This book hooked me right from the very beginning and kept me awake long past the witching hour. It is hauntingly good, complex and clever, and the tension gathers pace with a relentless momentum until one is shocked by unexpected revelations and twist after stunning twist.
There's an evocative creepy eerieness to the scenes on the side of the Regent's canal as characters pass through all the extremities of London's housing - from the bleak and decrepit, the cold and heartless hostels, to the 'posh end' of town.
I don't think I will ever forget any of the characters. They all made a considerable emotional impact on me and I applaud the author's ability to bring such unique realism to imagined lives.
An absolute tour de force.

Whilst having a play date with her daughter and some friends, Alice discovers a burglar in her home. When it all comes down to it, Alice does what she needs to to protect her family, which results in the death of the intruder.

The plot was well thought out, it provided a lot of unexpected twists and kept me guessing what links would be revealed next. I liked that the author kept the main characters to more of a minimum compared to a lot of thrillers that I have read recently, this really helped with following the plot and understanding where the story was leading. There were times throughout the book where it felt slightly messy with switching between characters and different situations, but this wasn’t a regular thing, and generally speaking I felt it was very well written.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend reading it. It was a real rollercoaster and you truly didn’t know what to expect next, which is exactly what I want from a thriller. Thank you NetGalley for my ARC.

A Truly Riveting And Relentless Tale where secrets, lies and actions are weaved into an intricate web of breathtaking suspense, trapping you until the jaw dropping conclusion.
I COULD NOT put this down and when I had to, all I could think of was getting back into the story asap.
It was utterly brilliant in its ability to draw you in, fantastic characters and revelations that will shock the readers.
A chilling and thrilling read well deserving of a 5 Star recommendation.

I loved Greenwich Park by this author, so I was extremely happy to have received an ARC of this book through NetGalley and the publisher – thank you!

Fantastic premise and Faulkner delivered! The multiple POVs are handled really well, and the book is well-paced with lots of twists and turns. I would recommend The Break-In to anyone looking for a suspenseful and character-driven domestic thriller. The writing kept me hooked to the very end. Five stars from me!

I loved the idea of this book, there is a break-in, the intruder is killed at the scene. Then after, it all unravels.
The break-in is definately a lesson in not judging a book by the cover. I found the ending alittle long, but everything was explained and I was not left with unanswered questions. There weren't any twists or hightened anticipation, but I would read more books by this author.

So glad to have been provided an arc copy of this book through Net Galley!

I was intrigued with the story and I thought it flowed well and it was engaging. The story follows Alice who becomes the victim of a break-in and then the perpetrator after she kills the intruder. It’s told in multiple POVs and charts the journey of the subsequent police investigation and how Alice copes with the aftermath of the incident. Why did he - Ezra - target their home? Is there more to it?


I don’t usually guess anything when it comes to thrillers, but I managed to guess pretty early on who Stella was and what part she played in it all. I was pretty pleased with myself haha! I really liked the exposition, the chapter that goes through Stella’s planning, how all the players came together on that fateful day of the break-in, how Ezra came into all of it and even Linda’s chapters helped to provide more context and made you understand Jade and Ezra more as characters.

The multiple POVs were easy to follow, but it was a bit slow paced. It took until halfway through the book for me to not want to put it down. I found myself getting annoyed with Alice in the parts where people were telling her about Jamie, but I guess when you’re in love with someone you just can’t believe that they’re what other people are saying he is! I wish the tension started building up sooner, but I really enjoyed reading this!

It kicks off with our main character, Alice, struggling to remember the terrifying events that just happened in her home. Her memories are everywhere but her head and a newspaper article helps to fill in the blanks: Alice Rathbone, 42, has been arrested after 18-year-old Ezra Jones was killed in her kitchen…OMG

The article reveals that Ezra broke into Alice’s house during a playdate she was hosting with other mums. He was acting strange and aggressive, possibly under the influence. At one point, he grabbed a knife and moved toward the room where the children were playing. In a panic, Alice hit him over the head with a metal stool and he hit the deck. Now, she’s facing a possible murder charge and public opinion isn’t on her side. Many see her as a privileged woman who went too far to try and protect the kids.

Out on bail, Alice returns home to try to understand how her seemingly perfect life unraveled so quickly. The story unfolds through multiple points of view which helped bring the story to life as well as providing that key tension that is needed to keep the reader reading. There are quite a few people to keep track of, which I did find hard at times and some of their actions might stretch believability, but I suppose trauma can make people act in ways you wouldn’t expect.

Despite a few predictable twists and moments where I had to suspend disbelief, the story is gripping and well-written. The characters feel real, and the themes are thought-provoking.

Katherine Faulkner is quickly becoming a standout in the domestic thriller genre from what I’ve heard and this is my first run in with her. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the advance copy on here in exchange for an honest review.

Alice is having a play date for her daughter when an intruder breaks in.
This results in an incident that causes her to attack him in self defence.
A psychological thriller told from multiple viewpoints and with lots of twist and turns.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Compelling, Immersive..
When Alice kills a young man armed with a knife and in the midst of breaking into her home, it becomes a catalyst for a series of more than unsettling events. Alice says that she didn’t mean to kill him, that she acted only in self defence, an instinct. Police soon accept this version of events - Alice, however, remains wracked with guilt. That, it transpires, is only the beginning. A slow burn, simmering suspense with a deftly crafted cast of characters populating a carefully woven plot littered with twists and with an underlying vein of menace. Compelling and immersive.

