A Broken Reality

Review: A Broken Reality by Rob Kaufman

A Broken Reality written by Rob Kaufman has made to my list of my new favourite books with genre, Mystery & Thrillers.

‘A Broken Reality‘ – a book named perfectly.

“Ten-year-old, Danny Madsen, has been missing for four days when Jesse Carlton begins his own search for his godson on a frigid, snowy night. Driving along a deserted rural road, Jesse hits a stretch of black ice at the same time Danny appears from the thicket. Unable to control the car, Jesse slams into the boy and watches helplessly as Danny’s body flies back into the dark brush.

When Jesse regains consciousness, he has no recollection of how he and his car wound up in a ditch. However, there’s a witness: Charles Hastings, the sociopathic kidnapper who chased Danny through the brush and into the path of Jesse’s car.

Hastings takes this chance to set up Jesse so he’ll take the fall for both Danny’s disappearance and death. And so the mind games begin—an onslaught of psychological manipulation that devastates Jesse, his wife, Danny’s parents and the cops’ investigation. Inexplicably, the torment continues even after Hastings is killed, leaving everyone involved on what seems to be a never-ending rollercoaster of emotions and heartbreak.”

You get to know the characters and you also get to know how sick Charles Hastings is!

I usually get annoyed by the unnecessary comic relief characters. ‘A Broken Reality’ did a good job by not annoying me.

This story isn’t predictable or too revealing. You can’t guess what is going to happen next. (At least I couldn’t.) And even when the torment continues even after Hastings is killed will make you believe that.

It was amazing and worth reading. Not forgetting to mention it maintained my interest till the end.

It is a book full of emotions, heartbreak, and tragic moments.

Love suspense, mystery and thriller?

‘A Broken Reality‘ is the book just for you.

What are your thoughts? Share in the comments below!

Till Then Happy Reading!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book to me in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

First, I want to thank Rob Kaufman and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

If you are a parent you are going to want to hold your child a little closer tonight after reading this book. Rob Kaufman’s A Broken Reality is an incredibly chilling, shocking, intense, emotionally painful, heart wrenching novel about a missing boy out in a middle of a winter storm. This book is filled with secrets, stalkers, abductors, vandalism, threats, missing persons, investigations, extremely worried parents, etc.

Rob did an incredible job throwing you into the craziness of the story! This hooked me so fast onto the story! A missing child in the middle of a snow storm and you are trying not to get into an accident yourself. How exciting yet scary is that! Every parent worst nightmare come true!!! For the first part of the book I was on the edge of my seat!!!

One amazing aspect about Rob’s writing is his eye for bringing out the detailed emotions in his characters. I was overwhelmed by that. I could feel exactly what each character was feeling and how much they were suffering. I am not a parent but I could not imagine if that was my child out there in those weather conditions. Not knowing where he is! Not knowing if he is safe, if someone has him, if someone hit him, etc! His mom had not heard from him for weeks and thinking the worst! My heart went out to her! We as readers needed to feel the emotions she was going through. Rob was the king of that!

On the subject of Jesse there was one scene where I wanted to scream at Melissa I was so upset with her!! Of course, Jesse was withdrawn, he lost weight, he was worried about Danny, he was not himself emotionally or mentally. Danny was missing! Jesse was in an accident himself. He couldn’t find Danny. He didn’t know if he was dead or alive. That would all take a toll on someone! Melissa didn’t get that.

Even though I really liked the book I felt some places were kinda choppy and a little disconnect at times regarding Charles story-line. He just creaped me out in general.

Melissa was confused about Dylan being Danny and that scene confused me too.

I loved hearing about how Melissa and Jessie met. That was a sweet story.

Rob Kaufman was a new author for me. I am a huge fan of this genre. I would definitely read and review from him again.

The book was written in such a way that we knew what happened, as intended, but while continuing to read, the puzzle pieces were slowly added to complete the picture- right up until the very last page. Well done, worth the read, athough it was way too short in my opinion!

Ten year old Danny is missing and his godfather, Jesse, will do anything to find Danny safe and unharmed. As Jesse is driving through an ice storm, looking for Danny, he sees him in his headlights...something bad happens but Jesse can't remember anything when he wakes up in a ditch, with emergency personnel pulling him from a car. Jesse is left with missing pieces of his memory of what happened right before the crash.

As the search for Danny continues, we meet Jesse's wife, Danny's heartbroken parents, Danny's kidnapper, and the law enforcement personnel involved in looking for what happened to Danny. Jesse feels an uxexplainable guilt concerning Danny's fate and over the next few months his mental and emotional health deteriorates. This is such a heartbreaking book, that kept me reading, even as I hoped for a happy ending that I knew could not come.

