All the little pieces book review: a character study

 

Blurb: She could have stopped an awful crime. She could have saved a life. She tried to forget about it. But now, the truth is out. The terrifying new psychological thriller from the bestselling author of Retribution and Pretty Little Things.

Faith Saunders is the perfect wife, mother and sister – loved and admired by all who know her. One night will change everything. As she drives home in the pouring rain, a dishevelled young woman appears out of nowhere, pleading for help. The isolated stretch of road is dark, and with her four-year-old daughter Maggie asleep in the backseat, Faith refuses to let the stranger in. What she sees next will haunt her forever. When the missing-person posters go up, Faith’s guilt consumes her. Then the girl’s body turns up, and her perfect life begins to unravel. Because it turns out Maggie wasn’t asleep that night and – unlike her mother – she’s not afraid to speak up. Maggie’s testimony leads to an arrest, but Faith is the only one who can identify a second man who was at the scene of the crime. She has one chance to convince a jury of what happened. If she fails, two murderers will go free – two men who have killed before and who will undoubtedly kill again. And they know exactly where to find Faith and her family…

Stars: 4/5

It seems an easy enough decision to make: what would you do if someone asked for help? Many of us would like to think that we would help because that’s who we want to be, but what Jilliane Hoffman presents in All the Little Pieces is a what-if: what if you didn’t? What if you were afraid and frozen and didn’t react fast enough and someone died? Who gets blamed then?

That’s exactly what happens to Faith Saunders, as the blurb describes above. But, it’s also misleading a little, because Faith isn’t the only person in this story. What Hoffman has done is weave a detailed story about the search for a serial killer from the points of view of the cops, laywers as much as Faith’s and the killers’. She elevates what could have a straightforward procedural into a detailed examination of what each goes through as the case continues.

But what sticks with me most is Faith and how her life unravels during this case. I’d like to think I’d stop for someone in that situation, but things are hardly ever that clear-cut I think. And, while I began the story yelling at Faith – in my head on the train to work – to open the door, as the book continued, I could understand why she didn’t. Hoffman has let Faith be insecure, lets her lie, but this is the crucial thing – Faith knows she has to tell the truth, she just doesn’t have the strength to. She’s afraid of losing her husband, of losing her daughter and of her past being used against her. If you had everything to lose, wouldn’t you lie too?

It’s a complicated conundrum, and there are no winners in this story, Faith especially. Hoffman’s backstory for Faith is complicated, but she weaves it into the present case seamlessly and everything has a reason for being in the book, for helping create Faith. Her relationship with her husband Jarrod is a mess – they’re a mess, and as much as he tries to be supportive of her as her lies begin to unravel, Hoffman has written a solid point of no return for him and Faith. I wasn’t entirely sure of the outcome – which I think makes this a stronger story.

Hoffman also explores the ramifications of Faith’s decision in the media – and they are ruthless as the media often are in search of the story. Faith and Jarrod are left to weather this storm, which puts an added pressure on their already shaky marriage.

I started off this book thinking this was a procedural, but that’s only one small part of this. Instead it’s a fabulous character study that makes you question what you would do. No one is perfect in this story – though, you’d hope they would be in the pursuit of justice – not Faith, not Jarrod and not the prosecutor on the case. There are no happy endings here.