A haunting tale of suspense, rendered with the masterful skill only Barker could muster. After the loss of his parents, young Jack Thatch first met Stella as a child—this cryptic little girl of eight with dark hair and darker eyes, sitting alone on a bench in the cemetery clutching her favorite book. Gone moments later, the brief encounter would spark an obsession. She’d creep into his thoughts, … thoughts, his every waking moment, until he finally finds her again exactly one year later, sitting upon the same bench, only to disappear again soon after.
The body of a man found in an alley, every inch of his flesh horribly burned, yet his clothing completely untouched. For Detective Faustino Brier, this wasn’t the first, and he knew it wouldn’t be the last. It was no different from the others. He’d find another just like it one year from today. August 9, to be exact.
Isolated and locked away from the world in a shadowy lab, a little boy known only as Subject “D” waits, grows, learns. He’s permitted to speak to no one. He has never known the touch of another. Harboring a power so horrific, those in control will never allow him beyond their walls.
All of them linked in ways unimaginable.
SHE HAS A BROKEN THING WHERE HER HEART SHOULD BE conjures thoughts of early King and Koontz. A heart-pounding ride that creeps under your skin and will have you turning pages long into the night.
“J.D. Barker is a one-of-a-kind writer and that’s a rare and special thing. Stephen King comes to mind and Lee Child, John Sandford. All one-of-a-kinds. Don’t miss anything J.D. writes.”
—James Patterson, #1 International Bestselling Author
“A talented writer with a delightfully devious mind!”
—Jeffery Deaver, NY Times Bestselling Author
“I don’t say this lightly: J.D. Barker is a force to be reckoned with.”
—Tosca Lee, NY Times Bestselling Author
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J.D. Barker’s new book. From the author of the 4MK killer series & Dracul. Excellent read.
She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be by J. D. Barker has been classified as horror, thriller, mystery and fantasy. To me, it was more of a supernatural romantic suspense than a horror suspense story.
Jack Thatch was orphaned as a child and was raised by his Auntie Jo in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Every year they visit the cemetery where his parents are buried on August 8. At eight years old, he sees Stella on a bench in the cemetery. They talk briefly and he doesn’t see her again for another year. He thinks about her constantly and she is always accompanied by a woman in white who stands guard.
On August 9, a man’s body is found in an alley. Every inch of the flesh is burned, but the clothing is untouched. This isn’t the first time such a body has been found and Detective Faustino Brier is determined to find the killer.
A small boy listed as Subject “D” is locked in a lab and speaks only to his deaf doctor who reads lips. His power is immense and terrifying. What is it and how did it happen. What will become of the little boy?
The three story lines are intertwined, but how and why? The characters have depth. Their choices aren’t always what we would want them to make, but under the circumstances, made sense to them. Jack’s fascination and instant obsession with Stella seemed a little over-the-top to me as it continued to last over the years.
The book is more than 700 pages long, but it felt like it was half that. The pace, except for the last part, wasn’t fast, but it kept me fully engaged. An overall theme that came through to me was that of family, community, friends, and neighbors. But it was also about secret medical labs and the repercussions of uncontrolled experiments and the obsessions with unsolved police cases.
Overall, the novel was engrossing, emotional, compelling, fascinating, and very original. This is the first book that I have read by this author, but I would like to read another by him.
I received a digital copy of this book from Hampton Creek Press and the author in a Goodreads Giveaway. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date was March 31, 2020.
If you like to read books that will keep you at the edge of your seat and make you stay with the book until you have read the very last word, then this is your book. I could write a very wordy review but there isn’t any point. This book is a tense, creepy, and suspenseful book! Grab it and read it. You won’t be sorry!
This is my favorite fiction book of 2020. Amazing characters who you can relate to, and a story that will keep you turning pages.
I am currently reading this book, and it’s so hard to put down at night. It’s a bit long, but I’m loving every page I read!
Confusing at first, but all is explained as you read on
FABULOUS!
After the first 100 pages I had to check whether I was actually reading a Stephen King novel. By the end though, I knew it was a J.D. novel all his own because I had been totally enthralled!
Some context: I don’t personally care for Stephen Kings books. (I know, it’s a reader sin to admit that!). Initially I was worried it was going to be just like another recent King read: another very long, very dark and very dry book. But I was wonderfully proven wrong! This book was exactly how I wish King’s books could be. It was paced much better, and while it is over 500 pages long, it doesn’t feel like a marathon when you’re reading.
The reader is with the main character, a boy named Jack, from his early years to his mid 40s. An epic story that involves a young boy, falling for a mysterious young girl, and a mystery that he spends his life trying to solve, trying to understand. A corrupt business always trying to thwart or kill him and a generous dash of paranormal that makes for a thrilling read.
The reader lives every moment of his life along with him. Along the way we meet all the different people that had a major impact in his life, and we learn to like, love, or hate each of them as we continue on his journey.
