Review: Tear Me Apart by J.T. Ellison

Title: Tear Me Apart by J.T. Ellison
Publisher: MIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 496 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

The follow-up to her critically acclaimed Lie to Me, J.T. Ellison’s Tear Me Apart is the powerful story of a mother willing to do anything to protect her daughter even as their carefully constructed world unravels around them.

One moment will change their lives forever…

Competitive skier Mindy Wright is a superstar in the making until a spectacular downhill crash threatens not just her racing career but her life. During surgery, doctors discover she’s suffering from a severe form of leukemia, and a stem cell transplant is her only hope. But when her parents are tested, a frightening truth emerges. Mindy is not their daughter.

Who knows the answers?

The race to save Mindy’s life means unraveling years of lies. Was she accidentally switched at birth or is there something more sinister at play? The search for the truth will tear a family apart…and someone is going to deadly extremes to protect the family’s deepest secrets.

With vivid movement through time, Tear Me Apart examines the impact layer after layer of lies and betrayal has on two families, the secrets they guard, and the desperate fight to hide the darkness within.

Review:

Tear Me Apart by J.T. Ellison is a suspense-laden mystery that is quite riveting from beginning to end.

Seventeen year old Mindy Wright is poised to be selected for the US Olympic Ski Team when a crash leads to a possibly career ending injury. Although the subsequent surgery on her broken leg is a success, her pre-surgical tests reveal she has a particularly virulent type of leukemia. When traditional treatment is unsuccessful, the only thing that might save her is a stem cell transplant. Her parents, Lauren and Jasper, and her aunt Juliet are quickly tested to see if they are a match.  However, Juliet, a blood-lab technician for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, sneaks a peak at the results and she is rocked by the discovery Mindy is not genetically linked to either her parents or her aunt. A confrontation with Lauren leads to the first of many shocking revelations but what Juliet uncovers next could result in deadly consequences as a cornered killer tries to protect everything they hold dear.

Mindy is a  surprisingly  well-adjusted and composed young woman whose hard work and dedication to her ski career is about to pay off. Lauren and Jasper are incredibly supportive of her burgeoning career and they spare no expense when it comes to her sport. Jasper is a lawyer and Lauren is an artist whose sales help boost the family’s finances. Lauren also homeschools Mindy and while she is a bit of a helicopter mom, no one questions her devotion to her daughter.

Juliet is much younger than Lauren and the two have never been close. In fact, their relationship is rather  prickly due to Lauren’s somewhat antagonistic attitude towards her.  Juliet is close to Mindy and she will do anything to save her after her diagnosis. In fact, she is willing to risk her career to try to find a donor for her niece. But Juliet has no idea that in trying to save Mindy’s life, she will expose an absolutely staggering secret that no one could have possibly foreseen.

Interspersed with the events in the present are flashbacks of two teenage girls who form an unlikely friendship that lasts for years. Even after they are separated, they continue to exchange letters that detail how their lives are progressing. An alarming portrait begins to emerge but the complete truth about what happens between them is not revealed until the novel’s chilling conclusion.

Tear Me Apart is a meticulously plotted and tension-filled mystery. The characters are brilliantly developed with all too human frailties and relatable strengths.  The storyline is engrossing and  although some elements are a little predictable, J.T. Ellison keeps readers on the edge of their seats as the novel moves to a jaw-dropping finale. I absolutely loved and highly recommend this clever mystery to fans of the genre.