3 for neutral, as I don’t think this is my type of book! I tried to read it on a few occasions, but it was just a bit too sci-fi for my personal taste. I will update if able to finish at a later date.

Another of my favourite authors who goes to the top of my reading list when he has a new release. A gripping and intense read which had me well and truly hooked. So many twists and turns. A story that is so powerful and at the same time really emotive. A mystery thriller with so many layers. Is it a ghost story or a really good thriller? Readers can make up their own minds. Personally bloody brilliant and definitely left me wanting more of this authors storytelling. An easy five stars and so Highly Recommended.
Thanks to Hampton Creek Press and Netgalley for the ARC

This is another wonderful book from J.D. Barker. A thrilling horror mystery with a slight sci-fi twist and fantastic characters. Readers should not be put off by the high page count as once you are just a chapter in the pages fly by. An absolutely terrific read.

Full review to come but quick thoughts...enthrallingly captivating story that I didn't want to put down. It certainly does not read like an over 800 pg book because it's such a brilliant story. I'm a huge fan of JD Barker and once again, he's written a novel that doesn't disappoint. Highly recommend!
Thank you Hampton Creek Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

Last summer I read the 4MK series in a little more than a week and it instantly became one of my favorite thrillers ever, so when I saw on NG that its author had a new book coming out I requested it even without reading the blurb and I'm so glad I did.

"She has a broken thing where her heart should be" was a mesmerizing read. It's a multi-genre story with so many layers I got sucked in almost from page one. It is a friendship tale, a thriller, a coming of age story, an 80s kids adventure, a secret experiments mystery, a road trip journey...but above all it is a love story spanning decades. I couldn't stop reading specially for the first half of the book. I just needed to know more about what was happening. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a big fan of sci-fi/supernatural stories where baffling events happen, but here it was told in such an enthralling way I didn't even care for my reticences.

Even though it is almost 800 pages long, it doesn't feel long at all. The characters are so well developed that you even care for the secondary ones, suffering along with Jack when something bad happens. It gave me some serious Stephen King/X-files vibes and I couldn't help myself imagining some scenes on the big screen (that final confrontantion with the villain gave me chills!)

Highly recommended story with a premise so original that you will find yourself glued to the pages. With this book J.D. Barker has got me to read anything he writes from now on whatever the genre.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hampton Creek Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to the publisher and the author for giving me the chance to check this one out.
Ultimately, I am tapping out at 30%. I've tried to get into the story and connect with the characters but I just can't.
Unfortunately, this is a case of wrong reader for the book. There is nothing wrong with the writing, and there is an ok flow to the book, but I'm just at that point where I'm not wanting to go on.

Thank you to J. D. Barker, Hampton Creek Press and NetGalley (@netgalley) for providing me with a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Oh dear...
This book had me all over the place! I must admit at times I just wanted to leave it, the story (to me, at least) dragging a bit.
But now that I have finished it, I'm glad I stuck with it till the end.
Like the author said, this can be best described as Jack's and Stella's story. But that is not to be confused with a classic love story.
This book has it all-love story, thriller, horror...and it really is well put together. The army of characters is amazingly depicted-the ones you love from the start, the creepy ones, theones you hate from the bottom of your heart...
August 8 is important for the story and chapters revolve around it. Each year anticipating what will happen on that day.
Without revealing much, the loss of some characters throughout the story really was painful, while at times I couldn't decide whether a character is good or bad...
The book really grips you and doesn't let go!
A full 5 star from me!!

Jack Thatch lost his parents when he was just a toddler in a horrific car accident that he still has nightmares about. Or are they memories? Stella has also lost her parents. David's parents died as well. But why? And how are they all connected? It will scare the daylights out of you!

Since then he has lived with his Aunt Jo. Every year on the anniversary of their deaths Jo and Jack go to the cemetery and spend time with his parents. Jo is adamant about this. August 8th of every year. They read out loud what the tombstones say and then Jack wanders around.

It's on one of these walkarounds that eight-year-old Jack meets eight-year-old Stella. Sitting on a bench wearing full-length gloves like an old woman going to the opera. Her chaperone ( and let's use that term very loosely for now) doesn't like Jack and makes it known. But something about Stella draws Jack in. And for years they meet up on August 8th in the cemetery to chat.

