Let me start by saying...this book had a whole lot going on and I had to jump back and forth to see where I was if I was in the past or present John or The nosy neighbor, the horny teenagers, whiny kids. The accident....I didn't get it...what accident?? and then it took the whole book to tell us and to find out about the accident!!
All in all not to bad of a read
Kept me entertained


My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

You will never look at your friends and neighbors quite the same way again. This fast paced read is a story that keeps you focused until the very end!

A great story mixing suspense, giving you the emotions tied in with a bit of deceit. Domestic fiction, mystery, suspense mash up at an all time high. I'm happy to say I didn't figure out what was going on so the reveal was a punch in the chest, which is ALWAYS a nice surprise... though this is a bit different from your typical mystery/thriller.

And a book about the book in the book? A book lovers dream!

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. I have to say that I really didn't care about the characters in this book, as they were all so easy to dislike. The plot did make me keep turning the pages, although I'm always annoyed by back and forth shifts in time, a device this author uses.

I am so proud of this, my sixth novel. A clock within a clock, two storylines that unwind over a day and a year. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thank you to Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Another great book from Catherine McKenzie, this one had me guessing until almost the very end.
The story centers on Julie and her family as they move to Cincinnati to get away from the stalker that has been harassing her since the publication of her hit novel. Julie is hoping a new town can be a fresh start and when she becomes friendly with her neighbor John, she has high hopes for a new beginning. However she could have never imagined how that relationship turns her whole life upside down and causes more problems and struggle for her and her neighbors.
A good mystery that had me turning the pages to discover what happens next.

This was an ok mystery as far as the genre goes. I just like a bit more 'twist' in my mysteries.
If you like a mellow 'who done it' (mixed with a 'what the heck did they do?') then this is a good one for you.
It just didn't do much for me.

This mystery is going to go towards the top of my mental list of recommendations. It's suspenseful with unexpected twists coming throughout the story. You know early on that something devastating has happened, but you don't know exactly what for awhile, and then you don't know to whom for even longer. The story is well plotted with reveals happening along the way, told from two perspectives (John and Julie's), and told both in the present and in chapters detailing the events leading up to the present. This is one that will keep your interest throughout.

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.

There were almost two storylines going on at the same time. The current storyline takes place in court as something has happened in the neighborhood, but the reader doesn't know exactly what. The other storyline goes into the past when Julie first moves into the neighborhood and moves towards the present as she has encounter after encounter with the neighbors both positive and negative.

I liked being kept out of the loop as to the reason of the court case. It made me question all of the neighbors and why there could be a case. I may have had a few guesses and parts of my guesses were right, but parts were so off!

If you are a fan of neighborhood dramas like I am, they are like an amped up family drama then this should be your next read. I have read almost all of Catherine McKenzie's books and they are all unique and different and I love that her novels are all over the place in terms of plot, but they are all so good!

Loved this book
Didn't want it to end
Highly recommended

Easily readable, beautifully written book. Well described, full characters and a plot that as layered and complex enough to keep the reader intrigued throughout.

Thank you to Catherine McKenzie, the publisher, and to NetGalley for the opportunity to review Fractured.

This was my first Catherine McKenzie book, and I really enjoyed it! At the start of the novel, I had a bit of trouble distinguishing all the characters, but as I got into the rhythm of the story, I realized why that was necessary, and appreciated what the complexity added to the plot. John and Julie -- are they destined, or doomed? So many great characters in this book -- Cindy, the nosy neighbor (I did not see her twist at the end coming!), Hanna the lawyer, Daniel the devoted husband, the children of the neighborhood -- everyone is richly written. I cared what happened to each of them, and was satisfied with how the story ended. I have recommended this story to a friend, and she is reading it now!

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.

After author Julie moves her family across the country to escape a stalker, she's uncertain whether her stalker or her new neighbors are responsible for the unsettling pranks directed at her family. One of my favorite parts of this story was actually reading about Julie's experience as an author, trying to write her new book and doing a signing for the old one. I also enjoyed the device the author employed of jumping backwards and forwards in time, with both timelines converging to eventually reveal a terrible tragedy. This is a device that's used a lot, but it doesn't get old for me. It typically means an author doesn't spell things out for the reader, leaving you to figure some things out yourself. The writing and the suspense the author created were both fantastic. However, the big reveal felt unsurprising and unemotional to me. It was a bit of a letdown. Overall, this was nothing mind blowing or unique, but it was well written and hard to put down.

Good summer beach read.
Light entertainment
Recommended

Enjoyed this twisted suspense novel. A good read.

Did not like, nor finish this book. The plot was so hard to determine as well as who was the main character. It was also so far fetched that i kept saying "huh".

A friend recommended this book to me and I am so glad she did. There is so much suspense and the book comes alive in the sense that I could imagine myself right in the middle.
Julie is a successful author who decides to relocate to a small and seemingly perfect neighborhood after being the victim of harassment and stalking. Little does she know that the perfect neighborhood is definitely not perfect and she is in for a wild ride.
I loved this book and could not put it down until I finished it. It was so vivid that I could see the characters and action in my head as if it were a movie. Julie definitely has the patience of a saint. I definitely would not have lasted more than a week in this perfect "utopia" of a neighborhood.
If you are looking for a well-written suspense novel then look no further. This is definitely the one.

Julie Apple is an author with a stalker. A stalker who has completely unsettled her, enough to make her move across the country, uprooting her entire family. Her book, The Murder Game, has become a huge bestseller. It's about a group of law students who play a game about figuring out the best way to murder someone, then one of them ends up dead.

As Julie settles into her new neighborhood, she has to deal with a Stepford-Wives-esque homeowner's association president who hates her, and her growing attraction to her married neighbor. All of these side stories seem unrelated to each other, and to the stalker, but as the twists and turns unfold, it all comes together into a chilling conclusion.

There's a lot going on in this book. McKenzie handles the plot piece beautifully, carefully peeling back layers to finally reveal the truth. The characters, however, are not really likable at all, and that makes it a bit difficult to connect with them. Everyone seemed like an extreme version of a real person, leading to a bit of a soap opera-ey feel.

Definitely entertaining, but not life-changing.

First let me start by saying how intrigued I was to read this book.
Second let me say that I had zero connection with any of the characters and didn't necessarily struggle through this book but found myself questioning why I kept going. But I persevered and while it wasn't the story I originally thought I was getting myself into, it had it's up.