I guess if I had ever been a fan of fantasy novels in which children discover that they have super and dangerous psionic powers and they're kept under control by cold and bossy adults, I might have really loved this novel. There's even an underlying romance that could make ladies and damsels cry. But I'm not really a romance reader either, so...

I wouldn't say I didn't like it. It's well written, as usual for all Barker's novels. The suspense is preserved from the beginning to... almost to the end. And the children are more resourceful than just psi-gifted.

So, if you like that kind of story, go ahead, read it. You'll love it. Otherwise, maybe you'll still like it, as I did.

I give this book three stars and a half, rounded up to four.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for this good novel.

This book is quite a read. As with all JD Barker books it is very well thought out and written. Not to mention scary!

this had what I was looking for in a horror novel, the characters were great and i enjoyed the plot. I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to more from the author.

This is a really cool and unique story. It is also the first book I have read by J.D. Barker. The genre goes a little too much in a mythical direction for my liking, but it has some strong horror elements that kept the story grounded and moving for me. It won't be my last book by J.D. Barker.

Thank you Netgalley for my digital copy of this book. I give my review voluntarily.

First - do not let the almost 800 page length deter you from reading this book. I almost did and I am so glad I jumped in.

As apparent from the synopsis, this book follows almost 30 years in the life of Jack. He’s just a kid that finds himself in increasingly hectic circumstances and I loved reading about his life. Definitely a mash-up of Great Expectations and Stranger Things, there was never a boring moment for me. I’m sure some things could’ve been whittled down, but I never felt that way while reading and my experience was amazing.

I’ve never read JD Barker before and this was a heck of an introduction. I’ll be seeking out more of his books to read from now on.

Well... that was not a usual J.D Barker book. But... it was really good. Lengthy, but good. It has the feel of the goldfinch but this one was SO much better.

I've really enjoyed the character development in this book. Nothing like 4MK series. I was still waiting to see what was going to happen and where was this all going? It could be a stand alone or left open for more even thought it was nicely wrapped up.

I sincerely loved this book.

Story telling at its best.... the only way I can describe this book.

You follow Jack through the majority of his life, and some life it is. Growing up with his aunt after his parents died. Or did they? A girl who can kill with her touch, a guy who can control with his voice alone. But what can Jack do?

For a Stephen King fan like me this is a must read. Ice cold story telling with no frills. Loved every page of it!

I received a free copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Prior to starting this book, I was only aware of Barker from his work with Dacre Stoker on Dracul, the prequel-cum-biography telling a variation of Bram Stoker's life story. This book is very different, though it also tells someone's full life story.
Jack Thatch has had a tough life already when we meet him, his parents dying in a car crash when he was very young, and he spends his childhood living with his Aunt. A chance meeting with a mysterious girl in the cemetery on the anniversary of his parents' death haunts him and each year he returns looking for her, and the mystery continues. This carries on, with a new chapter telling the events of each subsequent year, and the "burned but not burned" bodies that appear on the same day.
There is a little of a Stephen King feel about the book - telling of a young boy growing up and telling every detail of his life and his friendships and gradually letting the paranormal elements of the story build up.
The first third of the book is excellent, setting the scene and sewing the seeds of the mystery to follow and introducing the cast of characters and their interactions and conflicts. This part of the story rattles along with decent pace and the reader can get a good feeling of momentum.
The middle third ground to a halt for me. The chapters became longer, the story being told felt less important and the reduction in pace was a bit of a kick in the teeth.
But the final third this book gets going again in superb style. This could well have been an excellent story in its own right, but definitely benefits from the lengthy build-up. We gradually have one group of characters grow and come into conflict with another, all building up to an inevitable meeting.
This is a great, but long, story of special abilities, how they could impact someone's life and be abused by those in power, and how they will eventually become out of control.

