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Ivy Pane #1
Broken Life
When FBI Agent Ivy Pane is injured in the line of duty and loses the functioning of her right arm, she returns to her hometown defeated, expecting her career to be over, and haunted by memories of her missing sister. But when a local killer surfaces, Ivy soon finds herself needed by the local police force—and soon realizes she may just be the only one with a chance to stop him before he strikes again.
As victims turn up in a long-abandoned tunnel system, the only clue is the scent of burning candles. Former FBI agent Ivy Pane must re-learn the skills she needs to function again—and to stop this macabre murderer before it’s too late.
As victims turn up in a long-abandoned tunnel system, the only clue is the scent of burning candles. Former FBI agent Ivy Pane must re-learn the skills she needs to function again—and to stop this macabre murderer before it’s too late.
206 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 4, 2024
524 people are currently reading
546 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
April 29, 2024
The audio left a lot to be desired.
A good 2/3 of the story was dull. What made it worse was the narration attempting to spice it up at parts that were not exciting.
It felt like the go get-em FBI chick books I was finding a lot of about 2 years ago. I am all for a strong female character, but I'm not into soap operas.
I had to speed up the book & only half-heartedly listened to it just to listen to it. I guess in truth, it doesn't deserve 3 stars. 🤷♀️
(However, if it is not free, I don't recommend it. Too many other good books to pick from.)
A good 2/3 of the story was dull. What made it worse was the narration attempting to spice it up at parts that were not exciting.
It felt like the go get-em FBI chick books I was finding a lot of about 2 years ago. I am all for a strong female character, but I'm not into soap operas.
I had to speed up the book & only half-heartedly listened to it just to listen to it. I guess in truth, it doesn't deserve 3 stars. 🤷♀️
(However, if it is not free, I don't recommend it. Too many other good books to pick from.)
October 15, 2024
Not at all thrilling and edge of your seat. It’s not a difficult read but it’s a bit annoying. We know she injured her arm, she’ll never let you forget about it. Same with we know she worked for the FBI. She can’t stop thinking about it even when she’s doing something where she should be far more focused. She’s always taking deep breaths and leaning on her interrogation experience. It was too much. It was over the top really. The overhead lights are always fluorescent and her heart is always pounding in her chest. And for an experienced interrogator, it was odd that she dragged someone into the station to literally ask three questions while she had doubts he was guilty the entire time.
The writing is mediocre at best, there is a ridiculous over usage of extra details that prevents any kind of connection to the characters. Disappointing.
The writing is mediocre at best, there is a ridiculous over usage of extra details that prevents any kind of connection to the characters. Disappointing.
April 22, 2025
Ex-FBI agent with a life-changing injury and troubled personal history teams up with local police force in her home town to track and stop a killer. A story that follows the genre pattern from A to Z.
August 3, 2024
A great mystery, can't stop reading this book.
December 10, 2024
Am not too good at the moment so am either in bed or lolling around on the sofa reading lots of kindle american books with gungho characters with a lot of girl action in every one. This book started off a bit tedious, Ivy Pane has been invalidated out of the FBI as she was in a car crash and injured her right arm so badly that it had enough metal pins in it to set off a metal detector (well am thinking it has), so she returns to her home town to move back in with her dad. But she's bored. Then the murders begin.
Not that she instigates any of them, she's asked by her old friend Sean who's a local police officer to come into the office and take a look at some strange murders and see if she can see the way out of the maze they have found themselves in. She does and sets to work like an FBI agent should. She is quite good at working her way out of the mess they seem to be in and even managed to work her way through it some more to find the killer of several single mothers who are killed and laid out in a religious way in some old tunnels surrounded by candles which light up the tunnels. With a lot of calls to her, am assuming, therapist she sees something which they have been missing and sets off (single handedly) to confront the killer, she does leave a message for Sean thank goodness.
It was a fast paced book and I quite liked that as it gathered momentum quickly so it needed to keep up the pace. However you now know the ending, you can see that if Ivy can't be an agent she surely can be a police officer!
