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    Fractured
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    Fractured
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    Fractured
    Audiobook8 hours

    Fractured

    Written by Dani Atkins

    Narrated by Susan Duerden

    3.5/5

    ()

    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    What would you do if life gave you a second chance?
    The accident changed everything... Now, five years on, Rachel's life is crumbling. She lives alone in a tiny flat, desperate with guilt over her best friend's death.
    The accident was a lucky escape... Now, five years on, Rachel's life is perfect. She has a wonderful fiancé and loving friends around her. But why can't Rachel shake the memory of a different life?
    Fractured is a magical love story that asks: can two different stories lead to the same happy ending?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherW. F. Howes Ltd
    Release dateMay 1, 2014
    ISBN9781471262982
    Unavailable
    Fractured
    Author

    Dani Atkins

    Dani Atkins is an award-winning novelist. Her 2013 debut Fractured (published as Then and Always in North America) has been translated into sixteen languages and has sold more than half a million copies since first publication in the UK. Dani is the author of four other bestselling novels, two of which, This Love and A Sky Full of Stars, won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award, in 2018 and 2022 respectively. Dani lives in a small village in Hertfordshire with her husband, one Siamese cat and a very soppy Border Collie. Follow Dani on twitter @AtkinsDani

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    Reviews for Fractured

    3.5/5

    124 ratings45 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Interesting story, provides good insight to Will Trent's character, and some into Faith Mitchell's. I have just downloaded the 3rd book in this series!Reader Phil Gigante does an excellent job with the many characters voices, making it readily obvious who is speaking. He also emotes believable emotions for them.
    • 4/5
      Fractured by Karin Slaughter (Will Trent Series #2), is another intense crime thriller set in Ansley Park, an upscale neighborhood of Atlanta, a teenage girl murdered, and another is kidnapped and missing.

      A case of mistaken identity, when the girl murdered is not the girl who lives in this upscale home. Affluent Atlanta housewife, Abigail Campano, arrives home to find a man standing over the corpse of a teenage girl she thinks is her daughter. She kills him in a blind rage, but learns later that he and the dead girl were friends of her daughter, who has been kidnapped.

      To further complicate, Will grew up with Emma’s dad, Paul. Paul dislikes Will since they were orphans. He does not want Trent in his house, much less investigating the case. He is accustomed to getting his own way, as wealthy and throws money and possessions out to his daughter to the point of being out of control. His marriage is also rocky and Abigail wants Trent involved to get to the bottom of the crime.

      Atlanta Homicide Detective Faith Mitchell has been temporarily transferred to Trent’s partner. She is not so thrilled with this assignment. Trent has been given the assignment of uncovering corruption in the Atlanta police department. Ten officers were fired, and Mitchell’s mother was forced to take retirement since she was involved in the takedown.

      Detective Will Trent (GBI) and APD Faith Mitchell are assigned to the case to find Emma. (the rich girl who is missing). Throughout the book, readers get an inside look into the relationships of the characters, making the suspense high for an engaging and satisfying read.

      Having read all the Will Trent series, I am now playing catch up this evening writing all my reviews. Karin has a unique writing style with in depth police procedural, well-developed characters, detailed information of Atlanta, and up close and personal with insights into each personality—connecting with the reader on all levels.

      I listened to the audiobook and Phil Gigante did ok; however, I prefer Kathleen Early (narrator of her latest releases).

