Review: Clean Break by David Klein

Clean Break by David Klein 

Publisher: Crown Publishing Group 

Pages: 384 

Format: book 

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Lured by the hope of a better life for herself and her son, Celeste Vanek must deal with the emotional and physical resistance of her compulsive gambler husband when she asks for a divorce.  Though she hopes she is on the verge of making a clean break, her husband demands his family back, and things get violent.  Jake Atwood, who witnesses the shocking scene between Celeste and her husband, struggles with his own emotional and ethical issues while attempting to help Celeste escape her marriage. At the same time, Jake is involved with Sara, a married and childless police detective who has a private agenda to pursue when a crime is committed that links all of these characters together and changes their lives forever.

Kritters Thoughts:  When pitched this book to read, I was immediately sucked in by the perfect blurp of the book, but I had no idea it would take such a dramatic turn until it was right in front of me.   Let's back up first - we start the story with Celeste who is a mom and is moving out of her home while her husband is in rehab.  The reader quickly finds out that he is abusive and still fighting some major demons.  Then we meet Jake who is the non-committer and is accidentally swept into Celeste's drama.


I was immediately swept away into Celeste's story and wanted to know how she was going to handle raising her son and dealing with an abusive relationship.  Although there were some parts that were hard to read, it made me feel like I was really in Celeste's inner circle as I read the abuse.  I have not been in an abusive relationship, but I imagine that the portrayal was pretty on point and seeing her son's reaction felt very truthful.


There was quite a twist that threw me for a loop towards the end and took the story to a completely different level that I wasn't prepared for - of course I can not divulge as you must go grab this one!  I am curious as to if you think the twist was a good one?

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from BookSparks PR.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.