Gripping and suspenseful! A very well-written book with wonderfully-interesting characters. The tension builds at just the right pace as the story unfolds. Will keep you swiping the pages furiously. Worthy of your TBR list.

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book from in order to read and provide a voluntary and honest review, should I choose to do so.

This book was just an okay read. Although there were a few twists in it the story overall was quite predictable and did not keep me interested.

Danny Masden was abducted and has been missing for 4 days. Jesse Carlton is a friend of the family, Danny's godfather, and he's been out every night looking for the boy.

Receiving a call from a woman who says she saw the boy running down the road, Jesse heads there immediately looking for the boy. It's raining hard, wipers aren't keeping up, and the roads are slick. Then the unexpected happens ... Jesse hits black ice at the same time as Danny appears in his headlights.

Severely injured, Jesse has no memory of the accident ..or what caused it.

From that moment, life - and reality - are forever changed for two loving families.

Intense Suspense starts on the very first page and escalates from there. This is a heart-pounding emotional roller coaster of a read. Action is non-stop and characters are solidly defined. The ending was explosive, and unexpected.

Many thanks to the author/ Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I enjoyed the plot and storyline to this novel and how the suspense and mystery of what is going on builds up until everything is revealed. I kept trying to guess what was going on I love that whole mystery sensation of a book, and this book does just that - keeps you guessing. A well written novel from beginning to end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rob Kaufman for this ARC!

**Apologies ahead of time as I thought I had already posted this review!**

A Broken Reality is a great suspenseful book. It is a slower burn at first, but once it picks up, there is no stopping. I am usually pretty good at guessing the ending, and I thought I had everything figured out. I was wrong about the ending, which was a good twist. I love psychological thrillers, and A Broken Reality is a great one to read!

**Synopsis copied from NetGalley**
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.

I highly recommend you check out A Broken Reality by Rob Kaufman!

I'm sorry I thought I had sent feedback in January.

I ended up DNFing this book. I started right after I had back surgery. So I thought maybe my disconnect to the characters had something to do with pain and pain killers. I set it aside and came back to it at a later date. I got a little bit further but still felt no connect to the characters. Set it aside again. Picked it up for the third and final time before I just called it quits all together.

Something within the book just wasn't working for me. Now I did read it last year, but when I think back on it I can't even remember the characters names.

I'm really sorry this one didn't work for me. I'm not posting this to GRs or Amazon because I don't feel it is fair to the author. I really think this may be a me thing as books are very much hit and miss for me over the last year or so. And I would definitely give me Kaufman another try before I say I wouldn't read another of his books.

The star rating doesn't reflect my thoughts. NetGalley makes you choose one before allowing the post to submit.

I find these types of reviews hard to write because although I didn't really enjoy the book very much, I'm sure there are others out there who will love it. For me, I had a hard ti.e with the writing and character development.

The writing uses a 3rd person perspective, which made me feel disconnected from the plot - particularly because it lacked any sort of descriptive prose that could have brought the reader into the folds of the story. I actually prefer a narrative based plot, but this story swung too far on the narrative side and could have benefitted from richer descriptions of both environment and characters.

The characters lacked any depth and made the story feel one dimensional. I'm definitely an emotional reader and need to FEEL something towards the characters. Sadly I felt nothing but apathy. I think the plot had promise but the execution fell flat for me. As I mentioned before, could just be me and others may enjoy the story more than I did.
Thank you to publisher and author for an ARC provided by Netgalley.

Opening with such an emotional thing as a missing kid is daring but worked out well in Rob Kaufmans favor because he did it well and he was able to pull you right in so you had the emotions to. The God parents were unable to have children of their own, they took the role of God parents like it was the most important job EVER. The catalyst of this book is that you realize you won't find be finding the boy alive but this is not the main part of the book, its actually about the kidnapper who lost his nest friend ad as singling him out because of his God father!

Thankyou to NetGalley, Independent Book Publisher's Association and the author, Rob Kaufman, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of A Broken Reality in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.
"Please read this book!!!", is all I can say after reading this novel. This is a great example of what a psychological thriller should be. To say I was hooked is an understatement.
The storyline was well thought out and written with believable characters that will remain with you long after you have turned that last page. And, you think you know how the story goes? Well, think again!
4.5 stars from me.
Definitely a must read.

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.

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.

This was a fast read and predictable, but was still very good. When Don and Becky’s son Danny disappears, godparents Melissa and Jesse are devastated. When they are taken in for questioning, FBI agent Tony Rivera helps them. I got this e galley from NetGalley in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Unique plot and climactic events which built good scaffolding for this psychological thriller. This read had great characters and good plot twists.

I received an advanced review copy (ARC) of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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.

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.

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!

Thank you to the author for the ARC of this book

DNF: This is my first book by author, Rob Kaufman. As hard as I tried, I failed to become engaged in the story and writing style of this author. The metaphorical language felt forced and the story did not grabbed me from the beginning as a many novels do. I did put the book down and went on to others, only to come back to feel the same. I was unable to finish entire novel.

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.