Cass Anderson passes at car in a lay-by on a stormy night. Has the driver broken down or is this the start of a sinister psychological tale?

The Breakdown is a first person narrative, psychological thriller set in Britain. This story works well being told in the first person and I found it very easy to identify with Cass. I liked how creepy this story was and how well it played on our own fears as we get older and our brains are not as sharp as they used to be. Those niggling doubts are fully explored as Cass tries to keep her life on track. I thought the tension was good and realistic. This novel made me think of other people who are forgetful and what was nice is that Cass is such an ordinary woman. I liked how nothing was flash about this story, it was just an everyday tale of coping with busy lives. Then the horror starts to creep in, this could so easily happen to you, the reader!

Okay, the plot was NOT the most original. From the very start you have your doubts. As the story unfolds there are no big surprises but it was still an enjoyable read. This is not just a story for women because men can drive past cars in lay-bys and wonder. Married men also wonder if their wife has told them something earlier or if they are playing mind games? There are so many things to remember in our busy lives, are we becoming forgetful or is something darker coming into play?

The Breakdown is a good novel, there is nothing offensive or shocking about it but it does play on the mind. That is it's biggest strength, how it plays on the reader's mind and for that I give it 4 stars. For such an intense psychological thriller, there was one part that made me chuckle, the multi-storey car park. I can imagine a lot of women in the same situation and it being no surprise to the attendant.

After loving behind closed doors I did expect a stronger "2nd novel" however the breakdown is a good read and perfect for a relaxing beach holiday. It can easily be read in a day. The idea and plot line are very good, the spoiler for me was unfortunately guessing far to early who the baddies were & what was going on . Also I found it rather similar to other pscyological thrillers around at the mo such as the girl before . I will continue to read this author as I believe her next one will be back on form .

Clever, clever, clever. This thriller was very gripping, hooked me in and tied things up really clearly at the end of the book. Not an author or book to be missed!

Another great B A Paris novel. A real page turner, well written and unputdownable!
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Wow! I rarely give 5 stars - only to my favourite reads of each year. Behind Closed Doors got 5 stars last year and The Breakdown get 5 stars this year!

This is so cleverly written, to create this plot and all the implications of everything that happens must take an amazing mind. I couldn't put it down, and was actually looking forward to going to bed last night with the final hour to read.

The ending did let me down very slightly compared to the very last lines of Behind Closed Doors which stayed with me for weeks, but that is a very minor criticism as it is an excellent novel. Enjoyable from start to finish with some very unexpected twists and turns.

Thank you so much to Net galley for an early read in exchange for a review.
I cannot wait for the next novel!

If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?
Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods and the woman who was killed.
Since then she’s been forgetting everything. Where she left the car, if she took her pills, the alarm code, why she ordered a pram when she doesn’t have a baby.
What she can’t forget is the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt.
Or the silent calls she’s receiving and the feeling that someone’s watching her…

The tension in this book slowly winds up and then out of nowhere a sideswipe appears. It was so shocking and I was absolutely gobsmacked.

What a brilliant book. I loved it! 5*

The opening of this book properly gave me the creeps. The idea of driving down a dark lane on a rainy night, knowing you’re in the middle of nowhere, and then seeing a car parked up, or possibly broken down in a lay by, is really unnerving to me. Cass sees the car and is unsure what to do, she stops and tries to see if anyone is in the car. It felt like the opening to a horror movie and I was really on edge wondering what was going to happen next, whilst at the same time being nervous to read on. Cass makes the decision that I think a lot of people on their own on a night like that would make, and that is to drive on, but this decision has consequences that no one could forsee and it sets this novel up brilliantly!

The following day Cass’s husband tells her that a woman has been murdered in the lay-by and she can’t bring herself to admit to being there. Cass then becomes convinced that someone may have seen her that night and may now be watching her. She starts receiving strange phone calls and becomes increasingly anxious. The problem Cass has is like the old adage… just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you. As a reader you’re aware that some of what Cass is anxious about is genuine because we’re in the know but other things we can’t be sure if she’s being paranoid.

