Rob Kaufman (1)

Four ‘for the price’ of one.

I like the cool cover for Altered by Rob Kaufman, and when I read the blurb, I had to have it. I mean, a guy with four personalities, or alters, who, when threatened will defend themselves…or at least one of them will step up.

Justin Wright, a clinical psychiatrist, has no clue how Frank Devlin, a man with multiple identities, alters, will change his life. Frank had a dad who didn’t care about him and was now dead, a drunken mother who gave him to his show more uncle…for a few months…who, when he entered his room, Frank would go to his safe place. I figured he had to have an awful childhood if he has multiple identities. He has to have some way to escape the horror. The only good thing was a window, where he could look out on the street and watch the kids and dogs play.

As Justin and Mary share their mystery, her words bring tears to my eyes, a very well written scene. The guilt people carry for the death of a loved one is not always rational, unless they pointed a gun at the person and killed them.

A mystery solved. Love and loss shared. Happiness and anguish shared.

I love psychological thrillers, delving into a damaged mind. Whenever I deal with a mystery, a thriller, I am many times more in love with the villain than the victim. I don’t care so much about how they did what they did, but I want to dig into the whys of their actions. All too often that is never known, so let’s see how Rob Kaufman deals with Frank Devlin’s actions…and the other three identities. I will be sticking around for Book II.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Altered by Rob Kaufman.

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Kaufman brings to life a psychological thriller that will keep you riveted from page one. This felt so real, I could swear I was living in the midst of events as they unfolded. The characters have great depth, and unique voices as we switch POV throughout the story. Kaufman did an excellent job representing DID, and clearly did some research to bring it to life. There were plenty of twists in the story to keep me wondering where it would take me next. If you enjoy psychological thrillers and show more are looking for your next-page turner, then this is it. I cannot wait to see what the rest of the series has in store! show less

Scott Atwood is a writer with writer's block meaning he can't make his deadlines. After trying and repeatedly failing to come up with a good story, he decides he only has one option - he decides to throw himself in front of a subway train. But, even in that, he fails as someone pulls him out at the last minute. But the experience gives him an idea - what if, instead of waiting for inspiration, he makes something happen like, oh, letting a husband know when his wife's secret lover is with her show more in their house, then waiting to see what happens.

I really enjoyed The Perfect Ending by Robert Kaufman... right up until the ending. I finished this several days ago and have been mulling it over back and forth. I read other reviews to see if my opinion is the norm - it's apparently not as most reviewers seem to think it worked well with the story. So my final assessment - I'm still not satisfied with the ending but I am in a minority but I did enjoy the rest of the book so I'll leave it up to other readers to decide for themselves. I will say, though, that, overall, I enjoyed the story enough to look for more by this author in the future.

3.5

Thanks to Netgalley and Independent Book Publishers Association for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less

Jonathan and Phillip have been together for 12 years. They are a very happy and successful couple. In walks Angela from Phillips college years. They had a falling out 15 years ago and now she is wanting them to have a baby with her as her biological clock is ticking. In college she was morbidly obese, no she is skinny, sexy and beautiful. Jonathan has reservations about having a baby and having it with Angela. He sees something hiding under the surface of her cheerful, nice demeanor. Their show more lawyer friend G discourages them because you can't always control what happens after the baby is born.

The go ahead with the insemination and once it takes, all hell breaks loose. The reader knows from the start that there is a little demon inside of Angela just waiting to come out. I wanted to smack Jonathan on the back of the head because he did have big reservations and all of a sudden he's all for it.
Shockingly, Angela starts putting on weight and not really caring about the health of the baby. She quickly has put on so much weight she can barely get off the couch.

Then you throw in her obsessive on/off again boyfriend Tommy who is homophobic and has his own demon inside of him. Angela is pure evil. She is one scary character. I really had a hard time putting this down. Phillip and Jonathan were such a loving and caring couple who cared deeply for each other. There were a couple times I cried, literally with tears running down my face. When a book makes me smile, laugh and cry horrible tears I know it's a good one. I'm looking forward to more works from Rob Kaufman.

I thank Rob for sending me a copy of his book. show less