A Child Is Torn

Whitley & Keal Mystery, Book 1

De: Dawn Kopman Whidden

Narrado por: Beth A. McIntosh

When dependable Evan Madison fails to show up for work, police are dispatched to his home. His 10-year-old son, Brad, is discovered inside, unharmed and seemingly alone. He is stoic, sitting in front of the television playing his favorite video game, Super Mario - and he's covered in blood.

Veteran Police Officer Marty Keal is the first on the scene. With his many years of experience, he thinks he's seen it all. That is, until he discovers Brad's not really alone after all. Upstairs in their bedroom lies the brutally bludgeoned and deceased bodies of both his mother and his father. When questioned, Brad confesses to the horrific murders.

When Brad is transferred to a local mental health institution for children, Dr. Hope Rubin is brought in to evaluate and treat the child. A preliminary investigation shows no evidence of any kind of mistreatment in his past. She must determine the disturbing truth: Is Brad telling the truth? Or is he covering for someone else?

Detective Jean Whitely rounds out the investigative team and she suspects there is much more to the case than what meets the eye. The happily married mother of two is unwavering in her determination to uncover the real truth about Brad. Was he abused? Or is he the product of an evil seed born to kill?

As the layers of truth about Brad are systematically peeled away, you will be compelled to ask yourself, which is the more dominate factor in contributing to who we are - nature or nurture?

©2016 Dawn Kopman Whidden (P)2017 Dawn Kopman Whidden

Interesting look at child psychology and crime

First of all: "This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."

I found this book to be quite interesting. Though the writing is not always elegant, and sometimes the plot wanders a little, the story at the center of the plot is very intriguing, and shows the author's obvious interest in and knowledge of child psychology.

The story moves back and forth between the investigation of a horrific crime and the relationships of those who are trying to figure out what happened. To me, some aspects of the crime at the center of the case stretched credulity a little, and while the narrative acknowledged this, I don't feel like it was completely explained or supported. That being said, the story remains quite interesting and mysterious.

The characters ion the novel are quite realistic, their relationships are plausible and natural. This aspect of the book seemed to take over sometimes, but I found that I didn't care.

The narrator of the audio edition that I listened to was pretty good. Her tone and inflection added to the mystery and intrigue, and her voice was quite pleasing.

Nature vs. Nurture.

Wow, a heart-breaking story of what's stronger, Nature or Nurture. I didn't want to stop until the book was done. A absolute must. I received this audio book for free at my request and voluntarily reviewed.

Amazing

I was given this free review audiobook at my request and have voluntarily given my review.

This book was amazing! I can't wait to listen to the next one! Made me think and feel for the small child! Would so listen to it again and I don't do that for many books.

A rare 5 star book

The narrator bugged me at the beginning so I adjusted the speed to get something my ear found likeable. The story drew me in from the beginning and never let go. Once I got into the story, the narration wasn’t as important as learning more about this little boy. The story and characters are so well developed that nothing else matters for a while. The author, Dawn Kopman Whidden, is they type of writer that will make you lose sleep and forget appointments can’t wait to get into the next book

Thriller with a romance

The beginning of this book was a little hard for me, with the scene of a double murder involving a young boy. However, as the story progressed, the other characters developed and relationships between them helped make the story enjoyable. The narrator had an interesting voice quality, and I couldn't ever decide if her voice fit the story or not.