The Breakdown is a book that’s fast-paced and easy to read but at the same time it does ramp up the tension, and it genuinely had me on edge at times. It was a book that I didn’t want to put down though because I really wanted to know what was going to happen and I read it in one sitting. This book does require suspension of disbelief at times, and I did work out the ending quite early on, but it’s such an engrossing read and it has many twists and turns that will have you second-guessing yourself all the way through. The ending is satisfying and does tie everything up nicely.

The Breakdown is out now and I highly recommend buying a copy!

I received a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Breakdown was sent to me from Netgalley. I have to admit that recently I have been moving away from my typical genre of books and trying new types and this psychological thriller had me gripped and wanting more from Page 1.

Described as "If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust? It all started that night in the woods. Cass Anderson didn’t stop to help the woman in the car, and now she’s dead. Ever since, silent calls have been plaguing Cass and she’s sure someone is watching her.
Consumed by guilt, she’s also starting to forget things. Whether she took her pills, what her house alarm code is – and if the knife in the kitchen really had blood on it."

All the way through I was changing my mind about who the stalker was and although at times Cass drove me insane for not being more assertive I could see entirely why she took the actions she did.

Fabulous book and I cant wait to read more novels by B A Paris

Last year I read Behind Closed Doors by B A Paris which was quite honestly one of the best thrillers I read all year. I was therefore eagerly anticipating the arrival of her second novel, The Breakdown, hoping it would be just as good as the first. Having read it all in the space of just one day, I can truly say that The Breakdown was an incredible book. It was everything I hoped it would be and so much more and was in my view a very worthy five star read.

We first meet Cass, a school teacher, on the last day of term before the summer holidays on a dark and stormy night. Keen to get home to her partner and out of the bad weather, on the way home she takes a shortcut through the woods. Whilst driving she notices that a car has broken down on the side of the road but, despite being concerned, decides not to stop. When she wakes up the next morning she discovers that the person who was in the car was a woman, someone she once met and she has been found dead. Feeling guilty for not having stopped to help the previous night, over the coming weeks Cass finds it hard to get the woman out of her head and not only does she receive a number of silent phone calls but she also starts to forget things. As she fears for her sanity, is she going mad or is there another explanation?

Cass was a character whose story I couldn’t help but become incredibly involved in from the start. What was nice about Cass was that you could tell, from the way she felt so bad about not having stopped, was that she was a character who had a conscience and one who would do the right thing. She was a character who cared deeply for her friends, one who would do anything tc ensure that they were happy. Subsequently it broke my heart to read of her declining mental state and I really felt her fear that was present throughout the majority of the novel - the fear that she was experiencing early onset dementia like her mother did.

Unlike in Behind Closed Doors in which it was pretty clear what was happening, The Breakdown was much more of a mystery. From one moment to the next it was impossible to predict what was going to happen and what was going to be discovered. I thought that B A Paris had done an incredible job at writing this novel, creating something that was atmospheric, addictive and breathtaking. As a relatively fast-paced novel in which the tension did nothing but grow, there was twist after twist and it was the sort of novel that certainly played on my mind when I had to put it down for just a few minutes.

The Breakdown is the author’s second novel to date and all I can say is that B A Paris has proven that she is here to stay, an author who is so capable of having success after success. I really couldn’t have enjoyed this book any more than I already did and I’d urge readers not to miss out on what is truly an outstanding read. I’ll definitely be back to read more by B A Paris in the future!

I must admit, when I was invited to read and review this book through NetGalley I wasn't quite sure how I was going to feel about it. I hadn't read the author's debut novel Behind Closed Doors but I had seen the reviews about it and the inevitable comparisons to Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, because I guess any book with a female lead is fair game for that these days. Now, The Breakdown isn't really like either of those things, but it was a breakneck read and I absolutely tore through it in two days (even though I'm a much quicker read on the Kindle, this is fast even by those standards).

The story follows Cass, a young woman who takes a shortcut during a storm and nearly stops for another woman who's broken down. However, she drives on and when she learns the next day that the woman has been brutally murdered, she feels a tremendous amount of guilt. Coupled with this are the strange phone calls she keeps receiving, with an ominous presence on the other end of the line, plus the little things she keeps misplacing and forgetting. Is Cass really losing her mind or is the killer out to get her?

