This story really ponders the idea of which is more influential to our behavior—nature or nurture.

When young Brad Madison is found playing video games with his dead parents in the next room, Detective Jean Whitley is stumped. She doesn’t want to believe Brad could be responsible. Neither does Dr. Hope Rubin. However, as the story amps up they are both forced to look to the truth. Sometimes the correct answer is the easiest.

My favorite thing about this series (I started at book four and worked backwards) is how well the author creates these characters. They feel like real people. For instance, the scenes with the teasing in the police station and the genuine concern that Jean and Hope felt for Brad. Also, the pain that Brad experienced while coming to terms with what he was. It was a very powerful rollercoaster of emotions.

The narrator did a fine job of dictating the story. She spoke slow and clear, enunciating the right words.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review. ( )

Child is Torn. Dawn Kopman Whidden. (A Whitley and Keal mystery) 2016. This is number one in a series; I usually avoid numbered series on the Kindle, but this one isn’t bad. A young boy is found at home playing a video game, the bodies of his parents are found up stair. It is up to Dr. Hope Rubin to work with the police to discover why the boy beat his parents to death. Officer Keal is one of the officers who is working the case. Rubin and Keal work together to figure out what has happen. The relationship between the doctor and the policeman is as much a part of the plot as unraveling the mind of the little boy. The ending was weak, and sort of suspenseful. I imagine the other books in the series will concentrate on Keal and Rubin. A nice book to read on the treadmill. ( )

Is this child a killer?
This book grabbed me from the very start, when a slight young boy of just ten, was found in his home playing video games, while his parents lay bludgeoned to death upstairs. The question of how, why, and whether, the crime was committed by the boy is the basis of the novel.

It was interesting to read a novel about the care system and what happens to a child under such traumatic circumstances. Maybe I'd have liked to have heard more from the young boy, but overall that was a small gripe. My main reason for the 4, rather than 5 stars, was the ending, which didn't entirely convince me, but I will say no more.

I enjoyed the interaction between the adult characters, the police and carers, grandparents and teachers, and it was interesting to see how they worked together and how different people held differing suspicions about the case. Some of this group will appear in subsequent books of the series and will no doubt become friends as I continue to follow them.

Unfortunately I wasn't a fan of the narrator, she read rather slowly and had a much older voice than was appropriate for the characters she was reading. Although she read clearly, she made little attempt to differentiate between characters, even between male and female.

I already have the second book, Faceless, lined up to read, and I'm looking forward to it. ( )

The crime is chilling, the characters are well-developed and interesting, and the story is compelling. We meet Detective Jean Whitley and Officer Marty Keal who, along with Dr. Hope Rubin are the main characters. As a lover of all mysteries, thrillers and crime drama, Whidden is definitely an author I want to follow. She has the talent to weave a story that keeps us interested and eager to learn how it ends, yet feeling as if we’ve lost a few friends when we reach the last page. The story line is well developed and has some twists and turns that are surprising. I’ll be opening Faceless, the next in the Fallsburg mysteries shortly.
~ Linda Thompson, Host of TheAuthorsShow.com ( )

Ten year old Brad Madison is found playing video games while his parents were brutally beaten and left to die in their bedroom upstairs. Is he guilty? It would appear so since there is no evidence to suggest anyone else was present; the blood trail leads to Brad. Detectives Marty Keal, Jean Whitley, and Joe Moran are stumped; there are no signs that this child was abused; there are no apparent reasons for him to have lashed out. There has to be more to this senseless murder. Dr. Hope Rubin evaluates Brad at the Armistace Mental Health Institution for Children in Fallsburg, NY. He is very closed off from her and nearly everyone else. However, he develops an immediate trust of Gabriel (Gabby), the janitor for the institution. “He was built like an oak tree, but was gentle as a lamb.”

The Ginns (maternal side of the family) are anxious to see Brad and return him to a normal life with them. The paternal side has always been closed off from Brad. Why is this? Detective Jean Whitley and Dr. Hope Rubin continue to dig for answers when everyone else has moved on.

It seems odd to say this is an enjoyable read when it is based on such a sad subject, but I did enjoy the story and thought the author did a wonderful job with her debut novel. This is also a first in a series (I believe the series name is Innocence Lost). The series predominant characters are Detectives Marty Keal, Jean Whitley, Joe Moran, and Dr. Hope Rubin. The relationship between the characters is a working relationship for the detectives, and a love relationship that builds between Marty and Hope. Those relationships help the reader to understand personality; it does not overpower the story line of the investigation into Brad and the murder. The chapters alternate between the main characters. Hope’s chapters are in first person narrative while the others are a third person account. I am a bit confused by Hope’s bitterness for her mother. For one, I didn’t feel like I really understood the reason and for another, I would think that a psychiatrist would find better ways of coping. The epilogue is usually a follow up on the characters, but here it is more of an author’s note on how she chose to write a Nature vs Nurture story. I rated A Child is Torn at 4 out of 5. ( )