Not that she instigates any of them, she's asked by her old friend Sean who's a local police officer to come into the office and take a look at some strange murders and see if she can see the way out of the maze they have found themselves in. She does and sets to work like an FBI agent should. She is quite good at working her way out of the mess they seem to be in and even managed to work her way through it some more to find the killer of several single mothers who are killed and laid out in a religious way in some old tunnels surrounded by candles which light up the tunnels. With a lot of calls to her, am assuming, therapist she sees something which they have been missing and sets off (single handedly) to confront the killer, she does leave a message for Sean thank goodness.
It was a fast paced book and I quite liked that as it gathered momentum quickly so it needed to keep up the pace. However you now know the ending, you can see that if Ivy can't be an agent she surely can be a police officer!
January 11, 2026
This book reads like it was written by AI — surface-level, repetitive, and lacking substance. After 66% I finally gave up. The writing just got worse and more repetitive: simile after simile, recycled phrases, and the same vague beats about “complicated evidence,” “something missing,” and a protagonist who “didn’t feel right.”
FBI Agent Ivy Pane could have been interesting, but there was no depth. No real character development, no physical detail, no insight into the team, no forensic process, no believable evidence, and no actual stakes. The crime scenes were glossed over, the investigations vague, and the relationships reduced to generic labels like “missing sister” or “years of friendship.”
It felt like a plot outline stretched into a novel without anyone bothering to add texture. A benchmark example of AI-generated storytelling gone wrong.
So why did I read 66% before quitting? Honestly, I’m low on reading options right now. Compared with other free Amazon reads, this highlighted how much worse writing can get when detail and craftsmanship are missing.
And YES ChatGPT helped to write this review.
I have now read the other reviews, and honestly, read those instead of reading the book. They are better and a whole lot shorter. Do not waste your time reading this book.
FBI Agent Ivy Pane could have been interesting, but there was no depth. No real character development, no physical detail, no insight into the team, no forensic process, no believable evidence, and no actual stakes. The crime scenes were glossed over, the investigations vague, and the relationships reduced to generic labels like “missing sister” or “years of friendship.”
It felt like a plot outline stretched into a novel without anyone bothering to add texture. A benchmark example of AI-generated storytelling gone wrong.
So why did I read 66% before quitting? Honestly, I’m low on reading options right now. Compared with other free Amazon reads, this highlighted how much worse writing can get when detail and craftsmanship are missing.
And YES ChatGPT helped to write this review.
I have now read the other reviews, and honestly, read those instead of reading the book. They are better and a whole lot shorter. Do not waste your time reading this book.
October 17, 2025
too much
The extensive descriptive prose was daunting to read. A ridiculous amount of unnecessary and long winded sentences that detractedfromthe storyline. It literally became painful to read. I began to skimandijustwantedtoseehowshewrapped it up. The characters were never fleshed out ,they felt hollow and the main character was a heroine with angst that read more emotionally stunted and narcissistic than someone to applaud. Ifiwantedgreat descriptions of environments or where to travel she would be a good writer. I could not read another of her books. The ending wasn’t satisfying. I think she is very capable but not focused on the plot more on proving she has a vivid and descriptive wording gift.
The extensive descriptive prose was daunting to read. A ridiculous amount of unnecessary and long winded sentences that detractedfromthe storyline. It literally became painful to read. I began to skimandijustwantedtoseehowshewrapped it up. The characters were never fleshed out ,they felt hollow and the main character was a heroine with angst that read more emotionally stunted and narcissistic than someone to applaud. Ifiwantedgreat descriptions of environments or where to travel she would be a good writer. I could not read another of her books. The ending wasn’t satisfying. I think she is very capable but not focused on the plot more on proving she has a vivid and descriptive wording gift.
January 3, 2026
Almost my first DNF...
When I started reading this I was intrigued and curious about the characters and how their pasts were woven together. The author has a great way of describing, but it felt like the same points were reiterated over and over with much of it unnecessary. I stopped reading it for over a month. I returned out of pride for the fact that I have always finished books I start and I am happy I did because the ending was better than I expected and I am optimistic about the next one in the series. I do hope the author learns to get to the point a little quicker in that one.
