Andrew E. KaufmanCritiques

Griffin McCabe and his twin sister Deena were raised by loving parents, but that was before their mother died of cancer. Her death changed everything, and 30 years later, Griffin’s life is still influenced more by the aftermath than even his fondest memory of a special celebration with his father the day he turned 6. Is it possible not to forget but to forgive?

Following the Prologue, the story is told in 5 parts: The Before, Intersect, Connect, Descend, and Disconnect. It is a gripping and page-turning story that draws the reader into Griffin’s thoughts, emotions, and actions, how he survived his father’s abuse, and how it affected every aspect of his life on the path forward. It is a novel of introspection, grief, abuse, trauma, acceptance, forgiveness, and hope. It is realism, beautifully written, and powerful.

Highly recommended.

Let me start off by saying, "wow!" This was such an emotional rollercoaster ride for me. The author has developed the character's so well that anyone can identify with them. His main character Griffin is carrying around a lot of baggage. We see Griffin and his father together at a fair. They are celebrating his birthday, while his mom and twin sister are out celebrating hers. We are shown a loving father who loves his son, until the mother dies. This father, a lawyer by day, becomes a monster by night, spewing his anger our on his son. Fast forward many years and we see grown up Griffin. He works out and runs to excess when he is stressed, which seems to be all the time. The woman he loves tries to help but has her own baggage. All of his actions are pushing her away. Then the unthinkable happens. Griffin is in an accident and the person who hit him is his estranged father. Old feelings return and threaten to destroy him. Griffin learns his father has Alzheimer's. You will just have to read the book to find out what happens. The turmoil in his life is one so many go through. Whether you have been through anything like this or not it puts fresh eyes on relationships and I would recommend it to everyone.

This paranormal thriller wasn't a book for me. I started off enjoying it but It was a bit too corny for me and felt quite repetitive. I also found it to be a bit too gruesome (I know it's a horror but this was too much for me).

Wow! Pretty crazy ride. This is my first book by this author and I definitely will be reading more. I know he’s had a tough time lately and this probably wasn’t the best book to read as a first time reader, but if the others are better I will not be complaining.

This book was a surprise. The writing was good, the plot was tense, the pacing quick, and there was plenty of action. I liked it better than I expected. The characters weren't overly endearing, but they weren't overly annoying, either. There were plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. No issues, but not spectacular. A nice, short read. 4.5 stars.

Wow! A thriller similar to Stephen King at his best.

I love this Author and always look forward to a new novel. But this one left me unsatisfied. And I was able to figure out the plot twists. I cannot recommend it.

This book didn’t do it for me and after reading the author notes at the end, I’ll just leave it at that.

Journalist Patrick Bannister’s mother has died, he is not sure why he decided to attend her funeral. There are references to child abuse – emotional and physical that he suffered at her hands. While at the house he sees a box of books he hasn’t seen before, so decides to take as a keepsake.

When looking through the box he finds, information about a kidnapping, a disturbing letter from his Uncle Warren to his mother and a St Christopher’s medal. This discovery sets him on the path to research a 30 year old kidnapping.

Excellent suspense, I could barely keep myself from turning to end before reading the entire story! You’ll find monsters, yes more than one! Lies. Fear.

This is a new author for me, one I will read again.

This book is considered in the genre of psychological thriller and might I add suspense to that. When you read this book, be careful to cement the character names and who they are in you mind as you read because it is easy to mix up the characters especially when one takes on the identity of another. My biggest beef about books is how authors choose to end them. Many times the endings are just not "satisfying." Andrew E Kaufman had the perfect ending; not one that meant everything was okay but it was just a good ending.

Here is a snynopsis of the book:

While going through his dead mother’s, (Jean), belongings, Patrick Bannister discovers shocking evidence that suggests she was responsible for the death of another of her children many years ago. Even worse, an innocent man might have gone to the electric chair because of Jean’s lies.

This thrilling account is about a man who finds himself coming up against powerful forces that want the past to stay hidden. As Patrick tries to piece together the truth, he discovers that his own life is on the line. Can he discover the truth about who really killed the baby, and who helped cover it up and at the same time keep himself alive?