I will give Paris this, I couldn't really put this down. I wanted to know what was really happening, if Cass could lose her mind so easily or if something far more sinister was at play. Through first person narration, we're dumped straight into Cass' brain and all her guilt and anguish at not having stopped for the murdered woman is thrown right in our faces. On the one hand, I could completely sympathise with it, particularly as she lies to her husband Matthew about it. On the other, there really wasn't anything she could have done, was there? A woman, alone, on a deserted road with no mobile signal in the middle of a thunderstorm... None of it is particularly helped by the fact that Matthew just seems so damn reasonable and I mean, we've all forgotten things right? Everyone's misplaced things before or ordered things without remembering, right? And hey, if you're run down and worried about a murder happening close to where you live, that's gotta be even harder...

Ultimately, this is a book about gaslighting and mental abuse, the insidious forms it can take and how women are constantly belittled and doubted when it comes to their own health. I was shocked by how easily it was for Matthew to manipulate Cass into actually believing she had early onset dementia, about how she just trusted him to make the best decisions for her, about how he used all her fears against her in such a calculated, callous way. I was actually surprised by how much I ended up doubting her and her version of events. So in a lot of ways, I am actually glad that Paris tackles this subject, particularly as it isn't one to always see the light of day in these sorts of novels. I was fully prepared, at this point, to award the book four stars.

Then I read the last 10% of the book and it completely soured everything for me.

Not because I got half the answer right, not at all. I could have lived with that. It's the extreme rush with which everything is explained, how all the pieces fall into place and I almost want to say the near deus ex machina that leads Rachel's phone to be stolen out of her bag and handed over to Cass For something that had been so clever up to that point, this actually felt like a bit of a slap in the face. It was all resolved, the murderer confesses and everything just ends fine, no worries, nothing at all. I was actually quite annoyed by this, because it felt like Paris almost got bored writing this novel and wanted to get it all over with. The resolution happens, the end, all is well. There are absolutely no repercussions from Cass barging in on Jane's husband's life or her weird revelations about the stormy night, the calls she's receiving or anything of the sort and although I could see that Paris was hinting at potentially something more, that entire plot thread just gets dropped.

This is the sort of book that will probably appeal to people who really like the thriller genre. I didn't outright hate it myself, but I was so close to <i>really</i> enjoying it, so to feel that snatched away right at the end left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. On the other hand, this is a fast, punchy read, full of twists and turns. With the summer coming up and longer days to lounge by the pool, this might just make the perfect accompaniment.

Ho Lee Wow. This book is an absolute belter. I completely love a bedtime book you can’t stop reading until your eyes won’t stay open. Warning: you might not sleep.

Imagine you’re driving home alone on a stormy night, down an isolated country lane. It’s late, dark & creepy. You pass a fellow female driver who appears to have broken down. Do you stop? Pull over? Keep on driving?

This story unravels following the decision that Cass takes that night. There has been a brutal murder in the country lane, strange things start to happen and she begins to question her own sanity. Is she going mad? Is she being stalked by the murderer who thinks she might have seen more than she actually did?

The title is really clever – referring to both the car on the stormy night and Cass’ subsequent emotional distress following the event. I love a clever title! I’ve yet to read Paris’ 2016 release Behind Closed Doors but after finishing this one, it’s definitely getting a spot on my toppling tbr pile.

I really enjoyed this one – thanks Netgalley & Harlequin – and I read it super-fast. If you like your domestic noir sharp, clever & with some lovely twists & turns then you’ll love this too.

A top smart five cwtches! Get your copy here.

This is another novel that divided my opinion. On the one hand it was a very entertaining read. I read it on a train ride and finished it in a day. However I did feel that the story was a little bit predictable and relied very heavily on coincidences. However there was still a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming.

The story is told from the viewpoint of Cass which is the part that really stood out to me. You almost feel as though you are in her head. It was an enjoyable read and the premise was good. If you like an unreliable narrator then the Breakdown is definitely worth a read.

Great story - had me thinking all the way through. Couldn't put this down.

Thanks for the chance to read this

Like many others, I also read Behind Closed Doors and absolutely loved it but didn't feel this quite lived up to those dizzying heights of 'grippiness', yet The Breakdown is a good tense story which has you on the edge of your seat wanting to know what happens next. B A Paris has a talent for creating a tense atmosphere, a feeling of unease and building on that unease to unsettle the mind – both in the character's and reader's.

