Catharsis

by Noorilhuda

Ten year old Daniel has been missing for more than a week.  His family and the police have all but lost hope of finding him alive. Then a strange old man enters the precinct at the 99th Avenue and declares he knows where the boy is - and who he’s with. The lead detective on the case Aurora Fox is skeptical. Is the hemophiliac puppet master, Maxwell Caine, part of the puzzle or the solution - and why does he look so dolled up? 

Dark tale of a tough-as-nails detective, a curious old man and a persistent district attorney - all trying to catch a pedophile - (scratch that) - a serial killer. 

Fear is relative. 
What would you do to be free? 

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2015

About the author

Non-Fiction: https://www.scribd.com/noorilhuda
http://newslinemagazine.com/contribut...
Fiction:
- ‘The Governess’ (2014): Praised by Historical Novel Society, Midwest Book Review and Kindle Book Review U.S., the novel has done well in the UK where it's regularly picked up as an ebook & frequently lands in Top 100 Free lists (#1 in 'Death & Grief,' #2 in 'Religious & Inspirational Romance,' #13 in 'Parenting & Families'): http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00MF8BJQE
- ‘Catharsis’ (2015) received mixed reviews: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010IQSFN4

Reviews

[Felicity Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

A difficult review for me to write as, unfortunately a copy riddled with numerous errors, my enjoyment could not be other than marred. However, having emailed the author with my concerns and been reassured that these were in the process of being dealt with, I have agreed to proceed with my reflections on Catharsis. So, errors aside ....

A promising plot and characters. A police procedural of sorts. A damaged cop with an elderly haemophiliac as her (sort of) side-kick, both with secrets, neither of whom as they might at first seem. A young boy from a somewhat dysfunctional family, missing, the victim of a paedophile ring - be warned there are elements of child abuse that though not frequent or gratuitous are pretty graphic at times.

Whilst Catharsis had the potential to be a really good thriller, the slow realisation of the past of the main characters tantalising, sadly it was let down by several implausible aspects. My main problem being a protagonist who try as I might I simply couldn't believe in which is a shame as, her aggression toned down a little, Detective Aurora Fox could have been a great character.

Despite all of the technical issues and that the plot/characters were not altogether believable there was something about this author's work that intrigued me. Could it be that crime isn't the right genre for her? Excited to read another novel of hers, The Governess, which is set in in early nineteenth century England. Might it be that she is better suited to historical fiction?

Copyright: Tracy Terry @ Pen and Paper.
Disclaimer: Received for for review from the author, no financial compensation was asked for nor given.

[Pamela Crane]

"Catharsis" dives into the story with an introduction between Aurora Fox, the lead detective in a missing person's case, and Maxwell, an oddly pallid old puppet maker. As the author weaves the tale together, the plot fulfills the conventions of the thriller genre with shoot-outs, a race against time to find the missing boy, and psychological teasers as red herrings lead one to wonder who the killer is.

Along with a momentum-laced plot, the characters stand out and came alive on the page, although at times they come across as awkward or eccentric, but unnaturally so. Perhaps this is because of the unusual dialogue. The exchanges don't sound natural (and the misused words don't help this--words like "shapeel," which isn't a word, thus I think the author meant "spiel"), and this at times caused me to read and re-read a page trying to figure out who was saying what, and then deciphering it. Yet I have to give credit to the author for creating some very memorable characters that I won't soon forget.

My biggest issue and reason for a generous 2 stars was the lack of editing. Errors unfold from the very first page and don't let up the entire way through. If the book got an edit--things like proper dialogue punctuation, spelling errors galore, and major grammar faux pas--it would have appealed much more to me as a lover of a psychological thrillers.

[Teresa Kander · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based solely on the synopsis above, I thought that I would be a huge fan of this book. I love thrillers, especially those that involve missing children. Unfortunately, this one was a huge disappointment.

