Fractured

I liked this one, but had some issues that prevented me from enjoying it so much more. It took me a few chapters (or more) to get the characters and time period straight. It was confusing how it was alternating from present to past and I had to keep "rereading" to sort it all out. I think I had the same issue with her other novel so maybe it is just me. The plot was intriguing and I wanted to know more about why Julie was being stalked by a fan of her bestselling novel, The Murder Game. Julie and her family re-locate to a quiet neighborhood, but her problems don't subside they only increase. I especially enjoyed the nuance of the crazy snoopy neighbors and the prying eyes of the home owner association president! The ending was a disappointment because it was too predictable and not suspenseful to me (after much build-up). An overall easy read with a mystery to solve!

"Fractured" by Catherine McKenzie A psychological thriller at its best. One where the reader figures out very quickly there was an accident of some kind, but is not clear what kind it was, or who it involves other than a member of the Dunbar family. Mixed amongst the above is the newly arrived Prentice family. The novel is told through the interchanging perspectives of John Dunbar, a dedicated husband and father of two teens and Julie Prentice, a loving wife, the mother of six year old twins and an author. The reader is drawn in from from the first paragraph. It immediately engages the reader and from there it never lets them go. The adage of "just one more chapter," until one finishes the novel fits perfectly here. The author tells the story of the Dunbar family in the present and it is clear there is a court case that is in the grand jury phase, that involves them. On addition, the author also provides a recollection of their life during the previous year, including personal issues as a family, a couple, and as parents. Conversely, the author describes bits and pieces of Julie and her family's life over the past year in comparison to the vivid picture of their present situation. The author provides just enough back story information that the reader gets a true picture of all the characters, their flaws, their issues, and who they are at heart. She has created characters that are realistic and relatable and pull the reader into the novel. The plotline is multifaceted and weaves in and out from the present to the past seamlessly and without confusion. It provides a larger picture of the issues the characters are facing, how they work through them, and does within a twisting and turning plot. Quite often the interchanging behaviors of the characters within the novel will lead you down one path when the reader should be heading down an alternate path...one that will surprise you and may not even be the "accurate" ending. Rating: 4.8 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Started out very promising. I liked the buildup to the undisclosed "event" throughout the novel. It reminded me of books by Liane Moriarty. The banter between the characters in Fractured, along with the passive aggressive community newsletters, were also very realistic and amusing. There was such a teaser to the big accident/murder throughout the book that the ending was kind of a let down for me. I expected a bit more of a twist. Still a fun, quick read.

Julie, a best-selling author, and her family move into a new neighborhood in Cincinnati. I, unlike many others reviewers, enjoyed this story being told from two POVs, mainly Julie and John. It allows the reader to see things from another perspective, which better fits this particular type of story. The development of all the characters, Julie, Daniel, John, Hanna and the other neighbors was in depth. I did not find the time jumps confusing, as it clearly states in the beginning of the chapter how long ago it was or when it takes place. If the reader pays attention, they will understand the time frame exactly. This book kept me engrossed in the characters lives. You can understand and empathize with some of their mistakes and also completely disagree with some of them, which made the characters feel real. I read the this book quite quickly, as it keeps you wanting more. I was a bit disappointed in the ending as it left some very loose ends. What happened to Heather? What happened to Cindy after the accident and her extremely annoying "enough to make me want to move out of the neighborhood" PSNA? What happened to Susan and Brad? What about Chris, John and Hanna? We really don't get to see how they were affected knowing what the accident resulted in. While Julie's self-loathingly blamed it all on a kiss, in my mind, if a vehicle hadn't of been stolen, yes stolen, there would not have been an accident. Perhaps a prologue would have worked well here, so I'm giving 4 stars instead of five. Overall a well-rounded, thought-provoking, mystery story.

Fractured is a novel by Catherine McKenzie. It is definitely worth reading. It is one of those novels that you can hardly put down and then you get back to it as soon as you can. It definitely is realistic and keeps your interest. As you read, it is easy to put people you know or are acquainted with in the place of the characters. Julie Apple Prentice is the writer of a best seller and who is the victim of a stalker. Her husband, Daniel, is willing to make a career move and move from Seattle to Ohio to get away from her stalker. So Julie, Daniel, and their six-year-old twins make the move to Cincinnati. The children are in school and Daniel at work while Julie makes an attempt to write her second novel. Unfortunately, she has problems getting started so starts running of a morning to see if that will help. She starts running with her next door neighbor, John. Julie has a hard time making friends so it was unusual that they became good friends. Other than John, the only friend she makes in the neighborhood is Susan. Everyone else seems to form a dislike to Julie and her family, especially the head of the neighborhood committee, Cindy Sutton. No matter what Julie does, it seems she just makes matters worse. John Dunbar has been let go by his company and sets out to develop an IT company at home. He helps Julie make her computer safer from hacks when he gets into her files easily. He then helps her set up her webpage. Meanwhile his wife Hanna and their son Chris take a dislike to Julie. He has to walk a thin like between trying to calm his wife down and to seem to be on Julie’s side. An impossible situation becomes even more so when something happens that could break up the entire neighborhood.