Jack is obsessed with Stella. Why only once a year and on that date? Who are all of the people surrounding her in the white coats and cars?

When his Aunt Jo dies early of cancer, Jack is left a very wealthy man with his elderly neighbor lady keeping track of him for the few months he has left until he turns 18.  But Jack is still trying to figure out what really happened to his parents and he knows Jo knew.

There were so many different things going on in this long book! Conspiracy Theories, kids with scary powers that gave me chills!

This is Barker at his best! Scaring the life out of me. I could not put it down once I started reading it. There's Suspense, Mysteries, Mob Crime, FBI, and even Pharmaceutical Crimes!

My favorite thing was at the end when Barker said he needed a break from the darkness of the Monkey books so he wrote this one. I would love to spend one day in this man's head! Bravo!

Full Five Star Review!

NetGalley/ March 31st, 2020 by Hampton Creek Press

The wonderful thing about starting to read a book by J.D. Barker is that you never know where his weird and amazing imagination is going to take you. A consummate storyteller, he admits that he doesn't work to a plot outline and lets the book take him where it will and perhaps that is why it works so well for him.

As promised She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be is not as dark as the 4MK trilogy but it is just as wondrous. We have two children who meet in a cemetery on 8th August every year, a little girl kept in a mansion surrounded by guards dressed in white, a boy kept locked in a sound proof room and carefully watched and studied every minute of the day and a detective who keeps what he calls a 'wall of weird' documenting bodies that have turned up over the years their flesh and internal organs strangely burnt but their clothes intact.

Jack Thatch is the narrator who meets the little girl, Stella (Estella) Nettleton in the cemetery in 1984 when they are both eight years old. Jack is with his Auntie Jo visiting the graves of his parents, killed in a car crash four years previously. Stella is sitting on a bench reading her favourite book, 'Great Expectations'. As in the book, Stella's parents are also dead and she lives in a mansion with a guardian. She decides Jack can become her Pip. Even though they speak for only a few minutes and won't meet again for another year, it's the start of a lifelong obsession for Jack and he becomes compelled to seek Stella out to find out more about her.

Although this is a long book, I enjoyed every minute of it. All the strange and unusual pieces fit together so well in a perfectly made jigsaw - Stella's isolated and privileged existence, Jack's strange dreams about his father, the mystery boy in the locked room, the people in white and their ever present white cars and the strangely burnt people. Great characters and a fabulously original tale full of suspense, intrigue, friendship and love, just as a great novel should be.

4.25 stars

ENTHRALLING

She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be is a weird, dark, and mysterious novel about a mystery surrounding a girl who appears once a year in the cemetery on the anniversary of the death of a young boy’s parents.

The plot has many characters and many layers. While not complex, there are a lot of threads and strange dynamics to keep track of. Combining a mixture of genres, this is a story about a boy and a girl who meet at a cemetery. They both happen to be orphans. Infatuation grows into love, but dark forces are keeping them apart.It’s about friendship and family. It’s about exploitation and evil. It’s about the good vs. the bad. The normal vs. weird. The natural vs. the supernatural. Most significantly, it’s about love.

There is something about the way J.D. Barker writes these characters and their story that is so compelling. I couldn’t put this book down. I was sucked in almost immediately and quickly got lost in the tale of Jack and Stella. The more I read the more I wanted to know. The more I read, the stranger it became. But it also became more and more enthralling. This a lengthy read, but it never felt long. A lot happens, but all of the threads come together and all of the events are meaningful. The characters are well-developed and Jack makes for a great hero. Influenced by Great Expectations combined with elements from X-Men set in Pittsburgh, She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be is a thoroughly entertaining, original, and refreshing read. This is a story to get lost in.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to get this ARC since I loved The 4MK books. Definitely nothing like that series. This kind of had a Twilight feel to it for me. A forbidden love story between young adults who were not typical. Add a touch of science fiction, action adventure and drama. It was a great story with great characters but it seemed to go on forever. That is my only complaint. I found myself skimming towards the end just to get to the end. Loved the ending as well just wished it hadn’t taken so long to get there.