By the end of the first chapter, I was totally confused, and I never got my confusion cleared up in the rest of the book. I couldn't make sense of much of what was happening, and the characters seemed more than just a little unrealistic.

The main character, Aurora, was a huge disappointment. A police officer who is as abusive as she appeared would never still be on the force. She threatens and intimidates people at every turn, and she doesn't even have a partner assigned to keep her under control.

In most cases I would probably have given up on this book in the first 50 pages or so, but because I took in on for review, I kept reading in hopes that things would be made clear by the end. The storyline has a lot of potential, but the execution was less than optimal.

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.**

[M.J. Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rather enjoyed this dark read. I don´t usually go for psychological thrillers but this one grabbed my attention as the detective involved in solving the case has severe emotional and mental issues. This book is not your average run-of –the –mill thriller. The plot is so convoluted that at times it is a little difficult to follow but the characters are extremely well-drawn.
This book is well worth a read, a real page-turner.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This review was originally posted to Jen in Bookland

I really wanted to like Catharsis. I really did. I love thrillers, but this book...it just wasn't that good. It was really confusing, it didn't make a lot of sense, the characters were not realistic..it wasn't a great read.

One of the biggest issues I had with the story is the characters didn't make sense. They did not seem like real people. For example the main character, the cop Aurora, was WAY too abusive, abusive, and angry to be believable. In one of the first scenes she is in a cafe and sees a mom shaking her daughter so she gets up, grabs the lady and starts yelling at her in a very scary way. The mom doesn't seem to get it so she asks the other patrons if they saw this lady abuse her child and they were all so scared and just agreed with Aurora as they don't want her to turn on them. Then she grabs the lady by the throat, shoves her into the wall, and "slapped her silly." Yeah. To top it all off she takes the woman's purse, looks at her id and threatens her. She will come find her since she now knows where she lives if she is not nicer to her daughter. And nothing happens to Aurora over this or any other incident in the book. Sure. Okay so a cop just randomly goes off the handle on everyone all the time (this incident with the woman in the diner is not unusual behavior for her) and nothing ever happens to her? She is just allowed to roam the city by herself, no partner, no backup, and do whatever in the world she wants? Sure. I buy that. Really I just kept thinking there is NO WAY she was able to pass the psych eval. She shoots and kills people and afterwards just goes on with her trail of terror. No psych eval, no take a few days off while they look into it and make sure it was a good shot, nothing. So either everything I have ever seen/read/know about the cops is wrong, or this is just not the way the system works. She is not upset by the shooting at all either. Really it seems like she just wants to beat and/or kill every person she ever comes into contact with. The book does touch on the original psych eval, Aurora says she can fake it, but I don't believe it at all. She was not able to fake it throughout the entire book even when she should have so...she was a mess. Just like all of the characters for me. They all had things that made them not realistic.

When reading this book I felt like I was constantly confused, like what is going on? This makes no sense?! and not in a good way. The logic at times made me scratch my head as just because a doesn't mean b, I can think of twenty other scenarios that it could mean, so it was confusing. Because the characters were so unbelievable for me it was hard to follow the story since they didn't act like real people. The way they spoke was not like people actually speak, it just wasn't real. The sad thing is I really think the barebones plot line was interesting. The ideas behind the story, the old man who makes puppets, who the bad guy was, the costumes, all of it was really great. If you just told me the storyline I would say that sounds like a good read. Unfortunately the writing and the characters and everything just ruined the great ideas. The story has a lot of potential, but unfortunately the execution was not the best.

*Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

[Laurette Long · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh dear… starting to read Noorilhuda’s novel, Catharsis, I was immediately distracted by numerous editing errors. Punctuation, grammar, (missing articles, agreement: ‘there was a jackass on loose’ ‘kids of crazy violent parent’), these were constant niggling annoyances, but a much bigger problem arose from strangely-worded phrases and sentences which seemed to almost hit the mark but not quite, necessitating some thought as to what the author actually meant e.g. ‘He glanced at her and milked his thoughts’, ‘anything out of the routine may sniff off the buggar,’ ‘a rumpled street’, ‘I am going to scale the area’, ‘putting the derived pocket knife…in a bag’, ‘(she asked) in an evasive non-binding demeanor’, ‘her on-lease car was the only lethargic display of cursory movement’. Similar problems occurred with the dialogue, with characters expressing themselves in a curiously old-fashioned way, without contractions. The overall impression was of a writer who was not completely in command of the language, making it hard for a reader to enter fully into the story, to become absorbed by the plot and develop empathy with the characters.
This was a shame as there are passages where the author’s writing shows promise, where she creates a picture, an ambiance, such as the scene where the main protagonist Aurora goes to the theatre and is carried away by the spectacle: ‘What a way to move the world! To take people down, to pull them in, and to show the magnificence of all they had been missing, just through a performance.’
But these moments were the exception rather than the rule. And in spite of one or two such glimpses into Aurora’s psyche where I began to feel some sympathy for her, the rest of the time it was hard to engage with a central character who relishes violence and seems to hate everyone, parents, children, her colleagues and particularly men: ‘they were all mud and dung and horse feed’. The other characters, with the possible exception of Maxwell/Ethan Caine, also lacked conviction and their development was sketchy and uneven.
I read this book on KU as an assignment for a review group. Before posting these comments I took a look at what other people had said. The editing problem has been raised before on numerous occasions. As the novel is self-published on Amazon it would be entirely possible to re-edit and correct the original manuscript and upload it in the place of the current version. This little bit of TLC would surely be beneficial as far as future readers were concerned, making the work more accessible and giving it increased credibility.

[Augustine Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clueless

Catharsis could have been gold. It has the characters, the theme, and the madness. And nothing underscores that point better than the action-packed opening. Female detective Aurora Cox steps onto the scene, larger than life. She is bitter, unorthodox, and seemingly above the law, except that she can’t possibly exist—certainly not with her deportment and language—either in fiction or in real life. But here, a ten-year-old boy, Daniel Logan, is kidnapped and Aurora has the case, so, like it or not, we must put up with her. And, oh! There’s an informant, an elderly puppeteer, Maxwell Caine, who happens to be hemophiliac and a curious, exploitable character who earns Aurora’s distrust at sight. The scene appears laid out for literary magic, so as they head off to the puppeteer’s favorite eatery, which also happens to be the suspected kidnapper’s regular joint, the reader braces for an engaging crime tale. Trouble is, this is a police procedural novel without a procedure. Aurora soon reveals herself to be unconvincing, untenable, and clueless. Her conduct is off-key. She raises hell in the restaurant, blows her cover, yet goes on to crack the case in a matter of minutes and in no credible manner. Her crime scene behavior is unnatural, imprecise and utterly unbelievable by police standards anywhere. As if that wasn’t depressing enough, a long incriminating letter is introduced with an unreadable typeface, short-changing the reader.

Catharsis—from the characters’ demeanor to the plot development to the dialogue—comes across as a first draft, not a finished work. The story offers no clear setting, no sense of place, and therefore no connection whatsoever with the event. The dialogue is stilted and weird. Rather than uplift the story, it destroys even the essence of the detective’s interrogation of the supposedly traumatized kid she had rescued. No child, whether traumatized or not, whether brilliant or dumb, can possibly express himself in the way this kid does.

It might be helpful to withdraw the book, rework it and present it anew so as to do justice to the fine idea it embodies. After all, reading should be a pleasure, not a struggle.