We start the book with Cass driving home down a little back lane one dark stormy night and noticing a car possibly broken down in a lay-by, she stops to help. She becomes too fearful of getting out of the car so waits to see if the female occupant approaches for help. When nothing happens, she drives off and goes home to bed. The next day she is distraught to hear that a young woman has been murdered in the lay-by she paused in last night. Cass feels guilt over not helping and this plays on her conscience for days and weeks to come. On top of this she is receiving silent phone calls every day and she's convinced they are from the murderer. These calls, the feeling she's being watched, the stress of the new term at the school where she is a teacher, all play on her mind to the point she has almost become housebound. There are few characters in the book, mainly Cass and Matthew and Cass's friend Rachel. It is all set over a short space of time, just a few months from summer to autumn, but such a lot of doubt, lies and mistrust are packed into what were good relationships at the beginning to disaster by the end.

This story shows how quickly a normal happy and well functioning young professional woman can be mentally brought down by guilt, stress and pressure. It may seem weak to give in to the stresses of work or the guilt of not helping when you could have, but add to that daily silent phone calls from someone you believe thinks you witnessed a murder. That's enough to push anyone towards a mental breakdown.

I think B A Paris has done an excellent job of showing how quickly and easily a person can be sucked into a spiral of mental fatigue to the point that they can't function normally. I found the book to be quite gripping, with a final satisfying twist at the end.

https://jennyobrienwriter.wordpress.com/2017/02/25/lanzarote-book-by-book/

Does a small event like a car breakdown lead to the fragility of a woman's sanity? Or was that fragility always there? I get that Cass is feeling guilt over doing nothing and later finding that she could have saved someone but this book takes some leaps that I just don't get! Stormy night, spooky forest, cliches abound! Neither great nor poor. Just average in a genre with a lot better!

Suspenseful

Psychological thriller: Cass seems to be forgetting a lot of little stuff lately, she's worried about what it might mean. Her mother suffered with dementia, she thinks she might be developing it too, she shares her concerns with her husband, Matthew and her best friend, Rachel. But other than that, her life is good, she's happy, that is up until she's on her way home one night, there's a strong storm and she sees a woman in a car not too far from her home. She drives away, with the intention of calling the emergency services for help. Except, she forgets all about it, and the woman is discovered the next day: dead....Shortly after, Cass' whole life seems to be spiralling out of control, she's forgetting whole conversations, how to do things...She doesn't know whether she can trust herself anymore.

This book was written incredibly, it didn't take very long for me to get into it, though I did wonder what the author was trying to get at. I'm more than satisfied by the answer to that question. This book has you guessing right up to the end, even then you can't be certain of what it all points to. I'm not going to lie, a handful of my guesses were spot on but when they are guesses there's no certainty in them. I changed my mind about one of the characters that I immediately disliked upon reading the first couple of chapters, turns out my initial opinion wasn't really misplaced, nor unfounded, at all.

I recommend this book, it will play with your mind. It will mess up your intuition and your feeling of being safest with those you are closest to. For a couple of hours, it will be your obsession. After I read half of it, in one sitting, I got up for a walk and felt as unstable as the main character, just as concerned about my health as she was. So, I can vouch that this book will take you right into the fold of its pages. I saw myself in some of the mistakes Cass made, I could see myself making the same. It's disconcerting to think like that, but it did make this book very relatable.

I received this book through NetGalley.

Absolutely fabulous. Wow! I couldn't put this book down and read it in one go. Is Cass going mad? Why is she so tired and forgetting everything. Surely she isn't getting Early Onset Dementia, like her mum! Or is there another sinister reason why things keep happening? A must read story.

Behind Closed Doors was a brilliant debut and this fine novel isn't far behind; the only thing that stops me awarding the full five stars is that certain devices used in the plot are becoming a little too commom in psychological thrillers, such as characters dependent on pills, forgetting details of their lives, unsure whether things happening to them are self-inflicted. Having said that the story grips from the start and the book is a real page-turner with many plot twists.

I posted a review to my YouTube channel - linked below