A Child Is Torn

Whitley & Keal Mystery, Book 1

By: Dawn Kopman Whidden

Narrated by: Beth A. McIntosh

Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

A Child is Torn

A heartbreaking story that will keep you on your toes until the end when you will finally get some answers. Anyone who loves mystery or suspense will really enjoy this book as well as the series. I have listened to three books in this series and they can all be read as a stand-alone.

Nature vs Nuture

I literally had such a hard time putting this story away. If I did not have to get up and go to work the next day, I feel that I could have finished it in one sitting.

When Brad, a 10yr, is found at his home, covered in blood and playing video games by officer Keal, the story begins. As the officer begins to search the home, he finds 2 bodies, of which are the parents of the young boy. Brad is then place in a mental health physicality, where he is observed by Dr. Hope Rubin.

Dr Hope Rubin, is having a challenging time with the thought that this small, fragile looking boy could have done something so brutal as killing his parents with a baseball bat. She feels as if there has to have been something such as abuse that would have triggered this kind of reaction, but only once she and Detective Jean Whitely interview family members do they find out the truth about the family and the demons that lay ahead.


I am excited to also have FACELESS, which is Book 2 in the series and am positive that Dawn Kipman Whidden has done a fantastic job on this one as well.....Stay tuned

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom

I really enjoyed this story

I really enjoyed this story and it had me hooked from the very beginning. The characters were great and the twist was unexpected, and had me guessing the whole time.
I would have liked a bit more of the detective side of the story in stead of the romance part, but it is a first in the series and the characters had to be introduced to us and linked up in some way so I guess it makes sense to focus on them in the first book.
I cannot wait to read the 2nd book in this series and see in what situation Whitley and Keal find themselves next.
The narrator was a bit slow, so I listened to this audiobook on 1.5x speed which was easily followed, but other than that she was really good.

Heartbreaking and eye opening mystery

This was my second book by this author, but the first was a children’s book so quite different. Dawn certainly knows how to write a detailed, enthralling well weaved story. My heart goes out to her for writing about such a horrific event in a little boy’s life. It certainly was unlike anything I had ever read/heard before and it will remain in my head for some time afterwards. I really liked all the characters and look forward to hearing or reading the other books in the series.

I thought the narrator was great for Hope and Jean but wished for more distinguished voices for the characters and felt her pace was too slow. I believe that it’s a different narrator for the next book in the series and will hope for more variations in the characters voices.

I will say that you will definitely be impressed with the writing and the mind of the author in the storyline and how such a horrific act was dealt with in this book. Not a surprise that it was awarded for its content.

Intense

Murder mystery intrigue with a little romance. Well written the narration was just ok for me