[Darrell Nelson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, I have to give this work a 1 star. The main character, Aurora Fox, (it took me fifty pages to figure out her name) is a psycho and a cop. While borderline psychopaths being cops is a well used concept in fiction, Aurora is too much of a psycho to be a cop. Her character would have worked better if she wasn't the lead detective on the case. Like how Dexter could get away with being at the scene of his own murders, because he was a lab geek, not a cop.
I went back and forth in this book, I tried to feel for Aurora's character, then she would do something that as a cop would have her sent in for a psych evaluation. I tried to get into the story and Aurora's actions would have ended it then and there.
For example, she doesn't wait for back-up before going into a suspects home and gets in a shoot out, killing one suspect. Even though it was one of the pedophiles she was hunting, the story would end there, as she'd be put on leave pending a psych evaluation. Instead, she went to the theater after.
I feel Aurora's character would show more, if she had some other job and was just hunting down pedophiles as a hobby. Yes, you could see that being a hobby of hers.
The writing was clunky, paragraphs would go on for pages. Abrupt shifts from one character to another. Truly bizarre wording, "Her shirt was fast becoming a leaked virus". All this made it a tough read.
It seems the book was intended to be a fast paced novel, but in the middle of action scenes there would be a paragraph that went on for pages, destroying the pace.
The most unfortunate part of this book was it almost seemed Aurora could have been an interesting character, but all the issues I listed above stopped that.

[Troy Vance · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pacy crime novel, Catharsis is likely to stay in the mind long after you've finished – for a variety of reasons.
There's a bit to like in this truly unorthodox tale but unfortunately, a bit to dislike as well. For the most part, it's easy to read with plenty of dialogue and snappy descriptions, although there are also inexplicably slow sections that act as a handbrake on the enjoyment. It starts off promisingly enough with the appearance of a couple of truly original characters that certainly caught my imagination; the insatiably angry Detective Aurora Cox and her sidekick; the elderly haemophiliac puppet-maker Maxwell Caine.
Unfortunately my attachment to the story went downhill from there as the incessant typos, style inconsistencies and uneven narration led me to believe that this was little more than a first draft.
Also, while I do prefer anti-heroes, here I feel the author has pushed her heroine's crudely aggressive behaviour far beyond what could be tolerated for even a psychopathic vigilante character like Batman. Whilst she may argue that the root of Detective Cox's afflictions could easily justify such anger, it simply doesn't make for easy reading. The non-stop rage becomes irritating rather than involving and that's a pity as there are many aspects to Aurora that are memorable and thought provoking.
Ultimately a disappointing execution of a very promising premise.
I received this book for free in return for an honest review.

[Julie Failla Earhart · Rating 1 out of 5]

I almost hate to admit it, but I read this entire book. Not because it was a great read, but because I was infatuated with one of the main characters. And it has great bones.
Basically this book is about a Daniel, a ten-year-old boy who is kidnapped. He’s quickly found by police with minimal effort. The story starts off at a frantic pace. That’s Fiction Writing 101: Drop your readers in the middle of the action. But this time it didn’t pay off. Police officer Aurora Fox is brutal. Immediately she’s unlikeable, and one of the major flaws in the story is that the main protagonist has to have one redeeming quality, one thing that the readers can latch onto.
Aurora is aided by a local puppeteer who came to the police station to offer his help. He knew where Daniel was being held and who was behind it. He’s right, but that doesn’t make Aurora trust him. I found the puppeteer to be the character I was fascinated with. I had hoped to learn about this craft or see how he was able to empathize with Aurora and Daniel, but that never came to be. Instead, he turned into a creepy Norman Bates-esque character.
Part of the problem with this story is that English in not the author’s language and it shows in the choppy sentence structure and the badly placed backstories.
Another irritant is that smackdab in the middle of the book, the reader learns who kidnapped Daniel. After that revelation, the book is a mishmash irrelevant happenstances.
I give Catharsis 1 out of 5 stars.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I confess I didn't enjoy reading this story. Unfortunately, that had little to do with the nature of the subject. The initial grammar and syntax problems were difficult to overlook, and page-long blocks of text were daunting. I think I did well trying to get to the heart of the story, however, I don't think the story has much heart.

The novel is full of various abuses, both old and new, and characters trying to sort their way through a dozen traumatic reference points. It was dramatic but impersonal, and the characters were impossible to relate to. The female characters, especially, were one-dimensional.

