Hi All!
I hope everyone’s week has started off well!
This week I read A Broken Clock Never Boils by debut author C.J. Weiss.
Big thank you to C.J. Weiss for reaching out to me and giving me the opportunity to read this paranormal psychological thriller. As many of you probably know, this isn’t usually a genre I read too often, but something about the title, the cover, and the synopsis drew me in and I knew I had to find out what this was about!
Let’s get to the review!
Genre: Paranormal, Psychological Thriller, Horror
Publication Date: September 26, 2022
Goodreads Blurb:
IS IT MADNESS OR THE SUPERNATURAL?
Psychiatrist Claire Rossi seeks cases nobody else can treat—cases like her mother’s, whose misdiagnosis of schizophrenia and subsequent death inspired Claire’s career. Initially infatuated with an influx of seemingly schizophrenic patients, interest turns to terror as their ailments infect her too. She sees and hears a man who grows more violent with every encounter. The analysis and training she’s relied on her whole career fail to explain his presence, leaving only one conclusion: that what haunts her isn’t in her head at all. But maybe that’s just what she wants to believe.
As her symptoms escalate, she’s left with two unsettling clues. Her mother speaks to her in twisted idioms, and a mysterious letter taunts her with a single line:
Enjoy your gifts.
What I liked about the book:
1. This was very well written, especially for such a complex topic and for a debut author. He did a good job weaving in the psychological education of the reader with the events taking place in the story, as well as referring to key points throughout so you didn’t forget about something previously mentioned.
2. All Claire’s circles of thoughts around psychology explained beautifully why I love psychology! The never-ending puzzles and rabbit holes are why I took every General Education class requirement I could in psychology! I love it all so much and this book showed just how complex and fascinating it all is!
3. Even if some of them were twisted, I’m a sucker for a good idiom and I really enjoy lines that make you think. Some of my favorites were:
Depression and loneliness fed off one another, a snake eating its tail in an endless loop of misery.
Beware of the gift that keeps on giving.
You’re strong and can handle more than most, but eventually a snowflake becomes an avalanche.
4. I liked that I didn’t know where the story was going to go at all times. There was no obvious conclusion, which made it very intriguing for someone like me that is a total Snapped maniac and tends to pick up on the conclusion of a mystery book fairly early.
I also really liked the paranormal aspect of this story. I wish it would have dove into it more (blood in Ryan’s bathroom???) but I appreciated that there was a “reasonable explanation” for all of it. This was the right amount of unnerving and “spooky”, especially having read it during California’s massive storm this week!
What could have been better:
1. At times, I felt there were a lot of big words used when they weren’t really needed. I think the parts where this stuck out to me the most were when they weren’t dialogue- or internal thoughts-related, but just general descriptions of the settings. I could definitely understand when the use of bigger words made sense when referring to Claire’s dialogue or internal thoughts, but otherwise it felt a little daunting at times.
2. Unfortunately, I really disliked the main character. I’m all for strong females, especially ones who don’t feel the compulsive need to be wives, mothers, and in line with society’s expectations. That is straight up my jam! However, the main character’s own flaws and mental struggles that weren’t looked into, her fascination with her title, and her entitlement issues made it really hard to like her or even feel blah about her. I think my big breaking point with her came when she wanted a kid to refer to her as Doctor Rossi and really drove that home until he did.
3. One thing I noticed, and I’m sure this is just me being a raging feminist, was every female body was described. Male characters had their facial features or general statures noted, but females were described for their bodies (i.e., chubby, thin, curvy hips, guys ogling their breasts, being checked out mercilessly, etc.)
After noticing this with the FMC and her friend, I tried to find females introduced that didn’t and really couldn’t. From the nurse with two sentences to the cop, every female had her body specifically described and this bothered me.
4. There were a few key things that weren’t resolved or weren’t explained to my satisfaction.
The whole “Rick” thing was one. The explanation for Rick didn’t sit well with me, especially since there was the whole other character of “Kim” that I doubt was the same explanation. I was looking for more explanation here.
Another thing I didn’t quite feel was explained well was Claire hearing her mother’s “twisted idioms”. Why was she hearing these? Why did her mother say these in the first place? Why did they actually prove useful?
Finally, I felt there were some critical scenes that were told in past tense instead of being wrote out so the reader could read them “live”. Like the end scene with Ryan as well as Claire collecting some of the letters. These are definitely things I would have liked to read about instead of having them explained to us after the fact. I felt there was a lot of talk about wine that I would have far preferred been cut out than these.
Final Thoughts:
C.J. Weiss is one to watch! Check this one out if you like psychological thrillers with a paranormal touch.
Final Rating: 3 stars
Want to check out what else C.J. is working on? Hop on over to his social media accounts using the below.
Goodreads | Facebook | Website
While you’re at it, let’s be antisocial together!
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