      Read them all – you will not be disappointed - Love Will Trent!!
    • 4/5
      Karin Slaughter creates great characters. The title "Fractured" seems to deal not only with the shattered life of the many victims, but also with the deep wounds that life has dealt the lead investigators as well. Will Trent, the lead investigator, grew up as an orphan "in care," and he struggles to hide his severe disability that makes it difficult to read and pick up on written details. Faith Mitchell was molested by an older boyfriend as a young teenager, and has dealt with the shame and rejection all of her adult life even as she has lovingly raised her son. The crime mystery itself is somewhat lacking in wit and amazement, but it does easily hold your interest. I really cared what happened to WIll and Faith, and was pleased, if not overly surprised, at how things worked out. Overall a very enjoyable novel.
    • 5/5
      A good crime book with a good story.
    • 4/5
      A well-written whodunit involving murder and kidnapping with plenty of discovery, depravity, twists and an introduction to dyslexia and other reading challenges.A well-to-do mother, while on the phone with her husband, realizes someone had broken into the house as she arrives home and comes across a bloody young man holding a knife over her daughter’s obviously raped, beaten and stabbed body. When the kid comes after her, she fights back and kills him. But wait, that’s not Emma, it’s her best friend who looks a lot like her. The case is reluctantly turned over to the GBI, which is a good thing because Special Agent Will Trent sees a number of things the Atlanta PD didn’t, including the fact that the young man had been a victim too.Detective Faith Mitchell from the Atlanta PD is not happy to be working the case with Will. He’d done some investigation that recently got a number of police fired for taking drug money and her own mother was forced to retire from the force early because she upheld the Code of Silence and wouldn’t rat out her own people. But she eventually sees how good he is and how much more respect she gets from him than she’s ever gotten when working with other male detectives.As always the author leads us down a number of different interesting paths while trying to find Emma, and in doing so, we and Will learn more about his dyslexia when interviewing a teacher that tutors kids with various levels of reading challenges. He’s so good at his job because of this different wiring in his head that always made him think he was just stupid. But he’s got plenty of ways to hide this issue and at work; only his boss knows his secret.You won’t be guessing who has Emma until the author is ready to share and through the investigation, a secondary case is uncovered. Having enough evidence for the person involved in the secondary case to keep him in jail will make you feel good. Some very interesting characters and situations are shared with us and I really like Faith who shares a lot of screen time. We’d met Will in Triptych and he is who he is because of his upbringing and earlier experiences. But I’m really hoping that as the series goes on, he starts including successful experiences and his new understanding of dyslexia into the equation of how he views himself and his worthiness.
    • 4/5
      Slaughter knows how to place the reader in the crime scene making the hairs on the back of the neck stand tall....
    • 5/5
      Sometimes, all you could do was pray for the strength to carry on.A very fitting quote that applies well to the entire scope of Fractured. This book is INTENSE. The action and suspense starts immediately and doesn't let up as a family clings to the tiniest glimmer of hope that their daughter will be found alive. The book begins with a tragic crime in the Campano home. Right away there are twists in the plot and shocking surprises I never imagined. The emotion radiated off the pages, amping up the suspense, the anxiety of the family, the frustration of Detective Will Trent and other law enforcement personnel, etc. Karin Slaughter really shines when it comes to writing crime drama from the law enforcement perspective and I think it's because her characters always give it that extra edge. She doesn't know how to write a cookie cutter character. Be it a villain, a hero, or just a one scene witness, he/she will be as complex, emotional, and thought provoking as possible. This is why I keep returning to her books. Fractured is the second book in the Will Trent series and so far, I'm deeply intrigued by his mysterious personality. We're given a glimpse into his childhood and gain a little more understanding as to why he seems so broken and lonely. I really like his investigative style and his eye for detail. He picks up on clues at the scene that might not stand out to others, but yet he struggles with a learning disability that he's hiding from his superiors. He's walking a constant tight rope as far as his job is concerned and this time, the life of a 17-year-old girl hangs in the balance. I also enjoyed getting to know Amanda and hope that we will see her work with Trent again in future books. She's another character with multiple layers to explore. I've mentioned before that these books aren't for everyone. The violence is graphic and the subject matter is definitely adult: issues dealing with teenage sex, sexual exploitation of a minor, rape, and other violence. As always, theses tough issues are realistic and not just thrown in for shock value. I'll be moving on to book three!