The heroine was ultimately unforgivable. She was constantly and aimlessly angry, jumped to unfounded conclusions, wasn't the least bit professional, and treated victims with such an absolute lack of compassion that she's revolting.

The plot itself was good. It zigged, it zagged, it had a nice twist. I can see the author has a strong sense of justice, truly, but thinks the world has a lot of darkness in it. I won't deny evil is out there, but several rants bordered on didactic prose.

There was a well-written sentiment that I connected with near the end of the book. One of the characters was caring for his aging, dying father and mentions the stifling "quietness even in chatter" that settled in the house. It was a genuinely human moment.

[Michael Aloysius O'Reilly · Rating 1 out of 5]

A bizarre—and quite unbelievable--female detective and a son of a puppet maker headline this head-scratching novel. My confusion as to the unfolding events was compounded by the weird moral stances of the characters. Talk about hang-ups! These characters seem to have been drawn to own quirks atop quirks, a kind of one-up-man ship. Is this book a sign of the final demise of naturalism? I hope so.
The Spencerian type font is illegible on my Kindle, a terrible choice with which to communicate.
There are frequent wrong choices of the appropriate preposition. The grammar is challenged. Long expository paragraphs go on and on. The dialogue is wooden. The sense of place is confusing. American dollars but British spelling? Is the reader to champion this confusion as being ultimately clever or to be frustrated and just bear with more confusion. What human or artistic impulse would cause a writer to champion confusion in the reader?
Whoa then woah? So often…..
There’s an attempt to tie the plot down in revelatory conclusions but I had to struggle so leading up to the climax and resolution that the characters and plot line had caused me to give up caring. I cannot recommend this novel.

[Helen Barrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catharsis.

What a fresh novel this was. It took me a little while to get in the swing of the author's style of writing, but from then I was off! She (the author) is clearly not one to shy away from the more challenging pieces of writing, be it the shudder inducing description of the situation in which the main character discovers the victim of a long lists of traumas, to the insights we are given into the damaged mind of the MC herself (she isn't alone in this, EVERYONE in Catharsis World has at least some mental trauma either before or during the story) and for the most part succeeds.
The characters were a trifle 'stock' for my tastes, but I do appreciate I'm stepping away from my own genre here, so I will leave it up to you, the prospective reader, to decide whether that would be an issue for you.
I'd hazard a guess that the author has a strong education in psychology and/or an extremely good researcher as she writes with discrete authority in this area throughout. I liked the plot a lot, although I did feel it could have been a little tighter.
I'd say in summary, the book was compelling, original (at least to me) and well researched. A solid four stars.

[John Naylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this book for free via Goodreads First Reads.

I don't give books 1 star reviews lightly. They have to be seriously flawed or near unreadable for me to do so. This book get a 1 star review as it is both extra confusing and it has more than a few flaws.

I will start with the main character. She is impossible to like and even sympathise with when you find out her past. The supporting characters are mostly forgettable too. The plot is confusing and at times I was not sure which decade I was in and with which character. It felt like a bad dream that you cannot figure out the following morning.

Having said that I have some positives for the author.

She had three good ideas that could have been separate books if she had concentrated on them. It was the fact that they did not work in combination that destroyed this book as a reading experience for me. The main characters life could be a book. The abduction could be a book (with a different investigator). The father and son could be a book. There is a lot of things that could turn a turkey into a meal here. This just was not the book that combined them into dinner.

[Ana Meyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate giving a bad review :( It is just not in my nature but I really struggled reading this book. There is a lot of dialog which I love but it was hard to tell who was talking and follow the story as there were little descriptors as to who it was actually doing the talking. I also could not stand the main female character (double sad face) she was very unlikable. Now I am not saying that a character can't be tough and no nonsense but they have to have redeemable characteristics or things that make you want to care about them. She just didn't, she was always angry (enter hulk) and I really just couldn't care if anything happened to her or if she even solved the case. This has a great story premise but it just didn't work for me :(

[Andy Blunt · Rating 1 out of 5]

A load of crap!