When I started reading this I was intrigued and curious about the characters and how their pasts were woven together. The author has a great way of describing, but it felt like the same points were reiterated over and over with much of it unnecessary. I stopped reading it for over a month. I returned out of pride for the fact that I have always finished books I start and I am happy I did because the ending was better than I expected and I am optimistic about the next one in the series. I do hope the author learns to get to the point a little quicker in that one.
July 23, 2024
Gripping and intense drama
A thoroughly gripping and intense drama as Ivy Payne, recently retired from FBI on injury grounds, is taken on as a consultant to her hometown police department to investigate a series of single mothers found dead in thee tunnels underneath the town. With the assistance of the sheriff and one of his most trusted detecti es she leads the search for the deadly perpetrator who is killing single women and leaving them in a ritualistic grave in the mysterious tunnels.
A thoroughly gripping and intense drama as Ivy Payne, recently retired from FBI on injury grounds, is taken on as a consultant to her hometown police department to investigate a series of single mothers found dead in thee tunnels underneath the town. With the assistance of the sheriff and one of his most trusted detecti es she leads the search for the deadly perpetrator who is killing single women and leaving them in a ritualistic grave in the mysterious tunnels.
September 17, 2024
I have read the first four Broken - Ivy Pane books. I love the mystery, but I should have read them farther apart. I love the imagery she writes but she uses the word crunch a lot.
Ivy is a former FBI agent injured while on duty. She returns to her hometown, Brookside, where she is haunted by her childhood and her sister Lizzy’s disappearance. She is able to join the police department. She partners with friend, Sean, from her past. I have pre-ordered her fifth book Broken Promise due out Jan of 2025.
Ivy is a former FBI agent injured while on duty. She returns to her hometown, Brookside, where she is haunted by her childhood and her sister Lizzy’s disappearance. She is able to join the police department. She partners with friend, Sean, from her past. I have pre-ordered her fifth book Broken Promise due out Jan of 2025.
January 22, 2025
No one is safe
What happens when you lose everything? Ivy doesn't know what to do now that she is no longer in the FBI. It has been the driving force in her life for so long. But when her best friend Sean offers her a lifeline she grabs it. She has been asked to be a consultant on a murder case. She knows that they need to move fast to find the killer. But ever clue leads them down the wrong path. Can Ivy figure it out before another young woman is killed? A great read. Good solid characters?
What happens when you lose everything? Ivy doesn't know what to do now that she is no longer in the FBI. It has been the driving force in her life for so long. But when her best friend Sean offers her a lifeline she grabs it. She has been asked to be a consultant on a murder case. She knows that they need to move fast to find the killer. But ever clue leads them down the wrong path. Can Ivy figure it out before another young woman is killed? A great read. Good solid characters?
August 23, 2024
Inconsistent
This book is full of cliches and inconsistencies. One minute they arrive in 2 cars but leave in one. As a consultant, how did Ivy suddenly have a badge and a gun. She had just started working with Sean but suddenly they are in sync because they know everything about each other in a work sense. The list goes on. I never leave reviews but the Editor needs to do a closer check for these inconsistencies.
This book is full of cliches and inconsistencies. One minute they arrive in 2 cars but leave in one. As a consultant, how did Ivy suddenly have a badge and a gun. She had just started working with Sean but suddenly they are in sync because they know everything about each other in a work sense. The list goes on. I never leave reviews but the Editor needs to do a closer check for these inconsistencies.
October 8, 2024
As far as a thriller mystery goes, it was okay. Ivy Pane, an injured FBI agent returns to her home town and ends up consulting on a murder case. This author was so wordy. Lots of descriptive phrases that then went on and on. It got a bit tedious. Some things seemed to be a bit of a stretch. When confronting a possible murder suspect, she goes alone. Really? An FBI agent would know better than to go in without backup. I think the series has potential though.
November 4, 2024
Some things made no sense
I guess it could be called poetic license to throw in things just for extra drama but they did not make sense so that bugged me.
The last situation in the book was like something we've seen on tv & in movies several times so was predictable.
It also was not consistent with Ivy's actions up to that point. I don't want to give away the story but I was rolling my eyes towards the end.
I guess it could be called poetic license to throw in things just for extra drama but they did not make sense so that bugged me.
