I’ll start by saying that ALTERED by Rob Kaufman is much more intense than the psychological thrillers I normally read. Phsycological-heavy thrillers aren’t usually my first choice, although oddly enough, I love watching television series that explore similar themes. Almost immediately, this book reminded me of The Sinner, the USA Network series starring Bill Pullman, particularly its first season with Jessica Biel.
The similarity for me wasn’t necessarily in the individual plots. It was the feeling that the story wasn’t going to give me an easy “good guy versus bad guy” situation. Instead, it asks readers to look deeper at the person behind the crime and consider how trauma, environment, mental health, and past experiences can shape someone’s actions.
That moral gray area was easily one of the most interesting parts of ALTERED.
The story begins when Frank Devlin walks into the office of renowned New York City psychiatrist Justin Wright. Frank has multiple personalities, or “alters,” and Justin takes him on as one of the most challenging patients of his career. Justin wants to help Frank find some stability and build a better life.
Unfortunately, Justin has no idea just how deeply Frank—and his alters—will eventually become intertwined with his own family.
And that is where things get complicated.
Justin Wright Is More Than Just the Psychiatrist
One thing I really appreciated was that Kaufman didn’t make Justin simply the psychiatrist whose only purpose was to analyze Frank. Justin has plenty of problems of his own.
His marriage and family life have complications, and his relationship with his son is particularly strained. Those personal conflicts gave him more dimension and made him feel like a real person rather than the stereotypical brilliant psychologist who somehow has everyone else completely figured out.
Thank you to the author for the book and my honest review. All opinions are my own. This book tour is sponsored by iRead Book Tours.
Spoiler alert: he definitely doesn’t.
I enjoyed the way Kaufman wove Justin’s family struggles into the larger mystery surrounding Frank. As Justin becomes increasingly involved in his patient’s situation, the separation between his professional and personal worlds becomes much harder to maintain.
That creates much of the book’s tension.
Frank’s Story Broke My Heart
Frank was the character who affected me most.
Without getting too deeply into spoilers, what happened to him when he was young is devastating. There were moments when I genuinely cried because his story was so painful to read.
That is also where ALTERED becomes more complicated than a straightforward crime thriller.
You may be horrified by certain actions while simultaneously feeling enormous sympathy for the person responsible for them. Frank’s history doesn’t magically erase accountability, but learning what he endured changes how you look at him.
That reminded me again of what I enjoyed about The Sinner. Sometimes the most fascinating crime stories aren’t primarily about discovering who did something. They’re about understanding why.
Books like this also make me think about how much our understanding of trauma and mental health has changed over the decades. There are still many complicated questions surrounding the relationship between traumatic experiences, psychiatric conditions, coping mechanisms, memory, and behavior. While trauma doesn’t provide one simple explanation for every mental illness, Frank’s story certainly made me think about how profoundly a person’s experiences can affect the rest of their life.
Where the Book Lost Me: The Pacing
My biggest problem with ALTERED was the pacing.
For a thriller, there were simply too many sections where the story moved slower than I wanted it to. I found the characters interesting, and I never had trouble following the plot, but there were several moments when I wished the book had been tightened up.
Some scenes felt like they could have been shortened—or possibly removed altogether—without losing anything important.
That may partially come down to personal reading preference. I tend to read more young adult and new adult thrillers, which often move very quickly. Adult psychological suspense can take more time developing characters, motivations, and internal conflicts.
Even knowing that, though, ALTERED dragged enough in places that I couldn’t quite push my rating to four stars.
And that frustrated me a little because the core story is good.
Final Thoughts
ALTERED is dark, emotional, uncomfortable, and sometimes heartbreaking. Rob Kaufman creates a psychological thriller where the distinction between victim and villain becomes increasingly difficult to define.
I especially enjoyed Justin Wright as the central character. His own family problems make him more interesting, while Frank’s story gives the novel its emotional weight. The interactions between Justin, Frank, and Frank’s alters kept me curious about where everything was heading—and when the truth behind Frank’s past begins emerging, the story becomes genuinely painful.
The slower pacing kept this from being a four- or five-star read for me, but the premise, characters, psychological elements, and emotional complexity made it memorable.
If you enjoy thrillers like The Sinner, where solving the crime is only part of the story and understanding the person behind it matters just as much, ALTERED may be worth adding to your reading list.
Just prepare yourself emotionally.
Frank’s story is not an easy one to forget.
Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ — 3.9/5
About the book:
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 270 pages
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense
Publisher: Rob Kaufman
Release date: May 2023
Content Rating: PG-13 +M: ALTERED has a few profanities and alludes very subtly to abuse but never gets graphic or says the words. “Trauma” is used by Justin, the psychiatrist.
Book Description:
When Frank Devlin walks into Justin Wright’s office, the renowned New York City psychiatrist decides to take on one of the most challenging cases of his career.
Justin is determined to help Frank, a young man with multiple personalities (“alters”), live a happier, more fulfilling life. Little does he know that Frank and his alters are secretly weaving themselves into Justin’s life in ways that will affect the Wright family forever.
A suspense-filled story driven by emotion, angst, and the ultimate revenge, “Altered” takes readers down a twisted path of uncertainty and mind games—leaving them shocked, heartbroken, and questioning what could possibly come next...
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CHECK OUT THE ENTIRE JUSTIN WRIGHT SUSPENSE SERIES:
Book Details:
Book Title: JADED (JUSTIN WRIGHT SUSPENSE SERIES Book 2) by Rob Kaufman
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 246 pages
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense
Publisher: Rob Kaufman
Release date: March 2023
Content Rating: PG-13 +M
Jade, a beautiful young woman suffering from depression and despair, is trying to escape her past… a former life that catches up with her during every full moon. Justin’s biggest obstacle to helping her is Jade herself. The closer he gets to the root of her problems, the further away she pushes him — leaving Justin questioning both her sincerity and his own professional skills.