    • 5/5
      Karin Slaughter is the absolute best crime/mystery writer I have come across in this day and age. Her novels will simply astound you with their heart-racing moments and intrigue. Every time I pick one of her novels up I cannot stop reading until I'm done and I still find myself begging for more. She's a writer with no fear! She wields her instruments like a knife ready to dig in deep and take you by surprise at every turn!
    • 5/5
      A woman comes home to find a man with a knife hunched over what she believes to be the dead body of her teenage daughter. She did what she felt she had to do, and fought back, killing him. But all was not as it appeared.This is the first Karin Slaughter book I have read, and I loved every second of it. Slaughter's writing style reminds me a lot of Lisa Gardner's, which is a huge compliment from me because I adore her books also. The story was gripping and I genuinely couldn't figure out who did it. I'm not used to being unable to figure it out - usually my overly-analytical brain doesn't give up until it's done, but I think that the plot for this book was so enthralling that I couldn't think of anything at all, I was far too engrossed. Slaughter really seems to care a great deal about her characters. Throughout the book, I really felt like I got to know them and actually developed some deep feelings towards them. I was actually really saddened when I turned the last page; I just wanted to stay there with them. I'm already looking into the next book in the series because I feel like I can't stay away from my beloved Will Trent for much longer.I can't speak too much about the writing style. I simply wasn't paying attention to it. I know that she is considered to write quite vigorously and can be quite a tough read, but I didn't find this at all. I found this book to almost turn the pages itself. I was reading, and then before I knew it, I was at the end. It took me two days to read over 500 pages and I think that really speaks volumes for how much it captivated me and how easy to read I found this book. It was a sophisticated book, though, and that's for sure. Both the plot and characters were incredibly realistic. This is important to me (although I can't say why). The plot itself was captivating and really leaves you wanting more. Everything ties in nicely with everything else, and despite all loose ends being tied at the end, it wasn't perfect. And that lack of perfection at the ending really adds to the realism of the story. Slaughter writes as though she's just telling a tale of something that happened in real life, and I think that when writing a thriller, the scariest and most captivating of tales are those that we can see really happening to our neighbour, our father, ourselves. It is brilliant.Overall, I greatly enjoyed this book and am so excited to read the next in the series.
    • 4/5
      Abigail Campano walks into her house to find her daughter Emma dead, a man still standing over her with a knife. Without thinking about danger to herself she attacks the man, choking him to death. When the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Will Trent arrives, he reads the devastating scene in a completely different way. Someone is dead, but it isn't Emma. It appears that Emma has been kidnapped. Will is paired up in this investigation with Atlanta Police Detective Faith Mitchell, who despises Will for her own personal reasons. This is the second book of the Will Trent series and the one where Faith makes her debut. Having read this series previously, I enjoyed seeing how far their work relationship has evolved over the years. Will is a completely different type of investigator than I'm used to. He's tall and ungainly, has a pet Chihuahua named Betty, the “social skills of a feral monkey”, and he's been keeping his dyslexia a secret for years.I've started to listen to the entire series in audio and Phil Gigante does a sensational job with his narration. The author does a remarkable job of mixing mystery and suspense with outstanding character development. Fractured kept me on the edge of my seat and I'm anxious to read the next book in the series, Undone.
    • 5/5
      After the shocking loss at the end of the last Karin Slaughter book I vowed not to read another, yes okay I'm getting too wrapped up in fictional lives aren't I? I initially borrowed this book from my sister but didn't have time to finish and wound up buying my own copy -- it was great! Introduces wonderful new characters while still involving Sara and keeping us involved in her life. Well done!
    • 5/5
      I'd never read this author and I enjoyed it a great deal. It's not gory, but has plenty of suspense. The characters are well done. There is a back story, dealing with Learning Disabilities and Dyslexia, something I think is misunderstood, and that was an added bonus.
    • 4/5
      Book Description
      1CBreathless tension! 1D raved the San Francisco Chronicle. 1COne of [the year 19s] most remarkable achievements, 1D crowed the Philadelphia Inquirer. Karin Slaughter dazzled readers and critics alike with Triptych, her New York Times bestselling suspense novel set in metropolitan Atlanta. Now the #1 internationally bestselling author returns to the damaged landscape she knows so well in a bold new novel 14at once a powder keg of suspense, a gritty portrait of a cop 19s life, and a searing exploration of a shocking crime and its aftermath 26

