The follow-up to her critically acclaimed Lie to Me, J.T. Ellison’s Tear Me Apart is the powerful story of a mother willing to do anything to protect her daughter even as their carefully constructed world unravels around them.One moment will change their lives forever… spectacular downhill crash threatens not just her racing career but her life. During surgery, doctors discover she’s suffering from a severe form of leukemia, and a stem cell transplant is her only hope. But when her parents are tested, a frightening truth emerges. Mindy is not their daughter.
Who knows the answers?
The race to save Mindy’s life means unraveling years of lies. Was she accidentally switched at birth or is there something more sinister at play? The search for the truth will tear a family apart…and someone is going to deadly extremes to protect the family’s deepest secrets.
With vivid movement through time, Tear Me Apart examines the impact layer after layer of lies and betrayal has on two families, the secrets they guard, and the desperate fight to hide the darkness within.
Don’t miss Her Dark Lies, the next page-turning thriller from New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison!
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I couldn’t put it down. And even though it’s written in present-tense narration, which usually drives me crazy, the story had me wondering, what the hell is going on here? Which is what you want in a mystery. The only reason I don’t give it 5 stars is because of one logic problem. I heartily recommend it.
This is by far the best book that I have read this year! Set in Colorado with picturesque scenes of snowy mountains and villas, this is the story of a family in crisis. Mindy is a strong character in the book, the talented teen skier headed for the Olympics when an accident lands her in the hospital. From that incident, the plot takes a lot of twists and turns that are unbelievably well-plotted. My favorite character was Juliet, Mindy’s aunt, the one who is a steadfast rock to all of the other characters. She supports Mindy’s decisions, tries to understand her sister Lauren and discovers secrets about Zack Armstrong that will leave the family reeling with the importance of her discoveries. I also liked that Juliet was a scientist and a member of the CBI who did not mind going outside the boundaries in order to help Mindy. This is a stand-alone book by J.T. Ellison and one that you will not want to miss because it is soooooo good! Every chapter pulls you deeper into the story and the very talented author makes sure that the secrets are unraveled slowly. I absolutely loved this book and I have put it on my TBR again shelf. I rarely read a book twice, but this is one that deserves a second read!
I purchased a copy of this book in trade paperback from from Amazon. I was not required to post a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
Down to earth exciting easy read novel.
Get ready for a fantastic read. Tear Me Apart will tear you apart as you get closer to the characters and get caught up in their lives and lies. The story begins and ends with you holding your breath as each page slowly accelerates the pace until the end when you swoop down for a rollercoaster finish. Mindy Wright is a high ranked teenage skier competing to get a top score that will be make her a member of the US Olympic Team. Then the worse happens as Mindy crashes and her dreams may be crushed as well. Mindy’s parents Lauren and Jasper Wright along with Lauren’s sister Dr. Juliet Ryder DNA expert for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation are shocked when after Mindy’s surgery for her leg damaged in the accident they find out Mindy has cancer. It only gets worse when the cancer treatments do not work and stem cell transplant is the only option. Then their seemingly perfect world starts to go under in a sea of lies.
I really liked this book. It was very unpredictable with interesting characters.
Keeps you guessing about what is going on from the beginning.
3.5 / 5 rounded up.
I really wanted to love Tear Me Apart by J.T. Ellison, I really did. Unfortunately, this one ended up being more of a “like” for me, and I didn’t love it near as much as Lie to Me.
What it’s about: 17 year old Mindy Wright is quickly rising in the ranks of competitive skiing, and seems like a shoo-in to qualify for the US Olympic Team. That is, until a horrible crash jeopardizes both her skiing career and her life. While at the hospital doctors discover that Mindy is suffering from a very aggressive form of leukemia, and the only thing that can save her life is a stem cell transplant. But when her parents and aunt are tested no one is a match, and even more curious, Mindy is not actually their daughter. Now with the race to save Mindy’s life huge question begin to emerge, who are her real parents and how did she end up with the people she’s lived with for 17 years?
The book skips around between current day Colorado, and past which takes place in a mental health hospital in Nashville. I loved the switches between past and present, but I actually wish more of the past had been included. All the “why” would stem from the past, and I don’t feel like I got enough of the ‘why’ in this book.
