I love books about abnormal psychology and I love thrillers, so this one was a natural choice for me. Characters were interesting and developed. Dissociative identity disorder is high on my interest list and this book did not disappoint. I will be looking for the second book!

Thanks BooksGoSocial for this awesome opportunity to review this book.

This is exactly what a psychological thriller should be. I enjoyed this immensely from beginning to end.

I am super addicted to reading any book by Rob Kaufman and this book delivers!!! This book is everything you would expect from the brain of a man who is skilled storyteller. I have been reading this author's book since "The Perfect Ending" and I have been hooked on reading all his books. I will read anything this author writes. It is that good.

This book is deliciously twisty and suspenseful. Has some shocking reveals and an end you, as reader do not see coming and not one shred of predictable twists or turns. This book delivers on creepiness and it gives just a hint with the cover. Once I started reading this, I could not put it down. AS previously stated, I cannot wait to read more from Rob Kaufman.

Highly recommended author!

Thanks to Netgalley, Rob Kaufman and Books Go Social for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already Available.

To say I wanted more would be an understatement. This was a delicious page turner right from the start. Everytime I had to put it down, it was all I could think about. I did end up finishing way past my bedtime, just so I would be able to sleep. If you love a quick, immersive thriller, than this is definitely for you!

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Altered by Rob Kaufman in exchange for an honest review. I have been interested in multiple personalities/dissociative identity disorder for a couple decades and have read and watched a lot about it. I find it fascinating that some doctors don't even believe in it while others believe wholeheartedly. It is fascinating and sad what the mind does to cope with stressful situations. I really enjoyed this book and found it held my attention from the beginning.

Justin Wright, a counselling psychiatrist, has a new patient, Frank Devlin, whose behaviour ranges from timid to cheeky, sometimes within minutes. Even his clothing appears cobbled together by a mix of personality types. Frank suffers from anxiety attacks and frequently loses time. He needs help.

Justin is concerned, particularly when one of Frank’s alters threatens to harm anyone who gets in his way.

Meanwhile, Justin’s relationship with his older son, Dylan, is tense. Wife Mandy doesn’t know how to restore peace between her husband and son. Justin is also concerned about Kyle, Dylan’s roommate and best friend, who blames himself for the abduction of Michael.

The book is written in the past tense in the 3rd person limited PoV of several characters.

The sections that included Frank and his alters were the most interesting. I’m no expert but the bits relating to the psychology of dissociative disorder felt natural and believable. The author was clearly in his element while talking about the alters or during Justin’s sessions. Most of the other interactions appeared awkward.

Justin and his family, in comparison, were uninteresting. Even the dialogue was stilted, unnatural, and fake. Here’s an example:

Describing a dream, Mandy tells Justin about something upsetting she saw behind her son. A normal question would be, what did you see, but Justin asks, “And what’s so bad about that?”

The story needed the services of a good editor. There were some typos and issues.

As far as I could tell, Frank was the host, and there were three alters, but twice, I found characters speaking of the wrong number. Once, a character counts Frank among the alters, when he is very much a real person. Justin finds evidence of him in the obituary of the newspaper.

Getting Justin’s wife to describe his physical appearance to him on the phone was a tacky move. We could have done without the description. Also Justin repeatedly telling Mandy that she was beautiful was annoying.

Nathan referring to Justin as Dr Wrong was rather childish, in an alter that prided himself on being strong and mature.

While in Mandy’s third person PoV, we learn about a tragic event that took place in the past, when (Justin was eighteen years old, Michael only eight.) Michael is supposed to be their son. How could Justin have been eighteen when Michael was eight? Nor was it Dylan the author was referring to. Considering that Michael was eight about seven years before the present day, it couldn’t have been Dylan who was eighteen then, given that he is at university in the present day.

In Chapter 8, Justin is reading a news story relating to the unnatural death of a man. In the photo accompanying the news story, Justin can see the ear of someone standing on the dead man’s left side. He also sees other people’s arms around the dead man’s shoulders. We are told, “Justin figured the pic must’ve been taken at a party.” And yet two sentences previously, Justin surmises that the photo was taken posthumously.

The extended scene featuring Kyle and his parents was unnecessary. He wasn’t that significant a character, and his presence didn’t affect later events all that much. The author should not have devoted so much space to Kyle’s feelings, particularly when the Wright family was reeling under the weight of a tragedy.

There were some issues that didn’t sit right with the plot. Justin not bothering to meet Alex, Dylan’s roommate, given Mandy’s misgivings, particularly when he was so attuned to her. Also, Justin seemed remarkably calm after a particular plot event took place in his office.

The trauma faced by Frank is very disturbing and may act as a trigger for those who have experienced severe physical, mental and sexual abuse as children.

The book ends on a cliffhanger, paving the way for Book 2.

Thank you Rob Kaufman, Netgalley and Dorothy, from Pump up Your Book, for the gifted copy. All opinions expressed here are mine alone.

𝘚𝘠𝘕𝘖𝘗𝘚𝘐𝘚...
Justin Wright, a clinical psychologist, just received a new patient named Frank who has multiple personalities, or "alters". Justin is determined to help this young man improve his quality of life. Without Justin knowing, Frank starts to twist his alters in Justin's family's life.

💭 𝘔𝘠 𝘛𝘏𝘖𝘜𝘎𝘏𝘛𝘚
I'm not sure I've ever read anything particularly like this before. We have Frank, a young man with a very troubled past, who can't catch a break. We also have Justin, the clinical psychologist, with some more recent trauma in his family life. The author takes these vulnerable individuals and adds a huge dose of unpredictability to the story with Frank's multiple alters. It is a recipe for a great suspense novel. All I can think about is how terrified I would be in Justin's shoes. Sorry, I'm just not cut out to be a clinical psychologist.

I enjoyed reading about Frank's backstory. It was fascinating but unfortunately, it was only a small snapshot. I feel like there should have been more to his story, and as a reader, I'm left with questions about the rest of his upbringing.

𝘖𝘝𝘌𝘙𝘈𝘓𝘓...
The ending was not what I expected and it actually left me wanting to read the second book in the series. As I try to be vague, so that I won't spoil the ending for you, just be prepared to feel a lot of different emotions.

To wrap it up, although there were some flaws, I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys medical thrillers and suspense.

⭐⭐⭐💫 3.5/5 (CAWPILE 6.87/10)

A short psychological thriller filled with twists and tension and featuring more psychology than thrill and mystery.

Altered features a psychiatrist protagonist named Justin Wright, who gets a new patient experiencing paranoia and blackouts amongst other things. It is quickly discovered that this patient has Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID. I don't really know much about DID, but my ignoramus self thought that the author seemed to have done his research on psychology and mental illness, especially DID, and was also able to incorporate this well into his characters. After finishing the book, I checked his Goodreads profile and found out that he has a degree in psychology, so all I can say is, Seems legit!

A lot was packed into this book, which I find amazing. It does not only explore the patient's DID, but also the major characters' psyche. We also find out about the major characters' pasts which clearly still affect them, giving the book this layer of sadness underneath the plotline. He does this by switching the POVs quite a few times though, which you may or may not mind much. They are all such imperfect and realistic characters, each with their own flaws and issues to deal with, but they get by through help and support.

As for the suspense thriller aspect, the prologue really gripped me and increased my anticipation for what's to come. It was definitely a great start to a novel. I went into this completely blind, so I think I set my expectations too high at the start because I felt somewhat underwhelmed by the end of the novel, to be perfectly honest. I like the novel for what it is, don't get me wrong. And the way we find that all the major characters end up being connected to one another in some way, as well as where the events of the prologue come into play, is all pretty cool. It's a solid plot with a shocking ending that I did not expect and paves way for the next book in the series, but it did not "keep me guessing until the very end" as the Goodreads title stated, and I just find it to be too passive on the part of the main character for my taste.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of the book!

