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rebeccahowell711's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
namitakhanna's review against another edition
4.0
Julie Apple , a bestselling author, and her husband Daniel with their twin 6 year old’s just moved to an idyllic neighborhood in Cincinnati to escape her stalker. The new neighborhood proves to be far from perfect with lots of bylaws, a busybody and gossiping neighbors. She finds a friend though in her married neighbor John but a series of misunderstandings with other people along with a threatening note makes her believe that her stalker might be back.
This story is told from Julie and John’s POV over a 12-month time period going back and forth from past to present leading up to a tragic incident which is hinted throughout the book but revealed at the end.
This is a very well written book which was hard to put down and I would definitely recommend it to all mystery and psychological book lovers. I cannot wait to start The Murder Game , the best-selling book that Catherine McKenzie’s character Julie wrote.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing & NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest and fair review.
This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
This story is told from Julie and John’s POV over a 12-month time period going back and forth from past to present leading up to a tragic incident which is hinted throughout the book but revealed at the end.
This is a very well written book which was hard to put down and I would definitely recommend it to all mystery and psychological book lovers. I cannot wait to start The Murder Game , the best-selling book that Catherine McKenzie’s character Julie wrote.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing & NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest and fair review.
This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
graciesmom's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed this book very much. Will be reading more of hers!
toy_a101's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rmarcin's review against another edition
4.0
I am a fan of Catherine McKenzie and I really enjoyed Fractured, a story about people’s lives who are fractured by events in their neighborhood.
When Julie and Daniel Prentice move to a small community in Cincinnati, Julie meets her across-the-street neighbor, John Dunbar, and the two become running buddies. But when a few things happen in their neighborhood, their friendship is tested and things take a deadly turn. Julie, a best selling author, never really fits in with the rest of the neighbors, and is subject to harassment. But, who is harassing her? Is it her old stalker, someone new, or is this just a cry for attention?
Catherine McKenzie always writes novels with underlying tension and I just can’t wait to devour them. This was no exception!
When Julie and Daniel Prentice move to a small community in Cincinnati, Julie meets her across-the-street neighbor, John Dunbar, and the two become running buddies. But when a few things happen in their neighborhood, their friendship is tested and things take a deadly turn. Julie, a best selling author, never really fits in with the rest of the neighbors, and is subject to harassment. But, who is harassing her? Is it her old stalker, someone new, or is this just a cry for attention?
Catherine McKenzie always writes novels with underlying tension and I just can’t wait to devour them. This was no exception!
judithdcollins's review against another edition
4.0
Canadian author, Catherine McKenzie returns following Smoke (2015), with her latest- FRACTURED, tautly written and intricately plotted; a writer haunted by a stalker from her past in a complex crafty psychological thriller (a book within a book).
EW "Why Fractured author Catherine McKenzie wrote an entire book within a book."
Welcome to the neighborhood! What lies behind the white picket fences and the façade of lives, marriages, and relationships.
The dark side. Tragedy. A Stalker. Fractured lives. Secrets. Perception. Can you solve the mystery?
A hurricane roars through Fractured, and I do not mean Hurricane Matthew (approaching here in South Florida). The winds are dangerous, as they twist in and out of the lives, creating havoc, turning them inside out. What will be left in the aftermath?
Who is guilty, and who is innocent? Who proposes a threat? A neighborly distance. Keep them close or far away. Allies or enemies?
Julie is a best-selling author. She, her husband, and two children move to a new community in Ohio to get away from a stalker from their older neighborhood. Julie has written a novel about the perfect crime and is attempting to write her second novel.
After publishing her first novel “The Murder Game,” Julie’s life takes a change. Not only does the success from, the book brings in endless money, but also an unwanted stalker from her past.
A neighborhood. Where nothing is as it appears. Told from two points of view Julie and John, (two narrators) –the same events from two different perspectives. One an insider and one a newcomer.
Two timelines: a 12 hour day where a family is waiting to testify before a grand jury and the 12 months leading up to that day.
John Dunbar is a handsome neighbor across the street. What starts as innocent turns dark. A complex plot with a deep layering of secrets and a nonlinear time frame.
Tragedy strikes. Everyone is a suspect. We hear from Julie and John. Friends to enemies. Obsession. Do you really know your neighbors? What lies behind the doors?
Loosely based on her own experiences while at law school, in Montreal, “The Murder Game” follows a group of law students who plan and commit the perfect murder. Oddly enough, Julie’s law school friend Katherine died at a party one night, although her death was later ruled an accident.
But the similarities between Katherine’s death and the plot of the book are all too suspicious to Heather Stanhope, another law student who is seen as an outsider to the group. After Heather begins threatening and terrorizing Julie, she decides to move across the country to escape her stalker and start a new life.
From idyllic, to deadly. A neighborhood full of gossip, nosy people, rules, stay at home moms, threats- is there another stalker? She moved to escape and now the stalker has followed her or is there another? DRAMA.