The detail written in all his relationships is completely engaging. You come to truly care for these characters. And maybe most important, this book has plenty of light and love to counter the darkest parts. A fabulously well written book that I feel excited to now add it to my “Read” book list!
*Thank you to the author, J.D. Barker via NetGalley for access to the digital review copy!
This is one of those rare 700-page books that flies by like a 300-pager. It starts off with some serious Stranger Things vibes before quickly evolving into a multi-genre work that thrills, scares, and plucks away at the reader’s heart strings. Every time it appears to head toward familiar territory, it takes a fresh twist, drawing influences from everything from 80s Horror to Dickens’ Great Expectations to the movie Boyhood.
Without spoiling, I’ll say that what made the book stand out to me was how well-defined the characters are. Every single one is distinct and memorable enough that I had no trouble rooting for them and keeping track of them. In a story with as many time and location jumps as this one, that’s quite a feat. Barker has a knack for fleshing out characters while keeping verbage to a minimum, and that enables this story to be both tight and emotionally impactful. Five stars.
The Review
After the grim and compelling series 4MK, my expectations for J.D. Barker’s next novel were definitely high, and he definitely did not disappoint. While not as chilling in nature as 4MK, this novel creates not only engaging mythology and story but a wide cast of characters that elevate the story and create a wide range of emotions in the reader overall.
The mystery of the young girl this boy meets and the journey he goes on as the years go by creating a truly mind-bending thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seat. The genre combination of sci-fi, fantasy, thriller, and crime with a hint of romance and suspense keeps the readers guessing at every turn, questioning the character’s motives and firmly invested in the story, especially that of the protagonist, Jack.
The Verdict
One of 2020’s standout hits already, J.D. Barker wows readers everywhere once again with his novel “She Has A Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be”. The story is lengthy yet exciting as each chapter goes on, never leaving the reader unengaged and yet always exciting enough to have the reader wanting more. A thrilling novel that felt reminiscent of the early days of Stephen King, this is a must-read book for any fan of good suspense, mystery, and crime thriller. Be sure to grab your copy today!
I have always enjoyed JD Barker’s stories. While this one is a bit of a sci-fi story which isn’t my favorite, this one had enough of murder, mystery and wonderful characters to keep my attention throughout the entire book. There are some things in the story that deals with adult content, so if that isn’t your thing, you might want to skip over them, but it does add to the story in my opinion. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book from Net Galley.
An Intriguing Novel of Love, Friendship, Loyalty and the Dark Side of Human Nature
The novel opens with an eight-year old boy, Jack, with his Auntie Jo at the grave of his parents who died in a car crash four years earlier. Auntie Jo blames the husband for the accident that killed her sister. She spends much time at the grave site on the anniversary, August 8th. Jack is bored and wonders off. He discovers a girl about his age reading on a bench being watched a short distance by a woman dressed in white standing by a white SUV. He sits down on the opposite end of the bench. The girl is not very friendly and acts quite snobbishly toward him. She points out how her station in life is so much higher than his. She is refined, and he is crude. She reads Great Expectations while he reads comic books. When they exchange names, hers is Estella from Great Expectations but goes by Stella. She uses Pip for Jack. The woman in white tells Stella that they must go. Jack thinks he sees the woman has a shot gun beneath her coat. The story continues with Jack infatuated with the Stella going back trying to meet her again, and how Jack gets along with his life.
Part 1 of the novel proceeds slowly with just enough of an interesting story around Jack’s life to keep my interest. There is a second thread at the start of each section in the part. This appears to be a secondary storyline in the form of reports concerning a Subject “D” by the Charter Observation Team. At the start of Part 2, the storyline goes off like a roman candle. My attention was quickly captured and the storyline became much more diverse and the pace quicken. The dark side of human nature in some of the characters starts to appear. There even is a touch of science fiction in the main storyline.
The B-storyline is complex and deep as would be expected in a standalone novel. While the first part dealt with Jack, Stella, Auntie Jo, his best friend, Dunk, a girl friend and the owner of a diner where Jo and Jack worked. At the start of the Part 2, the main storyline expands to a police detective, his current and retired partner, more people dressed in white, and a group of college students back in the early eighties. These storylines only tighten the novel’s grip on my attention.
While there are not any graphic sex scenes, there are some graphic foreplay scenes. Much of the violence is described graphically as it occurs and after the fact. These aspects and the use language earn this novel a strong adult content warning. For me, it did not detract from my enjoyment of this novel, but that may not be true for some readers.
The biggest detractor in reading this novel was its length. It appeared several times that the storyline was winding down only to shift direction and proceed at top speed in a new direction. The author weaved all of the main and B storylines quite well. By the novel’s end all the loose ends were tied up and the several storylines merge.
This novel kept my attention thought out the entire novel. How well the author kept the complexity and length from slowing down the novel was another strong point. For these reasons, I rate this novel with five stars.
