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Detective Ellie MacIntosh #4
Fractured
Blending mystery and romance, this action-packed thriller finds Detective Ellie MacIntosh racing to stop a serial killer
Milwaukee homicide detective Ellie MacIntosh’s bizarre case takes gruesome to a new level—and is eerily and frustratingly familiar. She has seen the signature work of the killer before, but cannot connect the victims. There isn’t a single suspect in sight, but at least the case gives Ellie something to focus on instead of her chaotic personal life.
Ellie’s partner, Jason Santiago, is glad to be back on the job, even on a disturbing case like this one. Working with Ellie has evolved into a tangled relationship that is no longer platonic, at least to him. Jason’s chance to make a move is now, but he’s paralyzed by the fear he will ruin both his career and a partnership he values more than any he has ever had.
When a timid woman named Rachel reveals that she suspects her promiscuous and charismatic roommate, Lea, has been involved in the grisly murders, therapist Dr. Georgia Lukens is put into the untenable position of deciding if these are the ramblings of a delusional patient or something more.
As Ellie pieces together a macabre puzzle of past and present sins, it becomes clear that madness takes many forms and…it may be too late to stop her partner from becoming the next victim.
Milwaukee homicide detective Ellie MacIntosh’s bizarre case takes gruesome to a new level—and is eerily and frustratingly familiar. She has seen the signature work of the killer before, but cannot connect the victims. There isn’t a single suspect in sight, but at least the case gives Ellie something to focus on instead of her chaotic personal life.
Ellie’s partner, Jason Santiago, is glad to be back on the job, even on a disturbing case like this one. Working with Ellie has evolved into a tangled relationship that is no longer platonic, at least to him. Jason’s chance to make a move is now, but he’s paralyzed by the fear he will ruin both his career and a partnership he values more than any he has ever had.
When a timid woman named Rachel reveals that she suspects her promiscuous and charismatic roommate, Lea, has been involved in the grisly murders, therapist Dr. Georgia Lukens is put into the untenable position of deciding if these are the ramblings of a delusional patient or something more.
As Ellie pieces together a macabre puzzle of past and present sins, it becomes clear that madness takes many forms and…it may be too late to stop her partner from becoming the next victim.
304 pages, Paperback
First published March 10, 2015
19 people are currently reading
662 people want to read
About the author
Kate Watterson
32 books91 followersWriting as both Emma Wildes and Katherine Smith, Kate Watterson has over thirty published books to her credit, plus five Eppie nominations, one Eppie win for best historical erotic in 2007, a RWA Lories win, WisRWA 2005 final for best historical romance, and is a CAPA nominee. She loves suspense and to write erotic stories in the genre is a special treat.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
August 9, 2015
I was so tickled to get my hands on this book. Even though this is 4th in a series and I always recommend starting with the first book, this makes a fine stand-alone. There's just enough information for the reader to get a glimpse of what they've missed, but able to understand all that happens in this one.
MacIntosh and her partner, Jason Santiago, are handed three cases which are related. Random men are found with their faces slashed beyond recognition and stabbed in the chest in the shape of a cross.
On a personal level, MacIntosh and Santiago have come a long way from the first case they worked together. He is funny, engaging, a bit on the sarcastic side, but he has finally figured out that he loves Ellie. Ellie, on the other hand, has a live-in boyfriend which may or may not be on the verge of falling apart. She is also clueless about her partner's feelings towards her. It's great fun to listen to the two of them bantering back and forth.
The murderer remains a mystery through most of the book ... and the ending is quite a surprise. The 'why' really caught my attention. Hopefully, there will be another in this series. I enjoy the characters tremendously.
I gave it 5 stars because of the characters, all the books in this series have been well-written, and I haven't found any details not taken care of.
March 22, 2015
I like this author's writing and this story was a great read. The big question of course is who is targeting good looking men with blonde hair and blue eyes? I figured out who the killer was fairly early, but still enjoyed this book. Lots of angst going on between the characters and some sizzles too - but are they appropriate, hmmm.
4 solid stars and 2 thumbs up for this book in the continuing Detective Ellie MacIntosh series.
4 solid stars and 2 thumbs up for this book in the continuing Detective Ellie MacIntosh series.
November 3, 2014
Homicide detective Ellie MacIntosh and her partner Jason Santiago are investigating a couple of very gruesome homicides and are not having much luck finding any leads. When the murderer strikes again they start to feel the pressure to find a possible serial killer.
Ellie and Jason are both seeing the same court appointed therapist, Georgia, who also happens to be treating a disturbed young woman who is having issues with her roommate. When this young woman starts insinuating that there may be connections between the murders and her roommate, Georgia must make a choice between informing Ellie and Jason or keeping patient client confidentiality.
This is the 3rd installment in this series with Ellie as the main character. Jason was introduced in the 2nd book. This was the first book I’ve read by this author and it flowed fairly well although I was very disappointed by the ending. It seems to just stop abruptly and I felt like there were chunks of the story missing. All in all a good thriller with a good story line.