I loved the pacing of the novel, although it was a bit slower in some parts than others. Even in the slower parts I still managed to fly through it, and I stayed up until 2:30 AM just to finish. I think Ellison is a master at her craft, especially considering how different this book was from Lie to Me (and her other books from what I’ve heard). I like that she tried something different here, but I also think this book was a little long. It clocks in at almost 500 pages and I really didn’t think it needed to be that long.
My other semi-large issue with Tear Me Apart was that it was just way too predictable for me. None of the twists actually shocked me, and I saw most of it coming. That being said, I still loved how the story built and seeing how layer after layer was unraveled.
Final Thought: I believe it is best going into this one blind, so I don’t want to say too much more. I recommend to fans of J.T. Ellison (just know you are getting a different type of book from Lie to Me) and to people that love seeing a web of lies and betrayal unfold in their books. This novel was a doozy and if you can’t predict what is going to happen you are probably going to love it. I can’t wait to see what Ellison will come up with next!
Incredibly good.
Favorite Quotes:
There is a nurse named Eleanor Snow who runs the ward, but we all call her Ratchet because she is a bitch. No one said we had to be original.
She doesn’t want to die. She feels the cancer moving through her, like a shadow in her blood. It has grown in the past few days, is becoming harder and harder to fight… Its snapping jaws are just there, out of reach, but for how long?
The words are absurd. This is one of those bizarre nightmares where you’re dreaming inside of a dream, and you know you’re dreaming, so you tell yourself to go ahead and wake up because this isn’t fun at all.
“Show me the Milky Way, Mommy. I want to see the candy bars in the sky”… She was so mad when she found out that the sky didn’t have chocolate in it.
Everything here is dirty; though it’s been cleaned, again and again, the stink of raw bleach hangs on every corner like a blanket. Bleach and fear, the prison olfactory. Plus the dirt of a thousand people, grimed into the history of the place.
My Review:
There was much beneath the surface of this slowly developing and captivating story; it was maddeningly paced yet in the end, I appreciated the cunning and craftiness of the plot. J.T. Ellison is an evil genius. I had initially devised a theory of a terrorist plot but quickly abandoned that when I easily identified the culprit although I had no idea of all the complex twists and turns and nuances there were to this tale. There were lots of clues as well as misdirections, yet the mounting incidents and the number of deceased in various cities and occupations were cleverly situated and although the deaths seemed incidental and easy to explain their occurrence was far too often to not be foul play. The writing was top quality, engrossing, and flowed smoothly in an alluringly addictive and enticing manner and while I wouldn’t call it a thriller, it certainly held my attention and kept me well entertained and glued to my Kindle. I also greatly treasured the recognition of Project Semicolon in the author’s ending notes.
4.5 Thank you NetGalley, Mira, Harlequin and J.T. Ellison for the opportunity to read this book. I requested it on NetGalley and am thrilled they were able to oblige me. This one was gut wrenching. Yup the whole book pretty much. Not a bad thing, I mean it was intense, dark at times with little light. The prologue was not my favorite, but each chapter was better and better and by the time the ending came I was worn out. And wow, Mindy’s mom…..well read the book no spoilers. Than you JT for a wild ride, thank you for talking about a dark subject with a twist of mystery and cold thrown in.
Competitive skier Mindy Wright is on top of her game, with her big Olympic dreams about to come true, then in the blink of an eye it’s all taken away with an horrific accident. Now she is laying in a hospital bed about to have surgery to repair her injury, and the doctor has some very unexpected news, she has a rare form of Leukemia and needs a stem cell transplant. When they test her parents to see if they are a match, they find even more shocking news… Mindy is not their daughter! It’s a secret that has been kept for many years, and one, or both, of her parents would like for it to stay hidden, and will just about anything to keep it that way!
Tear Me Apart is a pulse-pounding, mind-twisting, tale that will rock you to your core… hold on tight, this one will take you on heck of a roller coaster ride!! As soon as I read the synopsis for this one I was in; especially when I learned Ms. Ellison was at the helm, nobody does domestic suspense quite like she does; and I am happy to report she left me dazzled once again. This fast paced tale lured me in from the first page, and kept me completely enthralled until the last. I highly recommend you get your hands on this one, it will mesmerize you, thrill you, and have you guessing until the very end!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.