[Lisa Karlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Catharsis (buyer beware: there are several books with the same title that have been published), written by Noorilhuda and published in July 2015, ten-year-old Danny goes missing for fifteen days when an old man “dressed as if he was going to the opera” walks into a police station and says he knows where the boy is, and knows who has kidnapped the boy. Self-assured, straight-talking “Angry Bird” Detective Aurora Fox has presumed the boy is dead, not alive, and has been investigating landscapers who worked at the boy’s home. She interrogates the old man who has landed on her doorstep and learns he’s Maxwell Caine, an odd man and hemophiliac who makes puppets for a living. Caine takes her to a house where three men resist her entry and a gunfight ensues, killing one of the men. The missing boy is found in the basement of the house, dressed only in knickers with suspenders, and he has a life-sized wooden puppet beside him. The tale gets juicy; the dead man’s fingerprints match those of a gardener at the boy’s house and it’s learned the gardener was having an affair with the boy’s mother, Helena. A submerged car containing an unconscious woman is found in a canal, and in it is Helena, which raises the questions of is this an attempted suicide or attempted murder? Detective Aurora looks more closely at Maxwell Caine, the puppeteer, and learns he has a son Ethan and step-son Chris, who all work in the puppet store. Aurora learns that “Uncle Zav” is the suspected buyer of the puppet in the kidnapper’s basement, and learns from Danny exactly what happened in that basement. Her ensuing investigation, with its twists and turns, exposes much more than just Danny’s kidnapping.

Catharsis is loaded with riveting, complex characters. I had to re-read a few pages here and there to figure out who was who, and keep track of everyone. We get to know—and begin to understand—the protagonist, Aurora, who is described by a co-worker as having “serious balls” and has her own baggage and ways of coping. In one scene, she escapes to the theater where childhood memories resurface, and in another, she buys porcelain plates at the dollar store and systematically smashes them in a secluded alley.

Noorilhuda, the author, has degrees in psychology and law, which lend an authenticity to the narrative. Fair warning: this book does not read like a predictable TV script. It reads like an official police report, right down to the nitty gritty details. I was a little uncomfortable by this, but came away with a better understanding of how pedophiles think and act.

I also enjoyed Norrilhuda’s writing style and how she presented the information in Catharsis. She integrates breaking news reports and old newspaper articles, and presents them just as they would appear on a computer screen or in a newspaper. This made a nice transition between the narrative and the information that Aurora was collecting as part of her investigation.

The book was provided to me for an honest, non-reciprocal review.

[Nikole Bloom · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extremely angry detective, a hemophiliac puppet master, a determined District Attorney, and a few other secondary characters make up the cast of Catharsis. The characters are interesting and not always who you think they are. Detective Fox is overwhelmingly angry at times for reasons that eventually become clear.

The book starts off at a breakneck pace which makes it a bit hard to keep up. As a reader a little introduction to the story and characters would have been helpful. It took me the better part of fifty pages before I was sure I knew what was going on and who was who. After that point things became a little more clear. Although the story remained jerky in some places.

The story reminded me of an episode of Law and Order SVU. The subject matter and plot twists were intriguing, some were predictable and others were not. The story was solid and I liked some characters while despising others. Some material in the book is hard to swallow, just as it is in real life. For the most part I felt it was handled well within the story lines.

My biggest issue, ironically enough, was the lack of 'commercials' within the book. What I mean is the lack of stopping places for a reader. With only six chapters, in a 200+ page book, there were not many places to take a break. I hate stopping a book, for any amount of time, in the middle of a chapter and I was forced to with this book numerous times. It also made it confusing when the story jumped from one place in time to another in the space of the next paragraph.

Additionally, some paragraphs went on for several pages making it impossible to look up from reading and quickly resume your place. I read at a very quick pace and I am not a fan of having to re-read half a page just to figure out where I was.