Full disclosure: Long books have to really bring it or else I get impatient. If it’s taking me the same amount of time to read a book that it would take me to read two (or even three!) books closer to standard length, it better make it worth my while. Doorstoppers have to be awesome enough to make me temporarily forget how many great books are on my TBR list at any given time. This one weighs in at 774 pages, more than twice the length of the more common 300- to 320-page book. So, yes, at times, I did find myself frustrated. For instance, it takes a while to get going at the beginning. If I hadn’t been reading this for Netgalley, I’m not 100% sure I would’ve stayed with it. That’s not to say this is a bad book! It’s a fun read with distinct characters, lots of formidable and ominous villains, both general and specific. There’s a love story woven throughout, which always adds a little extra something. And if you’re a fan of Great Expectations, you’ll enjoy the fact that Barker seasoned this novel with elements from the Dickens' classic.

Amazon and NetGalley both list this title under the Suspense/Thriller and Horror genres. Suspense/thriller fans, I think you’re going to be happy with what you find here. It has all of the elements you’re looking for — both (seemingly) ordinary and mysterious characters with uncertain intents chasing each other around, loads of tense moments and surprises.

I fear, however, that the pure Horror fans out there may be slightly less enthralled. I wouldn’t say it’s scary as much as it is exciting.

SciFi readers, on the other hand, you’ll also likely discover a lot to like about this book, especially if the Near-Future and Human Development subgenres are up your alley. If you enjoyed The Institute by Stephen King (or are considering picking it up), you might want to take a look at this one, too. Ditto if The Power by Naomi Alderman is on your bookshelf.

This one starts out a little 'bitty', with quotes and false starts before the prologue, which itself is separated in time from the story that begins in chapter one.

To be honest, it was a slog. I wanted to DNF it every time I picked it up. It seemed to have trouble deciding what genre it is and the overlay of Dickens' Great Expectations (one of my favourite stories of all time) didn't really work. It felt very contrived and I would have given up when Miss/Mrs Oliver gave Jack her speech in the graveyard except that I always finish books I've requested from Netgalley, even when they're painful.

The sentence structure was fine, the problems were in dialogue and plot. The sort of scifi sequences with some mysterious entity observing could have been left out altogether and improved the story as well as shaving off some over long filler.

The characters themselves, while not evoking sympathy, were at least defined personalities but Jack himself was pretty wet and the naming of many of them again I felt insulted Dickens. Still, the book seems to have a lot of good reviews so maybe it just has its audience.

This book was 800 pages, so it wasn't a short read, but it was an enjoyable one. I haven't read anything from this author before, so wasn't prepared for the weirdness that their writing entails. This book spans multiple decades, which accounts for the length of this read. Do not be intimidated, it is worth the investment of your time!

OMG what a book! This is only the second book I've read by J.D. Barker - the first being a collaboration with Dacre Stoker - Dracul - which was a fascinating read. This book is horror first of all, but could be considered mystery or thriller as well - there is definitely quite a mystery and thriller definitely fits. In the acknowledgements J. D. Barker said he wrote this book as something lighter after his dark 4MK thriller series. I thought this one was pretty dark, but now I'm figuring I'll have to read that 4MK series as well.

I raced through this book because I couldn't put it down. I could never figure out exactly what was going on until the end and I'm still filled with questions. I'm going to be thinking about this one for a while. Totally engrossing and fascinating - and let me say pretty darn original.

Kudos J. D Barker! The characters are so realistic and yet fantastic. The plot is engrossing and fast paced. Loved it.

Thanks to J. D. Barker and Hampton Creek Press through Netgalley for an advance copy. This was an awesome read!