I have received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from Hampton Creek Press with an expectation for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Hampton Creek Press for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.
Beautiful and thrilling. JD Barker pulls off a magic trick with SHE HAS A BROKEN THING WHERE HER HEART SHOULD BE. A puzzle box, a thriller, and a love story, the wonderfully developed characters pull you into a pulse-pounding, can’t-put-it-down story.
She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be is a hell of a good book. Boy meets a girl on a bench in a cemetery. One year later they meet again at the same spot. Is it fate or something else? You will have to decide.
Get ready for a thriller with a twist of love. You will not want to put this book done. I will warn you it is long, but you never get bored. It will take you on a journey expanding years. There will be action, love and heartache.
Even though JDB’s book is long, you don’t really notice it and the pages fly by. JDB grew the characters in such a way that the reader will feel and come to love the characters. His character development is superb. From children to adults you will live life with them.
Don’t plan anything when you start to read. Heck, you shouldn’t even be reading my review or anyone elses. Just go grab buy this book, you won’t be disappointed.
This is a must read! 700+ pages in 7 hours — good thing I had a completely free (no hubby, no kids, no work) day!! Could NOT put this one down (so happy I didn’t have to). This one was a bit of everything – horror, mystery, thriller – and completely captivating. Add this to your TBR; preorder if you can. Plan a day to read when you have no other commitments. You won’t be able to stop once you start.
Thank you #netgalley and #hamptonpress for the eARC.
5 stars
This book is remarkable. I was very sad to part ways with the characters in this book. I wanted to keep reading about them and their (very interesting and almost hypnotic) lives.
J.D. Barker’s newest novel is simply fantastic. The reader meets a variety of people – both good and bad – and some of the “bad” are…well…understandable. The characters are “real” people. I could imagine them behaving in the ways that they did; saying the things they said. Some were badly manipulated into behaving the way they did, some took pleasure in it, some were out to seek the truth and some just didn’t seem to care – or had no mind of their own with which to act.
This book has detectives Faustino “Faust” Brier and his partner, Joy Fogel and a retired detective who are seeking the truth of an odd series of murders. John Edward “Jack” Thatch and Stella Littleton are the two central characters. They are eight-years old when they meet for the first time. Stella’s “handler” is the very creepy Ms. Oliver. Jack’s best friend Duncan “Dunk” Bellino is totally devoted to Jack, even when his own life takes a tangent. And then there is David Pickford. Wait until you meet him. Wow! And so many others.
The line between good and evil is not so clearly delineated as many of us think that it is – or should be. Many characters in this book are not all good or all evil. Kind of like real life in that way, eh? The line blurs, the reader accepts it and reads on, while trying to psychologically justify the actions of the doer. It’s great! Speculative philosophy for the average person.
I cannot say enough positive things about this novel. It is superbly written and plotted. I could find no errors or typos. It made perfect sense; one event following another in a logical progression. Mr. Barker is an absolutely astounding writer and I very much look forward to reading his next book.
I want to thank NetGalley and Hampton Creek Press/IBPA for forwarding to me a copy of this wonderful book for me to read, enjoy and review.
Imagine binge-watching an incredible show and never wanting it to end. That’s what it was like for me reading JD Barker’s masterpiece “She Has a Broken Thing Where Her Heart Should Be.” From the first stunning paragraph, I was hooked.
This is a powerful story about outcasts who manage to find each other despite the otherworldly threat that hovers over everything. 8-year-old Jack Thatch meets a strange girl in a cemetery who’s being watched by a woman in white. The girl leaves several minutes later, but their brief encounter will haunt Jack forever.
Smart, clever, Dickens-reading Stella becomes Jack’s obsession, his passion. He returns to the cemetery again and again, but doesn’t bump into her until exactly one year later, and then again a year later to the day.
I thought I knew which direction the plot was going, but when Stella fails to appear in the cemetery one year, everything ramps up to eleven as the story hits its stride and never falters all the way to the emotionally powerful ending.
Suspense, sci-fi and wonder are laced through this brilliant novel, and every character shines. The spooky unraveling of the mystery kept me turning the pages, trying to piece the puzzle together. But more than that, I felt like I was reading a literary classic about the loss of innocence – a dark, beautiful tale full of humor, wisdom and insight about the human condition.
Stella is wonderfully rendered with a few simple brushstrokes. Aunt Jo is full of sass and heart. Jack Thatch is the perfect character to carry a book of this length, depth and quality. He’s a gifted child who sees the world differently from the adults around him, and therefore can see the truth more clearly.
Add to this a detective trying to solve the gruesome mystery of dead bodies that keep showing up on August 9th, and a shadowy laboratory where a boy named Subject “D” is being held and studied like a dangerous lab rat, the spookiness factor is palpable from the beginning. Evil is real. Love can’t always protect us. Terrible secrets abound. I rate this book unputdownable. Highly recommended.