The last situation in the book was like something we've seen on tv & in movies several times so was predictable.
It also was not consistent with Ivy's actions up to that point. I don't want to give away the story but I was rolling my eyes towards the end.
August 4, 2024
Absolutely terrible waste of time
In all my 42 years in this planet I've never read something so awful. So many words used to say nothing. Dreadfully dull characters, zero skills in policing, constant repetition of descriptors and complete lack of explanation of historical events that are detailed every 5 minutes. Do. Not. Buy. This. Book.
In all my 42 years in this planet I've never read something so awful. So many words used to say nothing. Dreadfully dull characters, zero skills in policing, constant repetition of descriptors and complete lack of explanation of historical events that are detailed every 5 minutes. Do. Not. Buy. This. Book.
November 2, 2025
Good story but inconsistencies. They arrive at crime scene in separate vehicles, but when they leave they are in the same vehicle. She is in so much pain from her injury, yet she is able to fight off attacks twice. And why does every FBI agent decide to go into law enforcement because they had a sister that disappeared?
August 3, 2024
ok but…
Hard to read because it’s so wordy. Every single sentence doesn’t need two descriptors for every noun. Detectives interview suspects and only ask 2 lame questions and all the sudden they know everything about them. Not believable.
Hard to read because it’s so wordy. Every single sentence doesn’t need two descriptors for every noun. Detectives interview suspects and only ask 2 lame questions and all the sudden they know everything about them. Not believable.
January 1, 2025
I liked this story right up until the climax. Given Ivy's physical limitations and her experience as an FBI agent, she faces the "bad guy" all alone? Hmmm. One heck of a heroine even if unbelievable.
August 24, 2025
too predictable
Writing not great; story line not realistic as FBI would have been called in for the number of murders in one town. Obvious who the murderer would be. No real suspense
Writing not great; story line not realistic as FBI would have been called in for the number of murders in one town. Obvious who the murderer would be. No real suspense
September 24, 2025
Broken Life review
The balance of mystery, suspense and tragedy was well written. I didn't rate it as five stars because I found that the use of literary device was too forced and too often which detracted from the story. Too much simile and too much metaphor.
The balance of mystery, suspense and tragedy was well written. I didn't rate it as five stars because I found that the use of literary device was too forced and too often which detracted from the story. Too much simile and too much metaphor.
September 28, 2025
worth reading. good story.
The story kept my attention throughout. At times some of the descriptions were too wordy like the author was trying to add word count. I will read more of her work.
The story kept my attention throughout. At times some of the descriptions were too wordy like the author was trying to add word count. I will read more of her work.
December 8, 2025
Heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time
Love the partnership being forged between local and outside members of law enforcement. Anticipation for where the relationship between man and woman might go. Happy to see broken relationships being repaired.
Love the partnership being forged between local and outside members of law enforcement. Anticipation for where the relationship between man and woman might go. Happy to see broken relationships being repaired.
June 16, 2024
Listened for about an hour, but it's too boring to finish
July 21, 2024
riveting
Plot moved along. Enjoye the characters and look forward to reading the 2nd book with Ivy Pane as the protagonist
Plot moved along. Enjoye the characters and look forward to reading the 2nd book with Ivy Pane as the protagonist
August 3, 2024
Awful book, awful writing and dialogue, brutal read
August 3, 2024
Great book
This book keeps you riveted to your seat . Nail-biting to the very end. Congratulations to the Author for a well written book.
This book keeps you riveted to your seat . Nail-biting to the very end. Congratulations to the Author for a well written book.
August 8, 2024
Superb Writer!
The Amazon highlighting function worked overtime during this story, which was not only gripping from Go to Woe, but jammed full of linguistic gems. More, please!
The Amazon highlighting function worked overtime during this story, which was not only gripping from Go to Woe, but jammed full of linguistic gems. More, please!
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September 5, 2024Audiobook
September 15, 2024
Excellent start of a new series
This was a very fast paced action packed book. Main characters were determined, experienced and hard driving. Leaves you wondering what's next.
This was a very fast paced action packed book. Main characters were determined, experienced and hard driving. Leaves you wondering what's next.
March 2, 2025
Good read
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews