Book Review: Fractured by Catherine McKenzie

Book Review: Fractured by Catherine McKenzie

Publisher:  Lake Union Publishing

I would say that I couldn’t put this book down but I read it on my Kindle app. I guess I could say that I couldn’t stop swiping the page.

Julie Prentice moves her family to Cincinnati to get away from her stalker and for them all to start fresh. She’s the author of a best selling novel and it brought out the crazy in one of her former friends. All she wants is some piece and quiet and to be able to get her second book written. She thinks Pine Street will be able to provide everything she needs.

She soon discovers that this quiet street is full of nosey, overly friendly people. Cindy, the self appointed president of the neighborhood, is a meddling control freak. After a few mishaps it seems like Cindy sees Julie and her family as blights on her perfect community. Cindy starts going out of her way to make Julie’s life miserable.

The book is also told from the point of view of John. John is Julie’s neighbor across the street. He soon becomes her running buddy and friend and confidant. When it verges on becoming more than platonic, things start going awry.

All through the book, the author builds these complex characters that keep you guessing. Who is behind the pranks at Julie’s house? Is it her stalker or someone from the neighborhood? Is Julie losing her mind and doing things to try to gain sympathy or is there a true threat out there? The author also alludes to an accident, which is explained later in the book, and it makes the story compelling. You just want to keep turning the page to find out what happened. The twists and turns were well written and towards the end, when I thought I knew what was going to happen, I was happily proven wrong.

As an aspiring author, I really connected with Julie. Her worries about meeting a deadline (I wish!) and her daily word count were something that interested me. It also shows that for many authors the words don’t just drop out on to the page. It’s real work.

This book was suspenseful and enjoyable. I highly recommend it. If you have cleaning to do, a chapter to write, a kid or pet to feed…wait to read this until you are finished with all that because once you start this book you won’t be able to stop reading until you get to the end.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much! It was a privilege to read this!