      With its gracious homes and tree-lined streets, Ansley Park is one of Atlanta 19s most desirable neighborhoods. But in one gleaming mansion, in a teenager 19s lavish bedroom, a girl has been savagely murdered. And in the hallway, her horrified mother stands amid shattered glass, having killed her daughter 19s attacker with her bare hands.

      Detective Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is here only to do a political favor; the murder site belongs to the Atlanta police. But Trent soon sees something that the cops are missing, something in the trail of blood, in a matrix of forensic evidence, and in the eyes of the shell-shocked mother. Within minutes, Trent is taking over the case 14and adding another one to it. He is sure that another teenage girl is missing, and that a killer is on the loose.

      Armed with only fleeting clues, teamed with a female cop who has her own personal reasons for hating him, Trent has enemies all around him 14and a gnawing feeling that this case, which started in the best of homes, is cutting quick and deep through the ruins of perfect lives broken wide-open: where human demons emerge with a vengeance.

      My Review
      This was a fast-paced read with lots of suspense. It had well-developed plot and characters. It was very well written and leaves you wanting to learn more about Will. I 19m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Undone.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoy reading this author although this one took me a while to get into as it didn't have the Sara Linton character in it that has featured in the other books I've read. Still a great read though.
    • 4/5
      Karin Slaughter tells a pretty good story, Will Trent is a new kind of detective--he is dyslexic. A teenager is abducted from her home and terrorized. Nicely enough, Slaughter does not share the explicict aspects of the terror--as too many writers do. The story moves along at a nice clip. The only complaint is that the author makes too many of her female characters witchy and bitchy.
    • 4/5
      Fractured is about wealthy housewife, Abigail Campano, who comes home to find the dead body of her daughter, Emma, but it is actually her friend, Kayla. This is just the beginning of the many mysteries that are played out in Fractured. Paired together to solve this mystery are GBI agent Will Trent and Detective Faith Mitchell, an interesting duo, for sure. The conflicts these two have with each other and within themselves are the best part of the story. The story is suspenseful, steady, and keeps you wanting more.Fractured started slow for me, but steadily became more and more suspenseful. The characters are intriguing and I look forward to seeing more of them in future books. I especially enjoyed Will Trent. I didn't see the ending coming, always a sign of a good mystery. I didn't want to see this one end...
    • 4/5
      Another clever and fast-moving crime novel by Karin Slaughter. Interesting characters!
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book. It is a murder/kidnapping mystery that has many twists and turns. I like that the book is not totally plot driven. Slaughter gives a lot of character development and I am wondering if this book might be part of a series with the same detective. I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5
    • 5/5
      Firstly thanks to Gael for giving me a new writer that I can enjoy. I know I had a wee dig in the first review by Slaughter but this book was a brilliant read. While it took me more than my usual week to read, this was in no way because of the writing but my own busy schedule (fitting it in with housework, kids, cooking, drinking etc). The last 200 pages went by in a flash and in fact had me up until nearly midnight finishing it.Without giving too much away the main story follows an FBI-type cop and his struggles to find the murderer of a school girl who has abducted a second one. The girls are from a well-to-do background which has its normal politics involved, but when he is paired up with a badge who happens to be the daughter of a woman he forced into retirement through another investigation he has to battle not only his own slut of a fiance, his dyslexia, but