Ellie and Jason are both seeing the same court appointed therapist, Georgia, who also happens to be treating a disturbed young woman who is having issues with her roommate. When this young woman starts insinuating that there may be connections between the murders and her roommate, Georgia must make a choice between informing Ellie and Jason or keeping patient client confidentiality.
This is the 3rd installment in this series with Ellie as the main character. Jason was introduced in the 2nd book. This was the first book I’ve read by this author and it flowed fairly well although I was very disappointed by the ending. It seems to just stop abruptly and I felt like there were chunks of the story missing. All in all a good thriller with a good story line.
March 5, 2015
Great characters - Ellie, Jason and Dr. Lukens are meshed together so well. Kept my attention from start to finish with a great surprise ending. I highly recommend reading if you like detective/suspense. I won this book in a GoodReads giveaway and am so glad I did!
June 2, 2018
I'm baffled by all the positive reviews on this book. It only barely reached two stars for me, and even then I feel it may be quite generous. I didn't like pretty much anything about this book. The dialogue was unrealistic, the writing was the very definition of telling instead of showing, the characters were annoying, and the casual sexism/ableism/etc was ridiculous to the point that I checked when this book was published. When was the last time "cripple" was an acceptable word to use? Not in 2015 when this came out.
There were a lot of gross tropes in this book that induce eye rolling individually, but combined just made for such an uncomfortable reading experience. Mentally ill people as crazed serial killers, men who can't cook, overprotective "macho" men, etc. In addition to being incredibly heteronormative and stating that asexuality is the result of either a hormone imbalance or trauma. I was not down.
I didn't actually read the whole description on the front flap until about twenty pages into the book, but that was when I figured out the ending. Knowing the ending so far in advance and knowing you're going to hate it is an incredibly unpleasant reading experience.
There were a lot of gross tropes in this book that induce eye rolling individually, but combined just made for such an uncomfortable reading experience. Mentally ill people as crazed serial killers, men who can't cook, overprotective "macho" men, etc. In addition to being incredibly heteronormative and stating that asexuality is the result of either a hormone imbalance or trauma. I was not down.
I didn't actually read the whole description on the front flap until about twenty pages into the book, but that was when I figured out the ending. Knowing the ending so far in advance and knowing you're going to hate it is an incredibly unpleasant reading experience.
February 8, 2018
Det Ellie MacIntosh and her partner Jason are chasing a serial killer. Three men have been murdered, with their faces slashed and stabbed in the chest in the shape of a cross. The men have no apparent connection to each other.
This is the 4th book in the Ellie MacIntosh series. It could be read alone but the series is really good so I recommend reading them in order. I loved the dialogue between Ellie and Jason. This is a murder mystery with a surprise ending.
This is the 4th book in the Ellie MacIntosh series. It could be read alone but the series is really good so I recommend reading them in order. I loved the dialogue between Ellie and Jason. This is a murder mystery with a surprise ending.
September 15, 2022
I enjoyed this one! A fun (although predictable) read!
Number four in the series but reads fine as a stand alone as I haven't read the first three; but I may now.
Ellie and Jason are homicide detectives in Milwaukee, working a violent murder case that has similarities to a previous case, but they have no leads or suspects. A police thriller with a romantic element.
Number four in the series but reads fine as a stand alone as I haven't read the first three; but I may now.
Ellie and Jason are homicide detectives in Milwaukee, working a violent murder case that has similarities to a previous case, but they have no leads or suspects. A police thriller with a romantic element.
August 2, 2018
This was my first book by this author. I don't usually like to start a series at #4, but it happens. I did like the characters and the premise of the book, although I figured it out fairly early. It was still interesting watching them figure it out. I'm going to try another of the series.
July 13, 2023
The ending makes up for the slow start. The book switched between using their first and last names so it can be confusing at times. The beginning is a little slow but the book picks up and it feel’s impossible to put down!!
May 20, 2025
Got this book as a Christmas gift and learned half way through it was part of a series which makes sense as to why I could not get into it until the very last few pages, which was left on a cliff hanger into the next series.
March 13, 2019
Was interesting getting to know more about the characters. But, had a predictable ending. I figured who the killer was about half way through.
August 7, 2020
I love this series! I gave the book 4 stars because I don’t like the ending! Is there a reason for the open ended resolve? I’m stunned a bit but over all this is excellent writing
May 28, 2021
Good reading, entertaining.
October 11, 2025
kept me guessing way longer than I'm used to
July 7, 2017
I'm ambivalent about this one. I've read all the books in this series, and am glad to read about the further adventures of Ellie and her colleagues in the MPD, especially Santiago, but I thought the plot was a little boring, formulaic, familiar, and predictable.
I'm really glad Watterson delved more into the personal relationship between Ellie and Santiago [although I thought his romantic feelings for her in the last book had a whiff of "that came out of nowhere"] and seems to slowly be developing something more between them. (Can you tell I don't care too much for Bryce? It's as Dr. Lukens told Ellie, maybe she and Bryce just aren't right for each other.]
The mystery, as I said earlier, was predictable. I had guessed the connection between Dr. Luken's patient Rachel and the killer fairly early on, and not too much later, guessed the "relationship" between Rachel and Lea. The only suspense for me was in wondering how the killer would be caught.