The story alternates between flashbacks of Patrick Bannister’s childhood and his investigation nowadays into the abduction of a 3-year old child, Nathan, some 30 years ago. Patrick’s childhood was horrendous and it tore my heart out. Kaufman did an amazing job creating empathy for him this way. Even in his adult life he feels the effects of what he had to endure when he was young. Then after his mother dies, he finds a mysterious note and a necklace with the initials NAK in her belongings. This is the start of his investigation into the abduction of Nathan Kingsley and he is determined to find out what his mother and uncle had to do with it. He returns to the scene of the crime and joins forces with a local reporter but soon they find out that someone is after them who is not all too happy for their snooping around. The action was fast-paced, the drama terrific, the story flowed well and it was very suspenseful. A little predictable, I had the plot figured out well in advance but it didn’t bother me too much, it was still an excellent page-turner.

Watching the love of your life burn to death in front of you with no opportunity to save her would send anyone into therapy but to find out years later she lived and just been killed again before you got a chance to ask how that was possible would send the sanest person over the edge.
Patrick, a formerly well-respected journalist on the skids, has already burned bridges at any publishing house worth writing for and is unable to convince former editors that this storyline is worthy of consideration. The wife of the rich and famous doctor who has her face plastered all over the news is the same woman that died all those years ago. The explanation causes him to question his own memories and realities as he goes in alone to investigate her death.
What he finds is a doctor of dubious character, but the police investigator in the case already has it in for him so Patrick can’t convince anyone that isn’t losing it all over again. Anyone, that is, but a severely scarred, physically and mentally, young woman that visits the same therapist. She witnesses, and intervenes, an attack on Patrick and uses her criminal wiles to help the separate journalist find the answers and bring his life and career back on track.
Kaufman takes on a twisted path to show us that there is always more than one path, and that to push past the barriers, the pain in life, the outcome will always bring a satisfactory ending; perhaps not the one anticipated, just like in this book, but a worthwhile one anyway.

Watching the love of your life burn to death in front of you with no opportunity to save her would send anyone into therapy but to find out years later she lived and just been killed again before you got a chance to ask how that was possible would send the sanest person over the edge.
Patrick, a formerly well-respected journalist on the skids, has already burned bridges at any publishing house worth writing for and is unable to convince former editors that this storyline is worthy of consideration. The wife of the rich and famous doctor who has her face plastered all over the news is the same woman that died all those years ago. The explanation causes him to question his own memories and realities as he goes in alone to investigate her death.
What he finds is a doctor of dubious character, but the police investigator in the case already has it in for him so Patrick can’t convince anyone that isn’t losing it all over again. Anyone, that is, but a severely scarred, physically and mentally, young woman that visits the same therapist. She witnesses, and intervenes, an attack on Patrick and uses her criminal wiles to help the separate journalist find the answers and bring his life and career back on track.
Kaufman takes on a twisted path to show us that there is always more than one path, and that to push past the barriers, the pain in life, the outcome will always bring a satisfactory ending; perhaps not the one anticipated, just like in this book, but a worthwhile one anyway.

Pretty good book, and I'll continue the series. Wasn't spectacular though and I guessed at the bigger reveals very early on, so it didn't pack the punch I think it was supposed to. Could have used a bit less of the back and forth between the present and back story. Back story was necessary, but it wasn't allowing the story to flow the way it could have. Still a good book and I'll see what the next one has in store.

Andrew E. Kaufman, incredible author of the psychological thrillers, has written another blockbuster, Darkness & Shadows.

*****

Emotionally damaged by a childhood filled with the abuse and indifference of his mother, Patrick Bannister is further devastated when the only woman he ever loved dies in a fire, as he watches on helplessly.

Plagued by loss and guilt, Patrick hits bottom when he loses his job as a crime reporter for News World, but the reporter in him refuses to quit. The question is...will Patrick survive after a deeper look into his past, his own mind and the murder of his dead girlfriend?

*****

The intrigue kept me turning the pages. The suspense kept me from putting Darkness & Shadows down. The fast pace kept me on edge. The trail of evidence kept me guessing right to the end!

A great continuation of Patrick Bannister's story from The Lion, The Lamb, The Hunted or as a stand-alone novel, I promise you won't be disappointed.

Andrew E. Kaufman provided another well-written novel that will keep his readers crying out for more!

A chance to crawl inside the mind & body of a schizophrenic and a masterfully written psychological thriller. Andrew E. Kaufman is amazing in his ability to delve into worlds unimagined by most of us. Once I started I couldn't put it down until it all unraveled. And unravel it does in such an amazing way. Kudos to Mr. Kaufman and I can't wait for his next novel!

An engrossing first novel in a series of psychological suspense novels with an investigative journalist as the ain character. The plot here concerns his own family, as he uncovers a connection between a long-ago kidnapped child and his own abusive mother and politically-connected uncle.