There is no way to read a JD Barker book and not love it. Nobody gets your blood racing like JD! His writing is so good that I am sure he would freak Stephen King out. I love every book that he writes. He is just awesome

Jack Thatch first meets the girl sat on a bench in the cemetery when he is 8 years old. He meets her there again exactly a year later. Who is subject D? What happened to the man found in an alley burned to death but without a mark on his clothes? How do these things all link together & what have they to do with Jack & his best mate Dunc?
This is quite a complex book with several threads going at once. The subject D thread is particularly enigmatic. However I didn't have a problem holding all the threads at once and they do all come together in the end. The book starts quite slowly but I didn't have a problem with that. It is well constructed and kept my interest throughout. There was never a time when I didn't want to continue and at times found myself struggling to out it down.
This book is very slightly futuristic/ science fiction but not so much that it couldn't be enjoyed by people who aren't big fans of science fiction. Anyone who likes a well constructed thriller or psychological thriller would enjoy this.
I got really involved with the characters. Although I generally liked Jack & his mate Dunc there were times when I really didn't like what they did. They were great examples of young boys who grow up in difficult & poor circumstances with less parental input than would be ideal.I don't want to say too much about other characters as you need to get to know them as they develop but they are well constructed & very human.
I really enjoyed this book. The ending was very satisfying and fitted entirely with the plot. I had got so so involved with the book that I felt bereft when I had finished!!! A great read that I can highly recommend.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

I was perusing Netgalley when I saw this book by J.D. Barker who wrote the 4MK series, which I loved. While the writing in this one was just as good, it was a completely different type of story. I would say it’s more horror than mystery.

We start with Jack at age eight. He meets a mysterious girl named Stella while visiting his parents’ graves. We continue to follow Jack every year on August 8 visiting his parents’ graves and looking for Stella. The first half of the book follows Jack as a child and teenager. We also get the perspective of several other characters, but Jack’s story is the main focus. I thoroughly enjoyed this section of the story and couldn’t wait to see where the story would go.

The second half is mostly from the year 1998 when Jack is twenty-two. This part was significantly slower than the first half and I found myself losing interest. It did pick up again towards the end, and I couldn’t put it down until I found out how everything would turn out.

Overall, this was an enjoyable story but a bit too long in my opinion. Two reveals towards the end were obvious to me. I will say that anyone who grew up in the 80‘s and 90’s like I did will surely appreciate all the pop culture references sprinkled throughout. The nostalgia made me smile every time.

3.5 stars

FTC disclosure: I would like to thank Hampton Creek Press for providing me with an advance reader copy via access to the galley for free through the NetGalley program.

An excellent book, one I couldn't put down!

I could stop there and just make a recommendation to read it, but I can't help myself to explain as to why when it comes to critiquing and there were a lot of things I loved about this book.

Starting with the overall premise and writing. There was a uniqueness both in original idea and writing style. I saw similarities to other namely authors, perhaps with some influence, but this author writes with a certain distinguished, intriguing sentiment that is all his own. It was like having a weird dream that only makes sense in your mind, materialized, taking risks in writing style, and then the retelling of such a story done right.

To begin with, it had all the essentials of what makes a good opener for a book. It sucked me in within the first few lines and chapter. I got a feel for the context, personality, setting, time frame, all with a taste of mystery, built as a nice set up with all the elements that readers crave when starting and continuing to enjoy a book like this, especially since it crossed into many types of genres. It was the seamless delivery that was carefully constructed.

Within each scene there was an ease to reading. Perhaps it was the way that each sentence was crafted. They were not so rule-hugging and rigid, formulaic, or formal, but appropriately written to enhance both personality, character growth, and the flow of the story. The writing pushed the boundaries, embracing the realm of creative thought and feeding it right back into the story.

I really appreciated the story because the detective work didn’t overtake it. Terminology wasn’t constantly being defined and explained, but instead jumped right into an occupation with use of the norms and lingo in conversation as they are understood among the people that use them. If you've ever read more than one mystery or crime novel, you will understand this and know that it is not uncommon to see stories get interrupted and cluttered with a bunch of backstories, rationales of behavior, or an over-explanation of job duties, procedures, and protocols that can so easily take you out of the story rather than be a natural progression of it.

I appreciated that there was not grab a thesaurus, word substitutions for adjectives, action verbs, words for said, and transitionals just thrown in, but actual descriptions told in unconventional ways which was both refreshing and compelling. Breaking of traditional rules by leaving in run-ons and fragments only added to the story, keeping the logical flow, the pace, the conversation, the thought-process, to speak for itself.

