Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter, 468 Pages

I'm a huge fan of Karin Slaughter. Her books are gruesomely descriptive, and the plot usually unfolds seemingly effortlessly, taking over basically my whole life while I read her work. I found myself hooked from the first page of this book, but also found that while her other books have somewhat believable plots, this one seemed a bit unrealistic. I still enjoyed this book just as much as her others, and I'm already anxiously waiting for the next book she writes!

Andy Cooper is living with her mother, Laura, after returning home from college in New York. Andy returned home after Laura was diagnosed with cancer, vowing to help take care of her. Laura is now in the clear, and both women are returning to their normal lives. Andy and Laura decide to have lunch at the mall, and a calm day erupts into chaos and violence. A man with a gun comes in, calmly killing people in his path. Laura jumps into action, protecting Andy and killing the gunman. To make matters worse, the killing is caught on tape, and Laura is forced to somewhat confide in Andy that she is not who she originally said she was. Andy is now on the run per Laura's instructions, and Andy uncovers horrifying secrets about her mom's past, all while fighting for life.

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter, 396 Pages

Let me start off with a warning: this book is extremely dark and disturbing. I love psychological thrillers/horror, all that stuff... but this was a tough one to get through. 

That being said, I absolutely loved this book. I was reading this constantly, and when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. Karin Slaughter has quickly taken over as my favorite author in this genre. 

Sisters Claire and Lydia haven't spoken in over a decade, and are living completely opposite lives with one thing in common; both are still absolutely devastated about the disappearance of their older sister that took place over 20 years ago. Lydia is a struggling single mom and recovering drug addict. Claire is the typical "trophy wife", living an "ask and you shall receive" life. They are reunited when Claire's husband is brutally murdered. The sister's are forced to put their differences aside when they have to work together and dive into their past to help uncover some extremely painful, shocking truths. 

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter 511 Pages

**I want to start by saying that this is a very dark, disturbing novel. Parts were EXTREMELY difficult to read, so this is definitely not for the faint-hearted.**

All of that aside, I devoured this book. Karin Slaughter quickly jumped to the top of my “Favorite Authors” list after reading The Good Daughter. I laughed out loud, cringed, cried (even full-on ugly cried at one point), and felt like my heart was breaking while reading this one. This book completely sucked me in, in the best way. The prologue alone had my heart pounding so hard that I contemplated not continuing the novel.  

Teenage sisters Charlie and Sam experience a life-changing tragedy in their home that scars them literally and figuratively for the rest of their lives. Flash forward almost 30 years later, and another horrific event, once again, rattles their small town. This forces Sam to return to the town she swore she’d never come back to, and Charlie finds herself right in the middle of the drama, in the ultimate wrong-place-wrong-time scenario. Secrets quickly come to the surface, and the girls are forced to face the present situation, and their past, head-on.

I seriously cannot praise this book enough. Like I said, it’s extremely disturbing in some parts, but it was a fantastic read.