This is a very strange story and very good. There are many elements present: mystery, suspense, horror, but also love. The elements are woven together in this cleverly crafted story. I will be seeking more of this author’s work.
Many thanks to Hampton Creek Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was a little hesitant to start this one, intimidated by it's length, but it was such an excellent story with fantastic writing and it really flew by.
Eight year old Jack Thatch lives with his Aunt Jo after the deaths of his parents in a car crash.
Every August 8th, the anniversary of their deaths, they visit their graves at the cemetery.
Jake meets Stella there one day, reading Great Expectations while sitting on a bench. He grows enchanted by her and looks forward to their yearly visits.
When Jack comes across a body in an alley near his house, he becomes involved in the strange case of Detective Faustino Brier. Every August 9th, a shockingly burned body is found, but the clothing remains untouched.
In an inaccessible lab, a boy known as Subject D is kept sequestered, unable to speak to anyone because of a terrifying power he has.
As we find out the connections between them, the excitement builds and the mystery unravels.
This wonderfully spooky thriller is full of heart. An amazing and compelling tale.
Thank you IBA for the e-ARC via NetGalley.
4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 stars.

Mr. Barker is one of my absolute favorite authors. His books draw you right in and do not let you go. She Has a Broken Thing is no different. The title is a bit long and clumsy, and the story is long, but clumsy it is not. .

This is a bit of a love story, with twists, and supernatural forces. You will enjoy the characters, and receive full satisfaction of seeing them fully develop. The book does feel Stephen King-ish, but I will say Barker does creepy romance better than King. It's just an amazing book that you need to make time to read and absorb.

Here's what you really need to know about this book and what we need to get out of the way, first and foremost:
1. The title is terrible. It's waaaay too long and says nothing.
2. The cover is terrible. It's meaningless.

Both of these things are going to keep this book from getting the attention it deserves. It's not as if I have any better solutions for these issues myself (because that's not my job), but right off the bat, those are big selling points that have been fumbled. Badly.

If I were to see this book on a table at Barnes and Noble as it appears here, I'd give it a big miss. It looks like any of ten thousand paranormal YA titles, which this book definitely is not.

Also, being perfectly honest and having read the entire thing (courtesy of the author and Netgalley - THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH!), this book is really nothing new.

So, why five stars, you ask??

Because it deserves it. This is my second J. D. Barker. I'm in the camp that ADORED [book:Dracul|38363799]. It haunted me to the point where I finally got my own hardcover edition. THAT cover and edition does the book the service it deserves. Skip the paperback version - it suffers the same problem as this one.

Nevermind. Where was I with THIS book?

Oh yeah.

This book is basically an ode to Dickens' [book:Great Expectations|2623] via a fiendishly clever plot device. This book is, at its heart, a coming-of-age-and-beyond tale of a boy and a girl. So, that's where the floaty chick in the white dress in the woods comes in. I guess.

But who cares about that, right?

This book is like the best of King and McCammon. Think [book:Fire Starter|1567986], [book:The Body|11574] and [book:Boy's Life|11553].

Be prepared to make a commitment: this baby's huge. With the 2020 Pandemic, it took me just under a week to read because, while everyone else vacations at home, I work for Walmart, which supposedly makes me "essential." So, I work. Anyway. . .

Like the books I've compared it to, this book was on my mind when I wasn't reading it. I HAD to get back to it. I NEEDED to know what happened. That's WHY it deserves five stars.

I CARED about these characters. I cried. I got pissed off. Real emotions, for the printed word on the page. I'm sad it's over. Even though I read to the point my eyes hurt.

The only minor complaint I can give, in terms of actual writing, is the amount of foreshadowing took away from some of the emotional impact of the reading experience. Mr. Barker will say things like (and these are NOT direct quotes), "had I not taken that drink," "had I not answered that phone then," "I probably shouldn't have gone after her then." It's in that camp of "Show, Don't Tell." Seriously though, I'm a nobody reviewer, so take my criticism with a very fine grain of salt.