One thing I felt was "off" was this: even if the relationship between Ellie and Bryce is at a crossroads, wouldn't he have called her just to talk and in the course of it, found out was she injured in the line of duty? Some time has passed since Ellie was injured and the end of the book, but it didn't seem like Bryce knew about her injury, or even bothered to return to Wisconsin?! Given that money and job responsibilities are not a problem for him, why wouldn't he return? That seemed like a plot hole.
But the main issue I have with this book is the ending. It seemed pretty abrupt. It was such a weird way to end a novel, and it felt to me like there should have been another chapter, or at least a few more paragraphs added. And for those wondering, the end was only tangential to the main plot of the whole book! So double weird.
I'm really glad Watterson delved more into the personal relationship between Ellie and Santiago [although I thought his romantic feelings for her in the last book had a whiff of "that came out of nowhere"] and seems to slowly be developing something more between them. (Can you tell I don't care too much for Bryce? It's as Dr. Lukens told Ellie, maybe she and Bryce just aren't right for each other.]
The mystery, as I said earlier, was predictable. I had guessed the connection between Dr. Luken's patient Rachel and the killer fairly early on, and not too much later, guessed the "relationship" between Rachel and Lea. The only suspense for me was in wondering how the killer would be caught.
One thing I felt was "off" was this: even if the relationship between Ellie and Bryce is at a crossroads, wouldn't he have called her just to talk and in the course of it, found out was she injured in the line of duty? Some time has passed since Ellie was injured and the end of the book, but it didn't seem like Bryce knew about her injury, or even bothered to return to Wisconsin?! Given that money and job responsibilities are not a problem for him, why wouldn't he return? That seemed like a plot hole.
But the main issue I have with this book is the ending. It seemed pretty abrupt. It was such a weird way to end a novel, and it felt to me like there should have been another chapter, or at least a few more paragraphs added. And for those wondering, the end was only tangential to the main plot of the whole book! So double weird.
March 16, 2015
This was a great thriller. Once again Ellie MacIntosh and her partner, Jason Santiago, are called to the scene of a murder. The victim was stabbed to death, his face mutilated and a cross carved into his chest. It was similar to the murder of a college professor recently. They work to build the case as they look for the killer while Jason deals with his growing attraction for Ellie. The fact her relationship with her boyfriend isn't going well gives him the opening he needs to reveal his feelings. This was well written and plotted out and while you pick up on the killer's identity early on, it doesn't detract from the telling of the story. It was very entertaining and a great continuation to the series. Definitely recommend.
October 11, 2016
The good stuff: I enjoyed the book immensely -- Ellie MacIntosh and Jason Santiago are engaging characters and I liked their interactions with each other and with other people. I'm looking forward to spending more time with them.
The bad stuff: the twist at the end was a bit...erm...something (I don't want to spoil, so sorry about being vague) but it was handled fairly and well. I'm not sure how well tied off all the details were -- I'm still not 100% sure about the details of the backstory of the killer and how the killer came to commit these particular murders.
The bad stuff: the twist at the end was a bit...erm...something (I don't want to spoil, so sorry about being vague) but it was handled fairly and well. I'm not sure how well tied off all the details were -- I'm still not 100% sure about the details of the backstory of the killer and how the killer came to commit these particular murders.
June 22, 2016
Oh wow! I can't wait for the next book. There's a next book, right? Oh please tell me there is because if this is the ending, well, it sucks!!!! It can't be the end of this series. Please Kate. I can't helped but think of Ellie and Santiago. I want to be together but mostly, I want to know what happened to the last case they were working on. So pretty please, when will you be publishing the next book?
October 12, 2015
Ok - I liked the detectives but I'd figured out (spoiler alert) that the person seeing the therapist had a split personality pretty early on in the book. Plus split personalities are soooo predictable in murders...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2016
I enjoyed this mystery. It held my attention totally, even though I suspected early on that Rachel and Lea were abnormally close, I was surprised by the character of Lauren. I was happy for Jason yet he and Ellie were certainly a team.
November 2, 2014
I figured out the ending by page 78 but I still enjoyed this book. Am going to go back and read the first two - Frozen & Buried.
April 10, 2015
Wisconsin. Police.
May 9, 2015
Great book!
I could not put the book down ! I was hoping the book would go on a little further. I can't wait to read book 6 !
I could not put the book down ! I was hoping the book would go on a little further. I can't wait to read book 6 !
May 21, 2015
Will read more of this series. Detectives in Wisonsin
June 20, 2015
It was good! I like murder solving books.... But I had this one solved way before it was figured out!
August 11, 2015
Another great book by Kate Watterson!
August 12, 2015
My favorite of the series so far. And of course it has a cliff-hanger ending.
Notes: Rated R for language
Notes: Rated R for language
September 12, 2015
Predicted part of ending, but not all of it so I enjoyed it. Liked the relations between characters.
May 11, 2017
I really enjoyed this mystery. I have not read the first book in this "series", but I don't feel like you have to, in order to enjoy this book,
July 28, 2016
Awesome, easy to read thriller that is surely not the end of a great series. I love these characters and can't wait to find out what happens next
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews