Peter Clines is one of my "go to" authors when I'm in the mood for a scifi/mystery/thriller with touches of cosmic horror and his books became insta-buys after reading 14 for the first time. I am happy to say that The Broken Room continues in the Clines' mold that I enjoy so much, somehow managing to be disturbing, exciting and emotionally moving at the same time. It's also a heck of a lot of fun.

Hector is a retired government agent. His plans to drink the rest of his life away are interrupted when 12-year-old Natalie approaches him in a restaurant, claiming to have escaped from a facility known as the Project where an experiment being performed on children left her with the ghost of a dead agent in her head. That ghost insists that Hector owes it a favor and both Natalie and the ghost need Hector's help to uncover the nature of the experiments to determine what's happened to them both.

The story alternates between the present day happenings and Natalie relating her story to Hector on how she ended up at the Project and what happened there. Natalie's story is heart breaking. Clines was inspired by real life immigrants and how they are sometimes treated at the border. At first Natalie's past felt a little info-dumpy. Then I found myself caught up in Natalie's story just as much events happening in the present. She's been through a lot more than any child should have to go experience.

Hector and Natalie make a great pair. Their story is fast paced and I found it was one that I didn't want to put down. I even learned a couple practical tips should I ever find myself on the run and needing to blend in. Fair warning, the horror elements end up in the gross category. The story also gave me Stranger Things vibes at many points.

Even though the author states this is NOT a Threshold novel, there are plenty of nods to Threshold that I enjoyed immensely.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Timothy Andres Pabon. I admit it felt a little odd to be listening to a Threshold-like book not be narrated by Ray Porter. Pabon does a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life, especially Natalie. The flatness Pabon gave her voice really emphasized the PTSD of a traumatized child. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a eGalley of this from NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: This was an odd read that was engrossing, hard to put down, and very fast-paced. I ended up enjoying it a lot. I am not sure if this ties in with Clines' larger Threshold Universe, but it could...it has many similar elements about breaching other planes of reality.

The premise is that a young girl named Natalie finds an ex-special ops man named Hector and calls in a favor from one of Hector's dead friends. Suddenly Hector is back in action trying to protect Natalie from a group known only as The Project.

Initially the story alternates between Hector trying to help Natalie and Natalie recounting her early life at The Project. What is unveiled is an odd story of a broken space in reality and children being tested in that space to see what happens to them. There are underlying themes about immigration and child rights throughout the story as well.

I enjoyed the characters and the fast pace of the story. This was an easy read, it almost read itself and was very hard to put down. Some of the premise is a bit implausible but it was still intriguing, plain weird, and kind of fun. There are a lot of gross parts in here especially if you don't like bugs or centipedes...I skimmed some of these descriptions because they gave me the heebie jeebies.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this; it is fast-paced, engrossing and easy to read. I liked the odd premise and the action. If you enjoy Clines’ Threshold Universe books I would recommend this book as well. I look forward to whatever weird reality breaking books Clines writes in the future. ( )