hint of mystery. I appreciated the layers to Miranda’s story, but Kate’s story feel flat for me. I can enjoy a messy character (Luster, anyone?), but I kept shaking my head at all of the decisions Kate made. The dual timeline Take Me Apart tells (mysterious death of one, increased obsessiveness to solve the mystery in the other) feels overdone and some scenes feel like Sigler is trying to force a point down our throats (the cake scene ugh). Miranda’s story would have done better as a standalone.

Well written debut novel. Intriguing - Character-driven, women's issues, mental issues. It's psychological and a mystery but not what I would call a thriller. A look into the inner worlds of two different women who lived during two different generations. The art aspect aded interest for me and the feminism insights are refreshing. Slow going in places but an intriguing study of women's issues and mental illness. I will definitely look for Sligar's next novel.

This is a wonderfully written book that speaks to mental health --in women of all ages, backgrounds, and situations. I love how the author was able to get that point across while also telling a rather interesting mystery. There was a few times I thought I knew what had happened and then quickly realized I was wrong; a mystery for sure! I loved how the diary entries and other relevant documents would randomly pop up in the story as well. The diary entries were my favorite, for sure! I would definitely recommend this book of buy it for a friend.

I recieved a copy of this book thanks to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the opportunity!

How wrong I was! Having reread this after consuming some not so enjoyable thrillers, Sara Slingar has officially become one of my favorite writers. I feel so foolish to have not seen the beauty in this narrative and to be clouded by distasteful reviews on Goodreads. The second time around I was Engulfed by the story and yes, I did still feel the romance was a cheap addition to the store, the diary entries and explanation of feelings were what kept me from putting the book down. I regret my previous review and hope to pick up any other publications by this author.

When an emotionally fragile journalist turned archivist begins an assignment to chronicle the papers of a famous photographer, she finds more than she bargained for. In her search for inner peace, she encounters an emotionally damaged photographer. Becoming entangled in her life, attempting to find out how she died, and a complication of a new love, takes us on a journey of depression, lies, and betrayal.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sara Sligar's Take Me Apart is a fantastic debut and a psychological drama. The story revolves around Kate, an archivist, who is hired by Theo Brand to organize and archive the papers and works of his mother, Miranda, an artist. The chapters alternate between Kate and Miranda's diary entries, and covers topics such as depression, bipolar disorder, domestic abuse, suicide and sexism. It is not an easy read, but one that is incredibly well done. I can't wait to see what Sara Sligar writes next.

Kate is in the process of rebuilding her life when she accepts a job assignment close to where her aunt lives. She is going to be archiving a room of total disarray that was left years after a well known artist's demise. She becomes invested in what happened in the past and even begins to see her boss that is the artist's son. Their stories have similarities and Kate has to find out what happened in the past to move forward in her present. I have wanted to read this book for quite some time and am glad that I finally got the chance. The writing and character development were amazing and I liked that this book kept me guessing and has some a great story. Thanks for the ARC, Net Galley.

I was hooked my the whole premise of this: and archivist who battles demons of her own is hired to go through the writings of a famous artist who died under mysterious circumstances. The way that book was broken into excerpts from the artist’s diaries as well as the POV of the archivist worked well and created a well-balanced amount of tension. Though there were definitely elements of the latter, I would classify this more as a domestic drama than psychological thriller.