As with “Altered”, this novel is packed with suspense and emotion, mainly due to people from Justin’s past, including Frank Devlin, the man who has made himself the bane of the Wright family’s existence.
Once again, readers are led down a road that keeps them wondering what is real, who did what, and when will Justin and his family finally find the peace they deserve?
Book Details:
Book Title: AVENGED (JUSTIN WRIGHT SUSPENSE SERIES Book 3) by Rob Kaufman
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 256 pages
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense
Publisher: Rob Kaufman
Release date: June 2023
Content Rating: PG-13 +M
SO MANY THINGS START TO MAKE SENSE IN “AVENGED” — BOOK 3 of the Justin Wright Suspense Series.
It all starts with Richard Davis, Justin’s new patient seeking help for uncontrollable anger and hostility. He can barely walk a New York City street without exploding at the people around him. Can Justin relieve him of his negativity or is he too consumed with his own son Michael — a boy found after seven years in captivity who is now void of any compassion or joy?
As with the first two books, “Avenged” is teeming with emotion and suspense, not only because of Richard Davis and Michael’s issues but because Frank Devlin and Jade continue to haunt Justin and Mandy from afar. As with all Rob Kaufman books, readers get the ride of their lives on a roller coaster of thrills and uncertainty until the very last page.
Book Details:
Book Title: SCARED (JUSTIN WRIGHT SUSPENSE SERIES Book 4) by Rob Kaufman
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 266 pages
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense
Publisher: Rob Kaufman
Release date: Jan 2024
Content Rating: PG-13 +M
IT’S BEEN 15 YEARS SINCE JUSTIN’S NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE, and life has changed dramatically for the Wright family.
Michael, now a psychologist, has a past that’s catching up with him at the same time an unsatisfied patient is planning his revenge. Justin, now practicing from his home office, has a patient consumed by the fear of death — a young man scared of just about everything — including fear itself.
As both father and son deal with their patients’ problems and their own internal challenges, they also struggle daily with Mandy’s health issue, a potentially deadly illness that threatens to take away the most important woman in their lives.
Like every other Justin Wright book, “Scared” brings you into a suspense-filled world loaded with emotion, uncertainty and, of course, mind games. It’s a story rife with complicated people, some who are not only vengeful, but scared — of both life...and death.
Book Details:
Book Title: DECEIVED (JUSTIN WRIGHT SUSPENSE SERIES Book 5) by Rob Kaufman
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 250 pages
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense
Publisher: Rob Kaufman
Release date: May 2024
Content Rating: PG-13 +M
IN THE MIDST OF THEIR GRIEF, THE WRIGHT FAMILY IS PUSHED TO THEIR LIMITS by a stranger who will change their lives forever.
A single phone call sets off a chain of events that will test Justin’s every belief.
When a mysterious woman claims kinship, Justin’s instincts scream deception. But when they meet, her mesmerizing appearance shatters his doubts, unveiling a truth he never saw coming.
Justin keeps the woman’s existence hidden from Michael as his son grapples with a relentless stalker, a malicious wife, and a patient who suffers from a compulsive disorder — an affliction that leads her down a path from which she’ll never return.
In this fifth Justin Wright novel, secrets collide and loyalties are tested with unexpected twists that propel you deep into a world of suspense and intrigue where nothing — and no one — is as it seems.
Book Details:
Book Title: REVEALED (JUSTIN WRIGHT SUSPENSE SERIES Book 6) by Rob Kaufman
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 250 pages
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense
Publisher: Rob Kaufman
Release date: Sep 2024
Content Rating: PG-13 +M
IN THE GRIPPING CONCLUSION OF THE JUSTIN WRIGHT SUSPENSE SERIES, every burning question and hidden secret comes to light.
As time marches on, the Wright family faces numerous changes, yet one mystery endures: the whereabouts of Daniel. Was Monica responsible for his disappearance? Should Benji be implicated, or has Barb wrongly accused him?
Haunted by echoes of his own past abduction, Michael grapples with his son’s absence, while also trying to help a patient plagued by Paranoid Personality Disorder—a man whose deep mistrust challenges Michael in unexpected ways. Meanwhile, Justin contends with the prison release of Richard Davis, something that rekindles old fears and compels him to constantly watch his back.
This sixth and final book brings you on the most suspenseful journey yet, one that concludes with events that will change the Wright family forever. It’s a story of psychological thrills and mystery that carries you into the past, the future, and back to the present, all told through the eyes of someone you might consider a stranger—or would you?
Meet the author:
Meet the Author:
Rob Kaufman is a celebrated psychological thriller author, known for crafting emotionally intense stories that delve into the human psyche. With a degree in Psychology, he weaves his deep understanding of human behavior into gripping narratives filled with relatable characters and compelling twists.
Fascinated by what drives people toward darkness while seeking love and acceptance, Rob explores the fine line between good and evil. His novels aren’t just suspenseful—they unravel everyday events that spiral into extraordinary psychological dramas.
Readers become deeply invested in his characters, experiencing a range of emotions from laughter to heartbreak. His books have earned national and international acclaim for their unique, thought-provoking storylines and masterful plotting.
Beyond writing, Rob actively engages with readers, sharing insights into his creative process and the psychological depths of his characters. His commitment to authenticity and emotional resonance continues to captivate audiences, cementing his place as a compelling voice in psychological thrillers.
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