her (and the entire force’s) hatred for him.Unlike my favourite pin-cushion, Richard Layton, Slaughter’s dip into weird sex fetishes comes across as believable and readable…In a style that seems to be her MO Slaughter throws a few curve balls into the mix to have you guessing and double guessing but this is par for the course, but what I did like in this book that while the case was seemingly solved with nearly 100 pages to run the story was by no means finished. You’d think a story would drag with an early conclusion but it didn’t.The other good aspect to this book were a couple of ‘will they, won’t they” by lines.But I have to throw some criticism, and it has nothing to do with the story; but I suspect Karin is somewhat needy, particularly for recognition. For a story of about 500 pages, the first 10 or so are taken up with credits and plaudits for her writing. Christ woman, we get it you’re not a bad scribe, but do you have to boast about it so blatantly?Anyway, Gael, some more loaners soon?
    • 2/5
      Slaughter is one of my fav authors but this book was not her usual. Likable characters but the story just went on and on. I was very disappointed.
    • 5/5
      An original and haunting story of love and loss, life and death, beautifully written.
    • 3/5
      At the start of bestseller Slaughter’s heart-pounding sequel to 2006’s Triptych, wealthy housewife Abigail Campano returns home one day to Atlanta’s posh Ansley Park neighborhood to find a dead girl in the mansion’s upstairs hallway, the apparent killer nearby. Thinking that the girl is her teenage daughter, Emma, the distraught Abby kills the alleged attacker only to realize that the murdered girl is not Emma, but Emma’s friend, Kayla Alexander. Agent Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation soon determines that he has a murder and kidnapping on his hands. Paired with Det. Faith Mitchell, Trent scrambles to put the pieces together and find Emma before it’s too late. Summary BPLContinuing to read Slaughter’s book out of order with no nasty side effects. Although peopled with continuing characters, each book stands alone and strong. Ms Slaughter has not disappointed yet!8 out 10 Recommended to murder mystery fans with strong stomachs….
    • 5/5
      Inhaltsangabe:Die Achse von Rachels Welt ist Jimmy.Kurz vor Beginn des Universitätsbesuchs treffen sich die Freunde Rachel, Matt, Jimmy, Cathy und Sarah zu einem Abschieds-Essen. Doch ehe sie es sich versehen, rast ein Auto in das Restaurant. Jimmy sieht die Gefahr auf Rachel zukommen und rettet ihr das Leben, muss jedoch seines dabei lassen.Fünf Jahre später: Rachel hat sich schon bald nach dem Unfall von Matt getrennt und sie lebt in einer kleinen Wohnung in London. Ihr Leben ist dunkel und voller Trauer. Obwohl sie ihren Jugendfreund nie als Geliebten gesehen hat, kann sie von der Trauer und ihren Schuldgefühlen nicht loslassen. Von dem Unfall sind ihr eine Narbe an der Stirn und schreckliche Kopfschmerzen geblieben. Ihr Vater ist an Krebs erkrankt und sie macht sich große Sorgen um ihn. Als ihre beste Freundin Sarah heiratet, kehrt sie das erste Mal nach fünf Jahren in diese Stadt zurück. Sie wird mit dem damaligen Unglück erneut konfrontiert und auch mit der Tatsache, dass sie bislang nicht wußte, das Jimmy sie über alles geliebt hat. Als sie sein Grab besuchen will, bricht sie zusammen!Die zweite Welt, ebenfalls fünf Jahre apäter: Rachel ist mit Matt verlobt und arbeitet erfolgreich als Journalistin in London. Anlässlich der Hochzeit ihrer Freundin Sarah kehrt sie in ihre Heimatstadt zurück, glaubt sich aber von einem Mann verfolgt. Als sie aus dem Zug aussteigt, wird sie tatsächlich verfolgt und am Friedhof überfallen. Als sie wieder erwacht, sieht sie sich im Krankenhaus wieder, an ihrer Seite ihr gesunder Vater und ein besorgter Matt. Und Jimmy steht an ihrem Bett, gesund und munter und inzwischen zum Polizisten ausgebildet.Rachel glaubt sich in einem Alptraum, kann sie ihren Vater und Jimmy doch erklären, dass sie eigentlich ein ganz anderes Leben führt. Sie hat keinen blassen Schimmer, was gerade wirklich passiert, aber dass Jimmy nun doch lebt, empfindet sie als Segen und Fluch zugleich. Wird ihre diagnostizierte Amnesie geheilt? Und was ist mit ihren