I have Mr. Barker's next book, also an ARC, also from Netgalley (THANK YOU AUTHOR AND PUBLISHER!!). I am now seriously looking forward to it, even though it's a collaboration between Mr. Barker and James Patterson. I've read enough James Patterson to loathe James Patterson. He's the rich Book World version of Thomas Kincade, the Painter of Light. So, I'm concerned about the prefab possibilities of that one. I also have confidence that if anybody can make that particular collaboration work, it's J. D. Barker. I believe everything in the business world is done for a reason and that's why this book is being published. Call me jaded that way.

All of THAT to say: J. D. Barker has a new fan girl.

I am going to be fully honest here: I received an ARC and for the first time in my life, I missed the deadline.
I read Barker’s 4MK series and devoured each one. I barely slept when they came out.
I was super excited about this book, but then the world as we knew it kind of blew up. I’m sure that’s why I cannot fall in love with it.
The element of mystery is alive and well with the book. The characters are enchanting- you always want to know more. It probably could’ve been divided into more than one book because it was LONG, but it was doable.
If you, like I, are having trouble concentrating and just looking for an easy escape, this is not it. If you want a book that really makes you think, this could be the one.

Holy Hell! 5 stars! This was my favorite read so far of 2020! It's a long one. I rarely undertake long books (like almost 800 pages) during the school year. That's a pretty big commitment for this teacher, but when I got offered this one I HAD TO READ IT. Fortunately, some other cool peeps in The Traveling Sisters Group got it too and we did a buddy read. That was so much fun and made for the best discussion. We all loved Jack right off the bat! He is a great main character. Stella brought more of a challenge. That's a gorgeous cover, isn't it? And she is quite beautiful and sought after for her beauty but also for things she can do.

The book, Great Expectations, plays a big part in this thriller. It has always been a favorite of mine and is Stella's favorite book too. The boy and girl here meet when they are quite young in a cemetery. Jack has a lot of things he is trying to figure out about his past...things about his parents, an accident they were in, why he dreams about them and what those dreams mean. Stella has her own demons. He falls in love with her from the moment he meets her but they don't get to see each other but once a year. When people dressed in white bring her to the cemetery, which Jack has figured out; he plans to visit at the same time. They get a few stolen moments on a bench once a year. She always has her book with her.

Meanwhile, the mystery develops as they grow into teenagers and we get to become closely acquainted with Jack's aunt, Jo, who is raising him, some of his friends, and other confused characters in his life. We become knowledgeable about murders going on all around, who is behind those murders, drug use, and some really evil people who want control.

There are some pretty scary people in this book. One is a kid locked up in a room where no one can hear him speak or great harm will come to them. There are characters with powers. They can do some horrible things. There is death, violence, love, fear, compassion, longing. So many emotions come to the surface while reading this. I think that makes for a really great read.

So, what kind of power to some of these characters have? How did they get it? How are they connected? Will Jack and Stella ever get to experience their love for one another? Who is the boy locked up? Who are the people in the white coats? Is Stella even capable of feeling and showing real love?

This book is haunting and beautiful. I am very thankful to the author, J.D. Barker, and the publisher via NetGalley for a digital copy to read for review. I can't recommend it enough. As I write this review (I am late as I read it before it was released), I notice that is is available to read for free if you have Kindle Unlimited. For those who enjoy horror, thrillers, memorable characters, and beauty, I say go download it right now. Barker has become a favorite author I can rely on for a very satisfying escape. You even love the very bad characters in this book. Well, some of them. That just never happens (for me).

Hot Diggity Dang! If I were to describe this one in one word, it would be MASTERFUL. But of course, I have many words, and so much I want to say about this one. I just had to ask J.D. Barker about his books and he joined us in The Behind the Pages group for a Q & A.

I am always intimidated by longer books, and J.D. has intimidated me a few times with the length of his books. Even the title is long for this one! Lol, I am slow to start, but once I do, I can't wait to finish but don't want them to end.