What happened the previous year? What tragedy? Misunderstandings. A target. The shocking twisted story is slowly unraveled.
Love the integration of the author’s life and characters. A creative crafty way of storytelling keeping you entertained until the final ending.
Chilling! Full of intriguing twisty suspense, we go back and forth in time. McKenzie, an attorney by day, and a talented creative writer in between, an entertaining ride! Be sure and read The Murder Game by Julie Apple, coming Nov 1.
Fans of Paula Treick Deboard’s The Drowning Girls, will enjoy this twisty psychological neighborhood suspense. Ideal for book clubs and discussions (included), and a great Q&A with my favorite author, Mary Kubica.
A special thank you to Lake Union and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
JDCMustReadBooks
EW "Why Fractured author Catherine McKenzie wrote an entire book within a book."
Welcome to the neighborhood! What lies behind the white picket fences and the façade of lives, marriages, and relationships.
The dark side. Tragedy. A Stalker. Fractured lives. Secrets. Perception. Can you solve the mystery?
A hurricane roars through Fractured, and I do not mean Hurricane Matthew (approaching here in South Florida). The winds are dangerous, as they twist in and out of the lives, creating havoc, turning them inside out. What will be left in the aftermath?
Who is guilty, and who is innocent? Who proposes a threat? A neighborly distance. Keep them close or far away. Allies or enemies?
Julie is a best-selling author. She, her husband, and two children move to a new community in Ohio to get away from a stalker from their older neighborhood. Julie has written a novel about the perfect crime and is attempting to write her second novel.
After publishing her first novel “The Murder Game,” Julie’s life takes a change. Not only does the success from, the book brings in endless money, but also an unwanted stalker from her past.
A neighborhood. Where nothing is as it appears. Told from two points of view Julie and John, (two narrators) –the same events from two different perspectives. One an insider and one a newcomer.
Two timelines: a 12 hour day where a family is waiting to testify before a grand jury and the 12 months leading up to that day.
John Dunbar is a handsome neighbor across the street. What starts as innocent turns dark. A complex plot with a deep layering of secrets and a nonlinear time frame.
Tragedy strikes. Everyone is a suspect. We hear from Julie and John. Friends to enemies. Obsession. Do you really know your neighbors? What lies behind the doors?
Loosely based on her own experiences while at law school, in Montreal, “The Murder Game” follows a group of law students who plan and commit the perfect murder. Oddly enough, Julie’s law school friend Katherine died at a party one night, although her death was later ruled an accident.
But the similarities between Katherine’s death and the plot of the book are all too suspicious to Heather Stanhope, another law student who is seen as an outsider to the group. After Heather begins threatening and terrorizing Julie, she decides to move across the country to escape her stalker and start a new life.
From idyllic, to deadly. A neighborhood full of gossip, nosy people, rules, stay at home moms, threats- is there another stalker? She moved to escape and now the stalker has followed her or is there another? DRAMA.
What happened the previous year? What tragedy? Misunderstandings. A target. The shocking twisted story is slowly unraveled.
Love the integration of the author’s life and characters. A creative crafty way of storytelling keeping you entertained until the final ending.
Chilling! Full of intriguing twisty suspense, we go back and forth in time. McKenzie, an attorney by day, and a talented creative writer in between, an entertaining ride! Be sure and read The Murder Game by Julie Apple, coming Nov 1.
Fans of Paula Treick Deboard’s The Drowning Girls, will enjoy this twisty psychological neighborhood suspense. Ideal for book clubs and discussions (included), and a great Q&A with my favorite author, Mary Kubica.
A special thank you to Lake Union and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
JDCMustReadBooks
cathyatratedreads's review against another edition
4.0
This was a page-turner. A bonus for me was the setting in Cincinnati, which referenced a few places I knew about since my grandparents lived there. Pretty cool. Downside was strong language, and I felt that the ending was just a bit weak.
* I received an advanced reader’s e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/fractured-fiction-book-review/
* I received an advanced reader’s e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/fractured-fiction-book-review/
hudsonpeeps's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 a fast, compulsive read. Too much language though.
kdurham2's review against another edition
5.0
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
Julie Prentice moves her husband and twins to a new state to start over after an interesting situation with a stalker, but will this new neighborhood be the right move?
I call these book post it note books. The ones where you need a post it note to keep track of all the characters! With about four main families with husband, wife and kids, it took a post it note to make sure I kept them all together with their professions and such. I don't mind it if it helps me keep the large cast together and in this case it was definitely a must.
Julie Prentice moves her husband and twins to a new state to start over after an interesting situation with a stalker, but will this new neighborhood be the right move?
I call these book post it note books. The ones where you need a post it note to keep track of all the characters! With about four main families with husband, wife and kids, it took a post it note to make sure I kept them all together with their professions and such. I don't mind it if it helps me keep the large cast together and in this case it was definitely a must.