The Broken Ones

What an incredibly good read this book turned out to be and while it took me a few chapters to get into it once I did I was gripped in the clever and intriguing story. Nell is an successful author of true crime books and she starts to research her latest one a story of once conjoined twins in which one is convicted of murdering the other but while this is a very strange case Nell has secrets of her own and while researching the story of the twins she soon gets the feeling someone has been looking into her own past and her true identity and from there on in we are thrust into a dark and gripping story that races along.
This is a book that’s exceptionally well written, fabulous characters and full of atmosphere with two storylines running parallel making it one hell of a great read and what more do you ask from a mystery thriller.
So very well recommended and I look forward to reading more from Ren Richards in the future and many thanks for an excellent book.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Serpent’s Tail / Profile Books, Viper for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Broken Ones had me gripped from the beginning.

Following Nell a true crime writer who has her own dark past this book is full of heartbreak, deception and some juicy twists! Told in the past and present the two storylines work perfectly together drawing together for some shocking conclusions. I loved how gritty and dark The Broken Ones is and can highly recommend!

A very dark and cold story. It was fantastic though and I literally couldn’t put it down. Well written. I’d definitely read more by this author xx

This was an incredible thriller that I had a great time reading. Exquisite character development and fast flowing story make this book a success

WOW. I didn’t expect that.

This is a great start for Ren Richards’ dream of breaking into the adult suspense/thriller genre. I’ve not read any of her YA novels.

I read this in 24 hours.... got lots of things to do however I couldn’t put this down. Nell Way and her sister Lindsay are great characters, in fact all of the characters are believable. However, the plot is built around Nell Way and Lindsay.

The first two sentences draw you in straight away.

‘Murderers are human too. That’s the part people forget.’

Born to a mother in jail, who tried to murder her alcoholic father, Nell was brought up by her sister during their time in foster care homes.

Both girls ended up quite wealthy, one through marriage, Lindsay and Nell through being a crime writer. However Nell has a dark secret which you don’t get to find out what happened until the very end.

After getting pregnant at 14 and giving birth to a daughter, Reina, who was a little devil 😈 the father, Ethan and his wealthy family took over her life.

The plot thickens and it takes you from Now to Then, two timelines and explores the lives of the two women. What happened then and what is happening now.

It starts to get personal when Nell takes on a new female criminal who found out about her past which she brought up when Nell interviewed her for her next book.

It makes you think who and why are Nell and Lindsay being targeted? Is it something to do with Lindsay’s past or the new jailbird, Easter, Nell has started to research? Easter is a Russian psychopath, or is she? Ren keeps you guessing until the end.

Sebastian, Nell’s boyfriend, is the stable pin throughout, sounds like my kind of guy, Nell’s rock, however he doesn’t know about her past and is about to learn, does he stay?

Loved this book, easy to read, a poetic style of writing and Ren keeps the suspense going until the end.

Would definitively recommend. 5*

There’s quite a few typos and grammatical errors in my manuscript which will naturally be rectified before it is published.....

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

I wasn't able to put this book down.

"The Broken Ones" begins inconspicuously, introducing Nell Way, a true crime writer who is in a happy relationship, and has a knack for humanising the otherwise infamous in her work. However, as she begins interviewing Easter Hamblin, the murdering half of a formerly conjoined pair of twins, her initially perfect life begins to unravel before the reader's eyes, and we quickly learn that she has a past just as tormented and troubled as that of those whom she interviews. A past that resurfaces and culminates into life threatening.

The aptly titled novel, with its rapid twists and unexpected turns, is one that reflects on our imperfect nature. The protagonist, is in her own way, 'broken', as are some of the other characters (who will remained unnamed for spoiler purposes). Richards' writing is one that any thriller fan will appreciate - fast paced, tense and able to create a mood of desperation that envelopes the reader until the last page. I was torn between sympathising with characters, while disliking them at the same time. The strength of the novel ultimately lies in the moral greyness of its lead : Nell is emotionally scarred, which leads her to make questionable decisions, which are easy to judge as the reader, but at the same time, painfully relevant and relatable.

Recommended to thriller lovers.