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was an interesting read for me, as I have a friend who has recently gone through a similar experience, including a court case. A difficult subject to cover, but it was well-written. A recommended, interesting read.

Altered is a thriller that kept me on my toes an left me unable to do anything but read!

Kaufman's story about a psychiatrist, his family and one of his patients, who has a very difficult to treat mental health disorder, though for many reasons, is highly unlikely, but sounds very, very real. His portrayal of characters meets or exceeds what I would expect for people and their roles. Kaufman's ability to write a story in which everyone struggles, and all somehow cope but one - and it is that one that causes more struggling is amazing and difficult to pull off, yet this story is perfect! What is even more amazing is the ending he wrote - shows hope!

This was a quick read with a simple and straightforward plot. Sadly, with the tragedies that befell this family, I never felt for them. The writing did not elicit any deep feelings either way. I did not like or dislike the characters and felt no empathy or sympathy. The dialogue was also a bit stilted and unnatural in my opinion. The "twist/cliffhanger" at the end also feels way too coincidental. Thanks to #NetGalley for allowing me to review. Two and a half stars.

Wow! New to Rob Kaufman and so thrilled to find him! Totally enjoyed this psychological thriller dealing with multiple personalities. This story was packed with tension and emotion. Awesome characters. I literally could not put it down.
Highly recommend
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Altered by Rob Kaufman was an excellent, engaging and shocking read. I devoured this book in a day, and one of the driving factors of this is its riveting plot. The pacing of this book is fantastic. Justin Wright is an emphatic, understanding and great protagonist. The author does a great job of shedding light on dissociative identity disorder (DID) and the potential ways of coexisting with it. The topic covered is brief as the patient, Frank, inadvertently integrates himself into Justin's life.

Additionally, the characters are fleshed out well and complement the plot. The subplot is a silent undercurrent that brilliantly pays off well in the gut-wrenching and emotional ending. Apart from DID, the book deals with the impact of secrets, communication, trauma and childhood memories. I am pleased that this book is the first in the series, and I cannot wait for the second one to come out! I recommend this one if you're a fan of psychology and suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley & BooksGoSocial for giving me an ARC. This honest review is left voluntarily.

Loved this book - read it in one sitting. It involves many facets of a family - from the disappearance of the younger brother to the new strange roommate that ingratiates himself into the older son's apartment. It will keep you on the edge of your seat - I cannot wait to read the sequel to see what happens to this family!

This was such a good, interesting read. I didn’t want to put this down.

It’s a story about a man named Justin who is a psychologist and his patient who has DID. He tries to assist him but his patient tries to infiltrate himself into Justin’s life.

Can’t wait to read book 2

This was the first book I have read by this author and I liked it a lot. The plot was good and held my interest. I do wish at the end there was a little more suspense but it looks like it continues in the next book which I intend to read.

This is a gripping psychological thriller about multiple personalities. The writing style was lovely and the end of the story good.

Altered by Rob Kaufman is the first book in a new series featuring Justin Wright, a clinical psychiatrist in New York City. Justin is an experienced professional who has worked with a variety of cases, but his current patient will be a challenge – a young man presenting multiple personalities or alters will require all of Justin’s expertise and energy.

Altered is well-written, with building suspense, interesting characters, a good premise, and gut-wrenching moments. Mr Kaufman has very successfully introduced his characters and added depth to their personalities, thus setting the stage for his next book. Altered was difficult to put down and I’m afraid dinner was delayed more than once because I had to read “just one more page”.

Thank you Mr Kaufman for an entertaining book. I’m looking forward to more in your new series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

This book gripped me right from the start and hooked me all the way through. The writing style was good and the story was compelling with a cast of well developed characters. Fullof twists and turns, I loved it.

I wasn’t a huge fan of this book despite the writing style being very good and the plot interesting. The subject matter didn’t interest me although I thought it would and I didn’t find the boys in the story very believable. Some of their conversations I don’t think you would ever hear coming from a university aged boy/man.