All the reviews on my Kindle prior to the start of the novel say anything I could think to say, they are all beautifully written and 'hit the nail on the head'. I became thoroughly engrossed in this novel - I am into suspenseful stories, and this delivered 100%. I especially enjoy a novel that gives you 'now' information as well as reverting to a previous time - it adds to the suspense as well as gives perspective. Often I find the best way to deliver my thoughts to readers is by quoting highlights I made along the way - they give a 'feel' to how the writer thinks, I love when a phrase/passage literally makes me stop, close my eyes, and think about what the author has said: "We all wear masks. The challenge is keeping them in place." "Life is made up of turning points. Forks in the road. We make choices every day that take us down one path over another. The thing I've learned is, there generally aren't any signposts along the way." "They say that if a butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazonian rain forest, it can change the weather half a world away. Chaos theory. What it means is that everything that happens in this moment is an accumulation of everything that's come before it. Every breath. Every thought. There is no innocent action. Some actions end up having the force of a tempest. Their impact cannot be missed. Others are the blink of an eye. Passing by unnoticed." Be sure to read the Book Club Questions at the end. As well as the discussion between the author and Mary Kubica, another well known author - it will give you much insight into the novel. As a reviewer said, you will be left thinking about this story long after you've finished reading it. Especially when the author ends the novel with: "Only you will be left to judge. Were we innocent? Were we guilty? You tell me...." I definitely will be reading other books by this author.

Normally, I don’t like books that are told in dual narratives and time jumps, but I made an exception for both with Catherine McKenzie’s Fractured. The time jumps are pretty necessary to the plot, building tension in the readers and keeping them on the edge of their seats as they wonder what in the world has happened. In the present timeline, written in present tense, the residents of a small suburban town are rattled and destroyed because of an unrevealed incident. Just when you start wondering what the incident is, the chapter ends and the story takes you back in time to the previous year when new neighbors move onto the street and change everything. The new neighbor is a best-selling authoress, recently recovering from a stalking attack, seeking peace and quiet in a small town. Unfortunately, the nosiness of her neighbors, as well as old patterns repeating themselves, threaten the very peace and quiet she seeks. Just when you start getting engrossed in that timeline, the chapter, and past tense, ends and the present-day, present-tense timeline starts again. The first few pages grabbed me. A welcome to the neighborhood letter shows the new neighbors and the readers just how “friendly” the suburbs can be. Remember in Desperate Housewives when Bree gives her new neighbors a basket of muffins, then asks for the basket back? This letter is just welcoming yet eerie, and controlling in a creepy way. If you like these types of stories that lift the lid on suburban paradise, check this one out. Yes, there’s a lot to get over, with the tense changes and dual timelines, but I liked it quite a bit. My one recommendation is to read it quickly. With all the back and forth, if you take longer than a week to read it, you might forget some things or get lost. An added bonus is the protagonist of the story is an authoress who achieved previous fame and fortune by writing a novel called The Murder Game. The book is referenced constantly, and the plot was so interesting, I found myself wishing that it was a real book. It turns out after Fractured, Catherine McKenzie actually wrote The Murder Game and released it under the character’s name! I’m so excited to pick up a copy!

I bought this book after seeing multiple reviews exclaiming this is a book you can't put down. Unfortunately to the contrary, this book took me two months to read as I mostly only picked it up when I was on public transportation and had nothing else to do. The first 2/3rds of the book dragged, and then I finally got into the last 1/3rd of the book after the "past" storyline got closer to the big reveal and I knew that some answers/anything interesting might be coming. The concept of the storyline is interesting and seemed to have a lot of potential, but the characters were flat and unlikeable, and the writing style was very two dimensional. It seemed that there were so many more possibilities in the story that could have been explored, especially in the side characters. We never got to see any of the true motivations behind the actions of Heather or Ashley and Chris, and Daniel and Hanna also felt like characters with untapped potential. Julie's "best friend" characters also seemed like they were added in just so that we could hear more of what Julie was thinking from a different angle (i.e., in conversation with someone as compared to her usual self reflection). I really wanted to like this book but was unfortunately underwhelmed.