Pieces of Her

Have you ever stumbled across a cryptic message scribbled in a parent’s high school yearbook, or flipped through an old album of unrecognizable photos, or overheard a previously untold story from their childhood and thought: I have absolutely no idea who this person is that raised me? In Pieces of Her, Andrea Oliver can relate. Only it was much more than a photo that revealed just how little she knows.

Andrea’s always believed her mom, Laura, to be a kind, quiet woman living a very ordinary life. That is, until the day that their mother-daughter lunch is interrupted by a violent attack—and Laura swiftly and expertly intervenes. Soon Laura is the victim of another crime, and Andrea is left to wonder: Who exactly is the mother she thought she knew so well? And what secrets lie in her past?

This book hits the ground running from the high-stakes first chapter. As the story unfolds, carrying us from past to present, the events of Laura’s former self begin to fit together with the pieces of her present. It’s no surprise this twisty book is headed for the small screen—here’s your chance to read the story that inspired the TV adaptation.

Andrea Oliver’s mother, Laura, is the perfect small-town mum. Laura lives a quiet but happy life in sleepy beachside Belle Isle. She’s a pillar of the community: a speech therapist, business owner, and everybody’s friend. And she’s never kept a secret from anyone. Or so Andrea thinks.

When Andrea is caught in a random violent attack at a shopping mall, Laura intervenes and acts in a way that is unrecognizable to her daughter. It’s like Laura is a completely different person—and that’s because she was. Thirty years ago. Before Andrea. Before Belle Isle.

Laura is hailed as a hero for her actions at the mall, but 24 hours later she is in the hospital, shot by an intruder, who’s spent decades trying to track her down.

What is Andrea’s mother trying to hide? As elements of the past return and put them both in danger, Andrea is left to piece together Laura’s former identity and discover the truth—for better or worse—about her mother. Is the gentle, loving woman who raised her also a violent killer?