Thank you to Rob Kaufman and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was a great book to read.

Really surprised at the ending, but I won't give that away.

A little boy goes missing, family is frantic.

The boy's godparents and parents are extremely close and he is like the godparents' son, as they haven't been lucky to have one of their own.

When godfather Jesse is out searching desperately for the boy on a snowy night, he accidentally comes across the boy, fleeing from his captor, and he hits him with the car.

After the accident Jesse is unable to remember anything and the boy is still missing and not able to be found.

The story goes with the desperation of a missing child, a killer who covers things up and tries to transfer the blame.

Really enjoyed the book. Great writing style and was wanting to not put it down.

Looking forward to more excellent work from Kaufman

I loved this mystery about a young boy who goes missing. Unlike others in this genre, the novel focusses on an unusual premise as early on we see Jesse, the man who's out looking for Danny accidentally hits and kills him. So what's left to know? Well, the pedophile who kidnapped Danny is still on the loose and looking for Danny as well! The plot continues to thicken as Jesse has no memories and Danny's family is heartsick not knowing Danny's whereabouts. Lots of family drama and relationship struggles make this novel a great read. I look forward to reading more by Kaufman!

Loved it. Really catchy plot and fine writing. Keeps your interest right to the end. I thought I had it figured out but had to keep reading to find I was wrong.

I give this book a 5 star! It kept me glued from the second chapter until the end. I would definitely without a doubt recommend this!

Really enjoyed this book, kept me in suspense through out, just when you think you know what's going to happen it doesn't, would totally recommend, looking forward to reading more of Rob Kaufman's work, thank you for the chance to read it.

Part police procedural, part psychological thriller, totally intense and emotional. This one is a bit different than the typical in that we know who the bad guy is, so there's no suspense on that part. That comes from the games Hastings plays with Jesse along with Jesse's mental anguish and inability to remember anything that happened the night of the accident.
Then we have FBI Agent Rivera doggedly searching for any clue that leads to answers about Danny's disappearance. I'm not sure I buy the way Rivera figured things out, but it certainly made for interesting reading.
The thing that impressed me most was the way the characters are written. From simple reactions to things they did and said, they felt real and made me want to see how things played out for them. We don't get quite as much about Charles Hastings, but the pieces we do get are enough to add a bit of the creepy to the mix.
I did feel like too much was given away in the blurb, but the author still gives us plenty of twists and a few chilling moments along the way. Even though I knew certain things were going to happen, the story was intense and compelling enough to keep the pages turning. And that ending! I have to say I saw it coming, or at least had a good idea of where things were heading, but the conclusion was no less jarring.
On the whole, this one kept me turning pages long past bedtime with its tragic and compelling storyline and terrific characters.

Life was good. Becky and Don Madsen, and their son, Danny lived in a small town, Hingham, Massachusetts. Jesse and Melissa Carlton, who couldn't have children of their own, were Danny’s godparents. The two families loved being together so much that they actually lived on the same street. Jesse spent as much time as he could with Danny, even helping out with his baseball sports. Then the unthinkable happened! Becky and Don’s son, Danny is missing. He got off the bus close to his home, but did not make it home. Jesse is frantic and hasn’t slept in many many hours. He’s scouring the icy slick streets for Danny, but he’s nowhere to be seen. Then Jesse’s car slips and slides on the road and crashes. When he is rescued and finally comes to, he can’t remember anything after the accident. What had happened to lead up to the accident? What has happened to Danny? Who has taken him? Why was he taken? He has walked the short distance to his house many times without incident. Will they find the culprit? Will they find Danny? The FBI and local law enforcement are working overtime to find Danny, but the hours, days, and weeks go by without any leads. Everyone is exhausted and frustrated. They want to find Danny. All of a sudden vandals start breaking windows and causing property damage at Jesse and Melissa’s house. They leave messages like “MURDERER” on their property. No one can figure out why they are doing this, or who these individuals are. The plot was genius in this book. It certainly keeps the reader enthralled throughout the entire book. The suspense is riveting. The character development was definitely on point. The reader could relate to everything the characters were going through. The ending definitely is one that I didn’t seem coming, that’s for sure. I enjoyed this book as well as the author’s writing style. I look forward to reading more books from this author.

What a great read! Loved the characters and the gripping plot development. I stayed up far too late because I kept telling myself just one more chapter. Characters thoughts and actions seemed very realistic, although some of Rivera’s actions didn’t - especially taking the two officers out for lunch. Loved his on point instincts though. This book was a true surprise from a writer I had never heard of. Many many thanks to Rob Kaufman, Goodreads for making me aware of this great read, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this fast paced mystery/thriller. I will definitely read this author’s books again!

Let's begin by saying this is one aptly named book.

When ten-year-old Danny is missing, the entire neighbourhood looks out for him. The local PD and the FBI are involved in finding him, but there is no trace of him. Danny's parents are devasted. So too were Jesse and Melissa, who were friends and neighbours of the family. As Jesse and Melissa can't have kids of their own, they treat Danny as their own child.
Jesse sets out to search for Danny, and gets into an accident. Once he's awake, he remembers nothing. Troubled times get even worse for Jesse and Melissa as following the accident Jesse's PTSD and loss of memory seem to create a divide between them. It is further complicated when their home is broken in to and the words 'Murderer' is written on the property. As the police investigate, the FBI become involved as well since it looks to be connected to the child's missing.
All of these literally open up a can of worms. Can two families get over the tragedy and go back to living their lives? Does the question of what happened to Danny get answered? All these questions and more are answered in the book in an excellent manner.
The Broken Reality was an excellent book and a thrilling and captivating read. A completely riveting thriller!

Early on in this book you realize the ending won't be finding Danny alive. That is the catalyst but not the main part of the book. It is an odd realization to come to while reading the book. Instead, the story focuses on Danny's kidnapper who has lost his "best friend" and wants revenge against Jesse, Danny's godfather who can't remember the events leading up to his car accident. As we follow the two main characters through the book, we learn what brought Charles to being who he is today and why he is looking for "best friends." We really learn less about Jesse. Instead we follow along as he tries to put his life back together and fill in the missing pieces. Surprisingly, a lot of time was spent on a third character, the FBI agent Riviera. By the end of the book I started to wonder if this might be the start of a series for him. That seemed to be the odd bit of the story. Overall the story was well thought out and well written. Mr. Kaufman took his time to slowly lay everything out for the reader. Still, the ending was well played. While I knew it was coming, Mr. Kaufman seemed to channel an old noir movie to provide the final moment.

Let me start this by saying I finished this book in less than a day. So, for me to be that invested, it has to be pretty good.
This book has psychological thriller parts mixed with police procedural and a hint of basic psychology.
It follows the story of a missing 10 year old boy and the effects that has on his family, close family friends, and the abductor.
I liked how it explained the mindset of the abductor and his thought processes throughout as well giving things a slightly different perspective than normal. That, along with the effects of other incidents, explain how traumatic events can effect your perception and memory.
Very good book. Educational and insightful without the text book style, entertaining and engaging, emotional, and it sucks you in from the start. Wow. Just, wow.

I was provided with this book from net gallery in return for an honest review. This review includes NO spoilers as it would detract from this title for readers.

A harrowing tale following the kidnapping of a young boy, which uncovers the truth behind his disappearance and the affect of this on those involved. The characters in the story were believable and it was well written. A plot that is interesting and emotional and one that makes this book difficult to put down and will leave you thinking. I would give it 4.5 stars and would definitely recommend to readers who enjoy a psychological murder/mystery. Great job Rob Kaufman 🙌🏼🙌🏼. Will check out other titles by this author 😀

What you do if your child was abducted. Danny is abducted on his way home from school and his parents are worried, Jessie who is his godfather goes out looking for him and hears over the radio that child matching Danny's description may have been seen in the area that Jessie is driving around. A terrible accident happens and Jessie ends up in the hospital. When Jessie comes home he has many issues and has no clue why.

I enjoyed this book because the author focused on a few characters mainly the parents, godparents and the investigating officer. Everything ties in at the end of the book with an ending that you may or may not like. If you like psychological thrillers you have to read the book because will be wondering why certain things are happening. Who is doing the tormenting.

A Broken Reality is a well-written book that intrigued me from the start. The story was easy to follow and full of well-drawn and interesting characters. The plot is gripping, and although the pacing starts as a slow burn, it gradually escalates until we get to an explosive ending. Just when I thought I'd figured everything out, the author throws another twist which caught me totally off guard. I had a hard time putting this book down because I wanted to see where it was going.
I love the author's writing style and he knows how to keep you on edge and wanting to read more. This is the first book I have read by Rob Kaufman and I am looking forward to reading more by him.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Independent Book Publishers Association for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.