Review: Tortured Dreams by Hadena James

I got this book for free in exchange for a review. I have to say, I was intrigued by the summary of Tortured Dreams by Hadena James, and the story pulled me along nicely. I found myself liking the main character, in spite of the type of person she really was (in real life, I’d probably dislike her a lot if I ever met her). Despite a couple times when the story dragged a bit, I wanted to keep reading.

Here’s the synopsis off of Goodreads:

When the US Marshals Serial Crimes Tracking Unit comes knocking at Aislinn Cain’s door, she is given a chance to use her past to save other people’s futures. She has survived attacks by two different serial killers and devoted her life to studying the darker side of human history.

A new killer is using medieval torture methods to slay his victims. She can give them a glimpse into his twisted world, but not without a cost. If she opens herself, she risks falling into the depths of her own darkness. Can she afford to help, knowing that the cost could be her own humanity?

Aislinn Cain’s life is a horror story.

I’m not sure if the book is set in the future or in a kind of alternate reality, but it plays off the increasing number of serial killers in our society. In my opinion, serial killers were always around. It just wasn’t as easy to track them down in the past centuries, and there wasn’t the news coverage to publicize it as easily. However, the theme in this book is it’s an increasing number, a kind of de-evolvement of the species, and it’s an interesting theory.

There was a lot of talking and I didn’t always find the dialogue believable, but considering the personality types in this book, I won’t say it really takes away from the book. I wasn’t always sure who was speaking, since a lot of times there were conversations in a group and they went back and forth quickly without a “she said” or “he said” to help me figure it out. I found myself having to go back and reread more than a few times in order to try and figure it out.

I do have this major criticism: the book needs a good proofread by a copy editor. I can forgive some grammar things, since it’s written in the first person point of view. I also know that people don’t speak with perfect grammar, so I’m not counting everything in the dialogue. However, there were lots of times when I wanted to take a red pen to the pages (which would have been very difficult considering I was reading an e-book).

Worth picking up, but I still say it needs a little more work before it’s great.

Find this book on: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Other posts about Tortured Dreams:

“Inciting the initial incident,” written by Hadena James on The Story Mavens

About Brittany Westerberg

I'm a lover of writing and books. I graduated from South Dakota State with a master's degree in communications in 2011, the same year I was first published. I'm a wife and mom, and I work in content and digital marketing in South Dakota.