Even brand names, literary remarks, and historical references were mentioned without excessive descriptions or nouns to follow which made for an even smoother read. It just worked. Perhaps because the author knows his audience and can take liberty in allowing the reader to connect with the time and place, and feel like the story was just written for them.

With each character, the narrator voice was spot on consistent and distinguishable with actions, thoughts, and feelings, even through growth. The reminiscent parts were not only accurate to events but also perspective, really true to the time. The voice of internal conflict and insight was appropriate for each character age group. For example school-age memories and dialogue was told from a child’s mind, reflecting the safe, carefree life of youth, and also included the irrational fears and immature actions that resulted. I appreciated the attention to detail, even the accuracy of a growing boy’s height according to growth charts, which made it all the more believable even within the domain of nonfiction, paranormal, and fantasy.

I liked that it took me back to childhood memories of required reading, riding bikes to Circle K, skid-marks in gravel, and the fear of tetanus. It made me want to reread Great Expectations, even though I haven't had an inkling to ever read it again since its requirement in grade school. The desire to read another book as stirred up by a book you're currently reading is always a success in my mind.

There were also comedic references that were sometimes overt, sometimes subtle, and so very funny.

Lastly I loved the internal dialogue referencing deeper meanings in life.

All-in-all, it reminded me of the momentum, thrill, and excitement of choose your own adventure books, the joy in anticipation and satisfaction of what comes next.

https://ericarobbin.com

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, JD Barker, and Hampton Creek Press for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

A fan of JD Barker and his off the wall work, I was happy to get my hands on this ARC of his latest standalone. This book kept me up late, wondering how things would fall into place, while also impressing me with the twists embedded in the narrative. John Edward ‘Jack’ Thatch suffered quite the loss when he was four, as both his parents died in an automobile accident. He visits their gravestones every year on August 8th and when he does so in 1984, young Jack meets Stella, a mysterious little girl. Captivated by her, Jack sees her every year on the same day, but cannot understand who she is there to see or what brings her back. With no parents of her own, Stella is accompanied by a group who wear white coats and travel in sleek vehicles. Jack’s infatuation grows over the years, though Stella remains aloof about his interest. Jack’s day-to-day life heats up in Pittsburgh as he becomes a teenager, particularly when his aunt passes away and leaves him a sum of money. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh PD have been chasing down a number of cold cases, all committed around August 8th. Each of the victims seems to be ‘scorched’ but the surroundings are untouched. Acting on some curious intel, the authorities wonder if Stella might be behind the murders, even though she was just a baby when they began. At the standoff, many die, but Stella is able to elude capture. She flees into the night, on the run for crimes about which she knows all too well. Jack also falls off the grid after learning his father kept a monumental secret from him, which could explain the connection to Stella. This baffling mystery might bring Jack and Stella even closer, while explaining some of the odd things taking place around Pittsburgh for so long. A mind-bending novel that only Barker could concoct. It will leave the reader more confused than when they started, but in the best possible way. Recommended to those who love something that challenges the norms of mystery and thriller writing.

When I first discovered JD Barker, I knew I was in for an exciting ride. His stories are never a simple A to B, meandering around and keeping the reader enthralled until the very end. There is so much to them that the reader must pay close attention and hope that their comprehension hat is firmly affixed. Jack is a wonderfully complex character who develops so well throughout this book, but seems to do so in fits and starts. His backstory is thorough and keeps revealing itself, much as his developments throughout will keep the reader trying to sketch out what they know and how it all fits. There is so much on the go and yet it does not seem overwhelming when taken in small doses. Others, including Stella, develop nicely throughout, as Barker peels back their layers to discover some wonderfully juicy tidbits of their own. Many characters complement what Jack is doing, though some take the story in many tangents. Speaking of the larger story, this is a massive one and goes in so many directions. That being said, Barker keeps it grounded enough that the reader can follow what is going on and see the progression with ease. Broken into multiple parts—which are themselves divided into ‘annual chapters’—the story is more easily digested, without losing the needed narrative momentum. I found myself in awe as I finished, to see where I had come in this reading journey. This book is not for the weak of heart or superficial reader, but I can assure any who take the journey, it will not be easily forgotten.

Kudos, Mr. Barker, for a great tale that took me on quite the adventure.