Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Excerpt and Giveaway: Fractured

Happy pub day to Catherine McKenzie for Fractured. Check out an excerpt and then enter to win a copy, courtesy of TLC Book Tours! Check out all the stops on Catherine's tour.

Synopsis:

Welcome, neighbor!

Julie Prentice and her family move across the country to the idyllic Mount Adams district of Cincinnati, hoping to evade the stalker who’s been terrorizing them ever since the publication of her bestselling novel, The Murder Game. Since Julie doesn’t know anyone in her new town, when she meets her neighbor John Dunbar, their instant connection brings measured hope for a new beginning. But she never imagines that a simple, benign conversation with him could set her life spinning so far off course.


We know where you live…


After a series of misunderstandings, Julie and her family become the target of increasingly unsettling harassment. Has Julie’s stalker found her, or are her neighbors out to get her, too? As tension in the neighborhood rises, new friends turn into enemies, and the results are deadly.


Excerpt from Fractured:

Today

John

6:00 a.m.

I’m still not certain what it was that made me begin my daily morning vigil at the front windows. Something innocuous, I’m sure. That’s what I’ll say later today, surely, when I’m asked. Whatever the cause, the effect is that it feels like my days have always begun this way. Me in my boxers, coffee mug in hand, staring out the window at the neighbor’s house. And that my days always will begin this way, although I know neither is possible.

The coffee in my mug is strong and bitter. A plume of steam rises from it, circling the rim. We haven’t turned the heat on yet, so the hardwood floor is cold beneath my bare feet. As I catch a draft from the window that needs caulking and the skin on my arms turns to gooseflesh, I think about how important these moments of silence are to me. The time it takes for me to make a cup of coffee and drink it.

These are the moments I have to consider. To watch.

To plan.

A shadow appears to rise and fall across our narrow street. I move the lace curtain aside to get a better look.

I’ve always hated these curtains. Their femininity. The way they don’t actually provide the privacy they promise.

A wedding gift from my wife’s parents. Impossible to say no to. Impossible to tuck away.

The slip of glass I’ve uncovered reveals only the cracked black pavement beyond my front stoop. It’s fall.

The few stunted trees that line our street are tinged with red, orange, and gold. Soon, the multicolored leaves will be just another chore for me to complete. Tumbling across the road. Wedging themselves into the gutters.

Clogging the street drain. But for now, they dance merrily in the first light, casting an innocent glow over the breaking day.

Innocent.

This day seems innocent; the house across the street does too. I’d never thought a house could be anything but. I still don’t, really; only with everything that’s happened, it’s easier to blame something.

Something inanimate.

Something improbable.

Certainly not myself.

So I blame the narrow house with the dark-yellow clapboards and white trim. The one I watch every morning.

I blame its red door and double-hung windows that look back at me, unblinking.

It’s easier than assigning blame where it should be.

That day—two months ago—began this way too.

Me at the window. The coffee in my mug still too hot to drink. Then, later, the awful squeal of tires.
The scrunch of metal on bone. The shouts. The tears. The professions of innocence.

There’s that word again. One I’d never thought much about before, but is central to my life now.

There’s a shuffling noise above me. One of the curtains across the street twitches.

I drop the flimsy fabric from my hand.

Today, of all days, it wouldn’t do to be caught looking.

Excerpted from Fractured by permission of the publisher, Lake Union Publishing. Copyright Catherine McKenzie © 2016. All rights reserved.


Catherine McKenzie, a graduate of McGill University, practices law in Montreal, where she was born and raised. An avid skier and runner, Catherine’s novels Spin, Arranged, Forgotten, and Hidden are all international bestsellers and have been translated into numerous languages. Hidden was an Amazon #1 bestseller and a Digital Book World bestseller. Her fifth novel, Smoke, was an Amazon bestseller, a Goodreads Best Book for October 2015, and an Amazon Top 100 Book of 2015. Visit Catherine at her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.




How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway ends October 9th at midnight EST.

24 comments:

Janine said...

I have two things broken in my house, the coffee pot is leaking from the bottom for some reason and the dishwasher has been broken for the 16 years that I have lived in this house. But I have gotten used to hand washing dishes every day that I don't even think about the dishwasher anymore.

Anonymous said...

The dryer is broken and can only be used on a low setting. It means running the dryer several times.

traveler said...

What is broken is my body.My wrist had surgery in June. I am suffering daily with a great deal of pain and discomfort due to severe arthritis and there is no relief in sight.

cpr040304 said...

We are all healthy and that's all that matters. The book sounds intriguing. Thanks for the opportunity! Have a wonderful day!

Linda Kish said...

My truck is broken...and it's going to cost $1500 to get it fixed. Ugh. A major part in the computer is burnt out so it has to be replaced to keep the engine running otherwise, it stalls out at inopportune times and does not restart. Not fun. It's not in my house but, is at my house.

Burma Turner said...

My dishwasher is broken. We bought our house 5 years ago, it has never worked!

Rita Wray said...

I have had terrible pain in my neck for a year. I need surgery but I'm not sure I want to do that.

Kelly Rodriguez said...

My toilet is broken. It keeps spraying water when you flush it.

bn100 said...

suitcase

Amber Terry said...

My sanity is broken...but only slightly :)

Thanks for the chance to win!!

Cher B said...

My two-year-old dustbuster suddenly won't hold a charge long enough to vacuum up the daily crumbs of family meals. I've really enjoyed Catherine McKenzie's previous books and look forward to reading Fractured. Thanks for the chance to win!

Bonnie K. said...

My husband needs a new suitcase. He travels a lot and the strap used for carrying it is broken.

Mary Preston said...

The spout on my teapot has a crack in it.

Jennifer said...

My e-reader!! I've been having so many problems with it. It's probably time to get a new one.

Grandma Cootie said...

My foot - broke it a couple of years ago at the gym and turns out I have the slowest mending bones ever so it will always be broken to some degree. Sigh.

What an intriguing excerpt. Thanks!

Marjorie/cenya2 said...

My coffee makes is spouting, almost broke .

Amy Bez said...

My bedroom lights area broken... or at least, burned out.

Patricia said...

My laptop.

Priscilla S. said...

My headphones are broken.

Melanie Backus said...

My bracelet is broken.

Dawnio63 said...

my wellingtons are leaking and my feet get soaked when I'm walking my dog...must buy another pair!

Heather J @ TLC Book Tours said...

Thanks for featuring this book for the tour!

Unknown said...

My gorgeous weeping willow has some cracked branches after the recent high winds :(

Tatum Rangel said...

The light switch in my bathroom is broken.