Overall, the book was ok for me. The plot line was good and the twists were interesting. The author did a nice job of dropping hints and tidbits about the characters and the plot throughout the story leaving much of the mystery to the end. However, the lack of breaks in the writing made for too much confusion in places, and a difficult reading experience.

[Smita Bhattacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is about a missing boy Daniel Logan who belongs to a dysfunctional family (Josh and Helena Logan). A hemophiliac puppeteer Maxwell Caine accompanied by a female detective Aurora Fox are looking for him - a promising set of characters and promise of an interesting story-line.

The writing style is quirky with quick hard hitting dialogues. The character sketches of modern day couple (Josh and Helena) is well done ─ their bitter altercations quite real. Their motivations for what they do well explained. Aurora Fox’s ranting put me off in some places – a disturbed detective as a central character is a great premise and has been used by several authors (Vera, Wallander, Harry Hole) but I found it hard to like Aurora, and did not empathize with her much.

I had some challenges understanding parts of the book. The book has some interesting one-liners and quotes. Some of Aurora’s internal ruminations are well written and evocative but sometimes, unfortunately, they are also quite crude and not to my personal liking.

The book makes interesting reading if you’re a fan of conflicted, hard boiled female detective and do not mind some hard language.

[Laura Ruetz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tough book to rate. The book was a series of negatives and positives. When balanced out, the book is a decent read but there are problems with the book.

The subject matter is hard. .a kidnapped boy was held and sexually assaulted, which the author doesn't shy away from, but neither is it dwelled upon. Like much in the book, it is stated plainly and not sugar coated. A huge issue with me was the cop, Aurora. I get that she is a flawed character, with her own demons, but it was so overdone, that you end up loathing her from the start and no cop would keep their job if they behaved like she did.

The story and the characters seem jumbled, and overly complicated at times, making it hard to track what is going on. Some elements make no sense and only added lose ends that detracts from the story.

This is a thriller with potential but could use some polishing and some editing.

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Jocelyn Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like some people who reviewed this book, I have mixed feelings about this book. While I really enjoyed the overall plot of the story, I can admit that it felt a bit unrealistic and was sometimes confusing to read. Also, a lot of the scenes in the book was predictable and I often knew what was going to happen next, which can be a bit disappointing.

However, I did like the book and did enjoy reading the overall book. It was a fast-paced and interesting book to read.

I was offered this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poorly written imo. But the plot had me read it anyway. Classic pulp fiction

[Ann Girdharry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find it difficult to give this book a fair rating. There are passages that are extremely good and merit a good three stars and other, long tracts that greatly distract from the pace of the story and spoil the atmosphere and mood the author has created.

Aurora is a damaged and angry cop hunting for a skilled paedophile. A strange old man who claims to be a psychic turns up at the precinct to assist Aurora and she is ordered to work with the psychic to recover a missing boy.

Aurora was too violent a character for my tastes. If she had not been a police officer her aggressive reaction to numerous events and other characters in the book would have been more believable - for instance in a diner she repeatedly slap a mother who has used too much force to reprimand a child, she kills and shoots a number of men who are suspects and should surely have been taken into custody, she exhibits disturbing behaviour on a number of occasions yet works without a police partner...

The old man/psychic is similarly a weird character with secrets to hide. However, I enjoyed the interchange between old Mr Caine and Aurora in many places. The unravelling of the mystery around Mr Caine was also enjoyable. The way the author reveals Aurora's own damaged history was less skilfully handled - being dumped in several long tracts which I found difficult to wade through.

That said, the author has created a number of non-stereotyped characters whose quirky behaviours have an appeal. The District Attorney in the story is also a weirdo and his own story and that of his wife is an interesting addition, as is the somewhat odd story of the mother and father of the missing child.

(end note - I found the terminology and reactions of Aurora to be homophobic, which I presume was intentional on the part of the author as part of Aurora's character.)

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest, non-reciprocal review.

