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  Books   Adroit Fractured rises above the mundane

Adroit Fractured rises above the mundane

AP
Published : Oct 14, 2016, 2:00 am IST
Updated : Oct 14, 2016, 2:00 am IST

In Catherine McKenzie’s Fractured, readers are hurled through complex and overlapping plots at an addictive pace.

CATHERINE.jpg
 CATHERINE.jpg

In Catherine McKenzie’s Fractured, readers are hurled through complex and overlapping plots at an addictive pace.

The end of summer doesn’t need to mean the end of beach reads. And a beach read doesn’t need to mean lightweight or purple prose.

Take Canadian novelist-attorney Catherine McKenzie. With her skilled writing, adroit storytelling ability, and realistic and empathetic characters, a simple thriller rises above the mundane.

Her latest release, Fractured, tells the story of a newly popular contemporary fiction author, Julie Prentice, who is as well-known for her wildly popular first novel as she is for her stalker, a former university classmate. The fictional novel, The Murder Game, may or may not be based on a real-life murder in Julie's past. When she and her family move to Cincinnati to dodge the stalker and attempt a fresh start, Julie’s history looms large.

Fractured bounces back and forth in time and between the viewpoints of Julie and her neighbor John, with whom she shares a flirtation, but the movements are so adept, they never become confusing. Instead, readers are hurled through complex and overlapping plots at an addictive pace.

The only less-than-satisfying aspect of the novel is the ending, which felt a bit too pat, almost like a ‘Movie of the Week’ cop-out.