Gefühlen für Jimmy und Matt?Mein Fazit:Ich bin ein Liebesroman-Fan, das gebe ich ehrlich zu. Und diese Geschichte um Rachel, Matt und Jimmy fällt genau in mein Beuteschema. Und ich finde, der Autorin ist ein wunderbares Debüt gelungen.Man muss sich die Situation einmal vorstellen, man vergisst die letzten fünf Jahre und man befindet sich plötzlich in einem ganz anderen Leben wieder. Alles ist auf einmal so wie eigentlich erwünscht. Der Vater ist gesund, man ist glücklich verlobt und der Jugendfreund, eigentlich unter dramatischen Umständen verstorben, lebt wieder. Rachsel spürt von Anfang an, dass die Sache einen gewaltigen Haken hat. Doch völlig gleichgültig was sie auch versucht, sie kommt nicht hinter das Rätsel und ergibt sich damit in ihr Schicksal.Zwischendurch muss sie sich mit der Untreue ihres Verlobten auseinandersetzen (das sie selbst eigentlich nicht sehr viel besser ist, wollen wir jetzt mal nicht so genau nehmen). Matt allerdings war mir im zweiten Leben tatsächlich auch äußerst unsympathisch. Er setzte sie unter Druck und konnte kaum Verständnis für ihre Situation aufbringen. Obwohl sie verlobt sind, kann sie ihn instinktiv nicht ansich heran lassen, weiß sie doch noch sehr genau, dass sie ihn im ersten Leben gleich nach dem Unfall den Laufpass gegeben hat.Die Gefühle für Jimmy werden übermächtig, denn sie hat die fünf Jahre voller Trauer und Schmerz um ihn noch sehr gut in Erinnerung. Das er sie tatsächlich schon seit vielen Jahren liebt, kann sie nun endlich akzeptieren und analysiert sich selbst sehr kritisch. Dennoch bleiben da leise Zweifel, was die Situation angeht. Warum riecht sie immer wieder das Rasierwasser ihres Vaters, obwohl er gar nicht in der Nähe ist? Wieso hört sie plötzlich Martinshorn, obwohl kein Einsatzfahrzeug da ist? Und was hat es mit diesem ständigen Weckerklingeln und Piepen aufsich?Die Geschichte hat mich von der ersten Sekunde in den Bann gezogen und sie wurde toll vorgelesen. Das Ende möchte ich nicht verraten, aber ich war fassungslos, berührt und bekam eine Gänsehaut. Ich habe mich einen Augenblick beim Hören hingesetzt und entsetzt verfolgt, was mir da zu Ohren kam. Die Hinweise auf den wahren Hintergrund waren da und im Nachhinein leuchtet es auch ein, aber trotzdem war es für mich sehr überraschend. Man denkt ja nicht an so etwas.Eine Geschichte muss nicht immer ein Happy End haben. Dieses hat beides, ein trauriges und ein schönes Ende. Das Nachwort der Autorin unterstreicht das noch mal und was sie erzählt hat, berührte mich ebenfalls zutiefst. Ich gebe eine klare Hör-Empfehlung ab mit sehr berührten fünf Sternen.
    • 2/5
      Although Slaughter knows how to write a page-turner, and this one was no exception, several highly improbable leaps in this one strained even this most forgiving reader. I liked the characters, though, and hope Slaughter will give them a better novel in which to appear in the future.
    • 5/5
      Karin Slaughter is the absolute best crime/mystery writer I have come across in this day and age. Her novels will simply astound you with their heart-racing moments and intrigue. Every time I pick one of her novels up I cannot stop reading until I'm done and I still find myself begging for more. She's a writer with no fear! She wields her instruments like a knife ready to dig in deep and take you by surprise at every turn!
    • 4/5
      This is the first of Karin Slaughters novels I have read, & it won't be the last. This story gripped me from the first page..... Full of twists & turns, keeping you guessig right to the end. The two leading detectives, Will Trent & Faith Mitchell, were absolutely believable and highly readable. I think the story line is really good and again, believable as we follow the effects of the tragedy on the surrounding environments.
    • 4/5