[Neven Carr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel centres on a police detective, Aurora Fox and her determined efforts in solving the mystery of the abduction of ten-year-old, Daniel Logan. Enters Maxwell Caine, an elderly stranger, who appears to know more about the case than expected. With Caine’s help, Aurora finds Daniel still alive but heavily traumatised by constant physical and sexual abuse. Aurora’s priority, now, is to uncover the mastermind of the operation.

Noorilhuda’s story line, I found not too bad. At times, I even wondered what would happen next. However, there were sections of unnecessary narrative [e.g. the overly detailed news reports], incorrect punctuation and grammatical errors.

What I had the most difficulty with were the characters, particularly the main character, Aurora Fox. I found her to be insufferably angry, rude and twisted. Yes, I do discover why she is like this, and it is a plausible reason. But a main character devoid of any redeeming qualities, I find unlikeable and difficult to relate with.

In fact, I found the entire book filled with too many angry, damaged characters, graphically abused children and sad, pathetic marriages. If there were any happy characters in the book, they had been swallowed by the misery of the others.
With a heavy story such as this, a little light-hearted balance gives the reader breathing space.

A story with potential.

[Fox Emerson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catharsis is a crime novel which centers on the kidnapping and abuse of a young boy.

The main characters seem to go from strength to weakness and back again resulting in an often confusing story line. This is made even more confusing by a lack of character description and depth. I found myself having to backtrack repeatedly trying to work out who was who.

What the characters lack in depth and character, the story makes up for in twists. The story line itself was often unbelievable.

It is difficult to review a book when it is evident that it has not been edited well. Too many grammatical issues and badly phrased descriptions added to my confusion and left me wondering where it was all leading to.

While the story isn't that bad, I struggled to get through this book because I couldn't picture any of the characters or the scenery. Had the book received a good and thorough edit, and the style of writing been a little more clear, this could have been a rather good read.

*I was asked to review this book, which I downloaded for free while on promotion. I was offered no money and I have volunteered this review for the author.

[Diana Febry · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
Despite my low rating I think this book is well worth a read for the unique approach to the subject and the choosing of such an ambitious project with so many damaged characters.
All the major characters are seriously flawed and many are working hard to hide their true identity. Some have created a facade to do more evil while others are trying to atone for their past failures and actions. Some are brash, some are smarmy and some are simply confused. Despite his faults I really liked the character Ethan and Aurora did grow on me. Indeed the characters from this book will stay with me for a while.
To explain the plot would ruin the read for future readers but I will say surrounding the kidnapping and abuse of a young boy there are clowns and puppet makers. The boy's parents leave a lot to be desired as well. This is quite a creepy read - in a good way.
The book lacks something. What that something is, I have no idea. I do feel that if that ellusive something was added this would be a cracking read.
An intriguing and unique story that held my attention throughout

[Els Boot · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I like the the storyline. A day after day story about the search for a missing boy. And I like the "Catharsis" of Aurora Fox the police detective.

But this book has a lot of problems. The theme is not the missing and rescuing of a ten year old boy. And not about a pedofile network that is abusing minors.
I think the story is telling about the purification of Aurora the protagonist. If not I do not understand the title 'Catharsis'. My first problem is this; who has to be purified?
My second problem is the lack of knowledge about police procedures in this kind of investigations. Especially in working with minors.That made the story unlikely.
Other reviewers wrote about the errors. Well I am just a Dutch author but even I found the errors.

I give this book three stars. Not because it is that good but it has potential. Let it edit Noorilhuda!

[J. Ewbank · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best one word description of this book is "raw." The characters are described and portrayed with all their exaggerated flaws and they are a little unusual, if not a lot unusual. Don't know what I expected from the title but it does not follow the psychological term I was taught in college. The book has some twists and turns to keep you interested. All in all I'm glad to have read it, but it is an unusual book to say the least.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms" "Wesley's Wars" "To Whom It May Concern" and "Tell Me About the United Methodist Church"