She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be is one of a kind here and there are a few things going in the story that is weaved together so brilliantly. A twisty romance, mystery, unquie characters, a little horror to the story and enough suspense that will have you asking many questions. Making this one a great for a group discussion. I read this one in The Traveling sister group and we had a lot to talk about.

Things start a little strange, and I had no idea what was going on here with the characters, and the suspense that created had me turning the pages as fast as I could. It's all about the characters here for me, and J.D creates a wide variety of characters here with conflicts that all come together so well. The characters are multidimensional, and through their actions and decisions under pressure, I changed how I felt about some characters as they developed. They were characters we wanted to talk about.

The story reaches an exciting, dramatic climax that had me at the edge of my seat, flipping the pages as if my fingers were on fire. After finishing, I was left wanting more from the characters, and I thought about them long after finishing the book. We did ask J.D. if he has plans for a sequel with these characters, and this is what he said "I have no plans to revisit them in a sequel at this time. Too many other books to write!" I am looking forward to those many other books he has in store for us!

Do not read this book if you have a job, or a family, or basically any responsibilities. This book is so engrossing I found myself holding it under Zoom calls so I could keep reading, I hid in my room "working" so I could get through it. I stayed up late at night, then woke up early to pick it up again.
I'm not sure what I can say about this book not to give away anything. It starts with a young boy meeting a young girl in a cemetary. They meet and interact throughout their lives, but always on the same day, and the story gets more interesting with every page. I've heard it is a long book (I had a digital copy) but don't let that intimidate you into not reading it. I wished it had been longer! But now I really have to get back to work.
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a review. Thank you Netgalley- this one rocks!

If you like reading coming-of-age supernatural unfolding love stories, then I HIGHLY RECOMMEND reading this book!!!

To say I loved SHE HAS A BROKEN THING WHERE HER HEART SHOULD BE would be an understatement, and I can’t wait to read more books by J.D. Barker!!

My next Barker book is, THE COAST-TO-COAST MURDERS, co-written with James Patterson and scheduled for release in September 2020.

Thank you, NetGalley and Hampton Creek Press, for loaning me an eBook of SHE HAS A BROKEN THING WHERE HER HEART SHOULD BE in exchange for an honest review.

She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be is one of those books that I had to think about for a while when I was finished because while it was not necessarily that complex, it did have a lot of layers and nuances to it that were quite captivating and a lot of genres all mixed in together. It's a long book, but definitely worth the ride as everything comes together at the end. If you are familiar with Great Expectations and Stephen King, the nuances will make a lot more sense as well; if you aren't, you will still have fun with this novel, just not at the same level, I think.

First of all, I didn't really know what to think of the main character, Jack, at the beginning. He was loyal, courageous, and good to his Aunt Jo who was looking after him when his parents were killed in a car accident, I just couldn't understand his obsession with Stella over the years. Anyone who has followed my reviews knows I am not a fan of insta-love or anything of that sort, and I was sort of put off by that at the beginning (and probably through the middle sections) as well. As he followed her through the years, believing himself to be in love with someone he has spoken to on a handful of occasions, I just couldn't buy into it, but decided to go along for the ride. I'm glad I did as the other events surrounding the mysterious Stella and the search for the truth about Jack's parents was really fascinating and intriguing.

Which brings me to the plot. Despite the amorous nature of Jack towards Stella, I decided to focus more on the search for answers rather than the romance, and this is where the story really got interesting and I wish there had been more of it, rather than 'romance'. We now have detectives running around the country looking for clues as to what is going on with Stella and Jack, over a time period of 30 years, and while the time period would seem like a daunting task for any author to take on, it works in this novel. We got to see Jack grow up and discover new things about himself, his aunt, his parents, his friends, and I loved how everything came together in the end. It all wrapped up so nicely in the end. And I have to say, I actually missed an important element that caught me off guard so I was happy about that. Happy you say? I love it when an author can surprise me and shake up my thinking. Kudos to him for doing that.