      When I first started reading this book I thought it was a standalone but quickly realized it was the next book in a series which started with Triptych. The story starts with a woman arriving home and finding her door open and the window glass smashed. She thinks of her daughter and runs up the stairs but at the top of the stairs she sees a girl obviously murdered (presumably her daughter) and a man kneeling next to her with a knife in her hand. She screams and runs down the stairs, she falls down the stairs, the man follows, grabs her legs, she kicks him, gets on top of him and strangles him to death. A very exciting start and things slowly unravel to not be as they first appeared. This was an enjoyable mystery with lots of turns in the plot and a satisfying solution. However, I expected more from a Karin Slaughter book. I'm used to using the word "gruesome" to describe her books and this was nowhere near that calibre which is somewhat a shame since the first book in this new series, Triptych, was an incredibly brutal and intricately woven story. I honestly felt that for some reason Slaughter was purposefully trying to tone down the stomach-turning details of her previous works and that is not what I expected. The book ends on an obvious note that there will be more books in this series. The main characters from this book appear as minor characters in a few of her other Grant Country series books so I would suggest starting from the beginning with Karin Slaughter and read her books either by series or by the order in which they were published.
    • 4/5
      Again Slaughter has produced another winner. The story could be partly from the average nightly newscast, but she puts in the backstories that make you not want to put this down. She doesn’t sugar coat it—the good guys aren’t saints and the bad guys, well not all are born that way. A very different look at what happens after a trauma, and an interesting tidbit to look forward to in the future.
    • 2/5
      Das Thema "Junge Frau wacht im Krankenhaus auf und kann sich an die letzten Jahre nicht erinnern" scheint bei englischen Autorinnen in letzter Zeit sehr beliebt zu sein, so dass ich das Gefühl hatte, das Buch schon zu kennen, als ich anfing zu lesen. Und ich muss sagen, dass Dani Atkins sich meiner Meinung nach sehr stark bei Sophie Kinsella ("Kennen wir uns nicht") und Melissa Hill ("Denk an mich") bedient hat. Besonders viele eigene Ideen von ihr selbst sind in diesen Roman nicht eingeflossen.Dabei fängt es interessant an: Rachel und ihre Freunde feiern ihren Schulabschluss. Dann passiert ein Unglück, bei dem Jimmy, mit dem sie seit ihrer Kindheit befreundet ist, stirbt. Rachel selbst behält eine große Narbe im Gesicht und Nachwirkungen ihrer Kopfverletzung zurück. Sie geht nie zur Uni wie geplant und ihr Vater erkrankt an Krebs. Fünf Jahre später hat sie wieder einen Unfall und als sie im Krankenhaus aufwacht, sind die Probleme der letzten Jahre wie weggewischt und sie lebt in einer perfekten Welt, in der sie mit dem gutaussehenden, reichen Matt verlobt ist, ihr Vater kerngesund ist … und in der Jimmy am Leben ist!Obwohl die Geschichte nicht neu ist, hat die Autorin mich am Anfang neugierig gemacht und auch immer wieder Andeutungen eingestreut, von denen ich dachte, dass sie zur Auflösung des Rätsels führen - aber das war alles nur heiße Luft… Sehr schnell wird die Handlung simpel und es passiert kaum noch etwas. Das Wenige, was passiert, ist so vorhersehbar, dass es einfach nur langweilig ist.Am schlimmsten sind die Charaktere: jeder von ihnen ist ein wandelndes Klischee. Rachel ist eine ständig jammernde Göre, die aus mir unverständlichen Gründen von zwei Männern so geliebt wird, dass es für beide keine andere Frau in ihrem Leben gibt. Matt ist der typische reiche Sunnyboy, der blöde Bemerkungen über den ärmeren Jimmy macht - der Rachel natürlich nicht bekommt, solange es jemanden wie Matt gibt - und Jimmy … Jimmy ist so perfekt, dass mir beim Lesen schlecht wurde! Dann gibt es natürlich noch die Nebenbuhlerin für Rachel, die hübsche Cathy, bei der Matt ab und zu schwach wird…Ach ja, und mit dem Ende hat die Autorin sich auch sehr einfach aus der Affäre gezogen!Die ersten beiden Kapitel waren vielversprechend, aber dann war ich froh, dass das Buch so dünn ist, denn für mich war die Lektüre einfach nur vergeudete Zeit.
    • 4/5
      This is the first one of karin Slaughters novels i have read and I actually brought it by mistake as I thought it was another author that i liked. Absolutely loved it full of twists, a complete page turner and i couldnt put it down. I have since reading this novel read two other of her novels and am taking two more on holiday with me next week