This was quite a different read for me. It is told through the eyes of Christopher, a psychologist working at a mental hospital who has a family history of schizophrenia and fears he will go down that path. He has an understanding wife, and a son - Devon - whom he idolizes.

His life begins to unravel, and he has periods of confusion that seem to be lapses in time. He is dealing with a frightening psychopath, and has an accident that may have impacted his mental health. Things go from bad to worse.

The ending was satisfying to me, as it explained a lot about what seemed to be happening to him. I did wish there was a bit more story at the end, it seemed to wrap up rather quickly, but that might just be because I didn't want the characters to go away.

I look forward to more from this author.

Wow, that is just about all I can say about this book, is wow! Totally engaging and unexpected and I kept waiting for it to end completely badly, but that was a surprise as well. I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

5 Stars
I received this galley from netgalley

If you have come this far you have already seen a synopsis, so I won't bore you with mine.
I have been a fan of the author's for a few years now; ever since I read While the Savage Sleeps. He writes the kind of fiction I have loved since I was a kid. This novel is proof of why I will always read his work. It is one of the best psychological thrillers I have read in awhile. I have no complaints at all.
I am one of those readers who tends to figure things out quickly. That can ruin a story for me, but this author adds enough twists and turns that I was questioning myself a lot. There were parts I could relate to personally, which made the story seem more alive and engrossing. It's obvious that the author researched this subject well. This novel is a page turner, and you'll want to talk about it while you're reading it. I have already recommended this, and will repeatedly recommend this author.

Dr. Christopher Kellan is a psychologist at the Loveland Psychiatric Hospital, working with some of the most deranged psychotics institutionalized. The book starts out with Christopher entering the cell of transferred patient and suspect, Donny Ray Smith. He has 5 days to interview Donny Ray and make his professional judgment: is it possible Donny Ray wasn’t in his right mind when he killed a 6-year-old girl (and probably 9 more children, though no bodies have been found). Things in Christopher’s life start to spiral out of control from the first meeting with Donny Ray. Looking into the killer’s eyes, Christopher has the feeling he knows him from somewhere. Christopher’s life begins to unravel day by day and it’s hard for him to know what’s real and what’s not.

As a reader, you get to travel down this road of insanity with Christopher. You don’t know if what you’re reading is real or not as strange things keep happening around the doctor, in both his personal and private lives. Each page builds up the suspense in the story, and you don’t want to put the book down because it never stops. It’s unbelievable suspense throughout the entire book that builds and builds until you almost can’t take it anymore and then the ending slams into your face, leaving you spinning.

I loved this book. I couldn’t imagine how it would end when all along the author kept throwing in more and more curves. When I did get to the end, it left me speechless and in a daze. Kaufman’s books have all been good, but this is his best yet.

When I was about 2/3 of the way done with this book I started going back and forth on what I would rate it - sometimes, I think about this when I'm nearing the end of a story... However, you would think that I've read enough to know that the ending can make or break a book. I suppose you can take from my 5 stars that it ended pretty well.

The story is told in alternating present and past chapters and it centers around an old, cold murder case. How it plays out will leave you stunned.

And I love the whole storyline with the dog.

The plot and premise of this book is good. It was entertaining and thrilling. However, it seemed that at times it was a bit...undeveloped. Parts of the book seemed not as well thought out and written than the rest of the book.

Still overall it was a fun read that, while perhaps being predictable, was a good read. :)

From the first couple pages, where the first murder happened, this book had me instantly hooked. I like a good horror novel as much as the next girl, and this book did not fail to meet those expectations. It began simply enough, with a seemingly straight-forward plot, and then it began to take very interesting turns, twisting and convoluting the storyline and making you keep guessing as to what will happen next.

The characters are interesting, the psychic aspect of it seemed a little out of place at first, but then as the storyline progressed it became more of an integral part of the plot, and gave the main protagonist (Cameron Dawson) more intuition into the crimes. The way it wrapped up so nicely, with the explanation that was found, seemed a little too simple for me, and gave me a little bit of a disappointed twinge at the end. But, I would recommend this book to absolutely everyone!

Who killed 3 year old Nathan. That's the questions Patrick Bannister, a crime reporter working for News World national magazine attempts to find out. What he uncovers is an intricate web of deceit, cruelty, and intrigue. I love how Bannister's own family history is woven so intricately throughout the story, and for good reason. I love his OCD - yeah I know, but read the book and you'll get it. I love the vicious dog he rescues. Actually, I loved everything about this book. Well written, intelligent and gripping.