She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be delves into some interesting and intriguing topics in this book: should scientists be tampering with the natural progression of things, and what happens to the children when their 'experiments' go badly? This is a book where some people live in the shadows, through secret experiments and laboratories, where children are locked up because they are too dangerous to be out in the real world, and what happens when they escape. Over thirty years, Barker develops some pretty interesting characters, but also asks some pretty brutal questions. There is a lot of suspense, interesting characters, great development in both character and plot, fascinating twists and turns, and some creepy elements that lend themselves to a more Gothic / horror style of writing as well. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interesting in something a bit different.

Author J.D. Barker swings for the fences in his newest novel, She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be. He strives to create an epic tale that spans decades and crisscrosses the United States, all while paying homage to Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, the acknowledged inspiration for the story.
From its opening paragraph, this book promises a lot: “Her name was Stella, and I loved her from the first moment I saw her. Even after watching her kill a man who looked a lot like me, I couldn’t help but love her.” And there’s more to this story than love and murder. Suspense, crime solving, elements of fantasy and touches of horror interweave the lives of the young protagonists.
The impoverished orphan Jack, a/k/a Pip, and the unattainable, wealthy Stella meet, as they do in the Dickens novel, as orphaned children. However, the setting is Pittsburgh, not London.
For western Pennsylvania readers, the references are entertaining. Local mainstays such as Giant Eagle, Mineo’s Pizza and the city’s ubiquitous gray-sky days have their moment in the literary sun. There are a few errors (there were no owner-operated liquor stores in PA in the latter half of the twentieth century; Penn State is not ever referred to as Penn unless it is seeking a cease-and-desist letter from the university in Philadelphia) but far more spot-on and familiar references give this novel a plausible Pittsburgh feel.
The two orphans do not simply play the eternal game of will-they-or-won’t-they fall in love. Eight year old Jack is immediately smitten, but aloof, black-gloved Stella, radiates danger and mystery. Worse, she is accompanied by a mysterious surveillance team, who watches not only her and Jack’s every move, but the occurrences of the unknown D’s life. Who is D and how is he significant? Jack doesn’t know and if Stella does, she certainly is not telling.
The novel is peppered with mayhem, murders, and heroes and villains with superpowers. Mr. Barker is wise enough to provide his readers with just enough information to let them guess at what evil is afoot, but not so much that they are ever more than a step or two ahead of the protagonists. And, as always, this author is at his best when he lets his crime solvers puzzle out what crimes are being committed and who is doing the committing. By setting the novel in the last two decades of the twentieth century, the investigators are forced to rely primarily on their wits, not computers, to solve the mysteries that abound.
But the first quarter of this seven hundred sixty-three page book is little more than an account of the annual meetings between Jack and Stella, always on August 8th, the anniversary of Jack’s parents’ death, at the cemetery where they are buried. The children first meet in 1984, which may be ominous or may be nothing more than a jumping off point to establish ambiance by sprinkling a multiplicity of pop cultural references - rock and roll songs, video games, television shows – into the story. This is repeated each year, providing readers with a recitation of popular songs ranging from Rick Springfield in the 1980s to Alanis Morisette in the 1990s. Other, more nuanced depictions of the period, such as references to economic, political or social occurrences are non-existent, but could have provided a more vivid evocation of the time period.
The first quarter of the novel could have been condensed into a few set-the-scene type chapters before moving on to the meat of the story, which begins when Jack and Stella are old enough to rebel against their keepers and circumstances. Once the novel makes this transition it catches fire and delivers the fast-paced romance/suspense/crime solving story originally promised on the opening page. Jack and Stella have mysteries and murders to solve, and the police are hot on their trail. Plausibility is sometimes at risk, as when scores of people are murdered with apparently no consequences, but as the novel progresses and the various elements intertwine, the pace quickens, and readers will obsessively turn pages to find out how it all ends.

Loved it! I had never read this author before, but saw a friend recommend this book. I was not disappointed. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read and review this title!