Alice can not come to terms with killing an intruder during a break in. Everybody is telling her to move on with her life but she feels there are too many anomalies for this just to be a simple break in. is she right or not? At the end of the first chapter there is a host of media comments regarding the killing and Alice finds it very hard to ignore these. I simply ignored the whole lot each time they appeared otherwise they would have driven me crazy.
Alice is surrounded by people with secrets. Jamie her husband about whom she realises she knows very little of his past. Beca the nanny starts behaving oddly and Stella a journalist friend seems too conveniently placed.
There is a repeated theme in the book about characters getting involved in mistaken identity situations but being unable to tell the truth to rectify the situation. I suppose a bit like the state of being unable to stop looking at social media.
The plot gets very complex as the book progresses and there are great twists at the end. A very enjoyable read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

A great psychological thriller. It is well paced throughout, with lots of twists and revelations spaced throughout the book. I really liked the inclusion of the chapters from alternative points of view - I felt they were very naturally included and provided fresh and relevant insight.

I did predict a couple of the main reveals but there are deeper levels to it that you don’t expect which keeps the book interesting.

Thank you for the ARC!

As The Break-In starts, we get a brief introduction to our main character as she tries to remember the details of the tragic event that’s just taken place in her home through fractured memories that she can’t quite piece together. A newspaper report makes things clearer and informs us that Alice Rathbone, 42, has been arrested after an 18 year old man, Ezra Jones, was killed in her kitchen. The report goes on to explain that Ezra had broken into Alice’s home while she hosted a ‘play-date’ with other Mums, and was behaving erratically, as if under the influence of drugs or booze. At some point he’d grabbed a knife and headed towards the room where the children were playing and Alice, taking matters into her own hands, tried to stop him by hitting him on the head with a metal stool. Unfortunately Alice is now under arrest and facing a potential murder charge, and the comments below the article are less than favourable – as you’d expect when the ‘crime’ has been committed by a woman with a seemingly privileged life.

Alice is let out on bail and goes home to try and piece together the events that led to Ezra’s death, and work out how she went from having an almost perfect life with her job as a respected art restorer, her charity executive husband Jamie, and her sweet little daughter Martha to being a suspected murderer, and social pariah overnight. There are quite a lot of characters in this book, each with their own complex story and it’s fascinating to get a glimpse inside Alice’s head as the truth of the story starts to unfurl. The events are told through different perspectives, which helps to keep the different threads moving, however you do have to concentrate because there is a lot to keep track of. It has to be said that I had to suspend my disbelief on several occasions because it just didn’t seem likely that she, or several of the other characters would do what they did, but then, we know people do strange things, especially in the wake of trauma. That aside, the threads come together well, the characters are well written, and even if some of the twists were predictable, it’s still a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging read.

Katherine Faulkner is fast becoming a mistress of domestic noir, and with a very topical theme – a privileged woman being demonised and pull aed apart online after acting in self-defence against a dangerous aggressor, she has ensured that this book will be everywhere this summer! Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for letting me read an advance copy – this is my honest review.

Alice sips wine with two friends whilst their children have a playdate. A young man appears at the window, then bursts in and grabs a knife. He seems to be heading for the room with the children, alice swings a kitchen stool at him - and he dies. The police decide it was self defence, but Alice can't get over it and is drawn to seeking out the boy's mother to find out if there is anything more behind the break-in. The further she goes into it, the more perplexing it gets and her life begins to fall apart - who can she trust? At the end of the day, almost no-one. its an engrossing, complex plot, which gets better the further you get into it.

What starts as a relaxing playdate quickly descends into a nightmare. Alice is hosting a gathering with her child and a friend’s young son, while the mothers unwind with wine. But when a stranger appears at the window and then forces his way inside, things take a terrifying turn. When he grabs a knife, Alice’s attempt to protect herself and the children leads to a fatal outcome.

The police determine it was self-defence, but Alice is overwhelmed with guilt. Compelled to apologise, she reaches out to Linda, the mother of the man she killed. However, as Alice digs deeper into the life of Ezra, the young man, she begins to question the full story of what happened that day. Could there be more to the incident than she’s been told?

A masterfully twisted psychological thriller, The Break-In keeps readers on edge with its shocking twists and intense tension. Katherine Faulkner’s character-driven storytelling brings an eerie complexity to the narrative, making it impossible to put down.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

The blurb of this one didn’t give too much away, but I really enjoyed it! There was a wide enough cast of characters, although it was a bit obvious who was involved you didn’t know exactly who had done what. I did guess some of who was involved, but this didn’t take away my enjoyment of the book because I feel like enough was happening and we were still watching it all unfold that I wasn’t bored.

None of these characters were really likeable, but I did like Alice. I felt bad for her and the fact that no one believed her, although at first it did seem like she was just looking at things that could easily be explained away but you just know there’s something else. At first this was a little slow and I thought it was going to be your usual domestic thriller with all the usual tropes and plot twists, but it actually ended up going in a different direction to what I expected and really piqued my interest. I was definitely happy with the ending and how all this wrapped up.

This book is absolutely brilliant!!!!!! The first I've read from Katherine Faulkner but not my last. I couldn't put this down, full of suspense and it kept me hooked to the very end.

Really exciting storyline that griped me from the first couple of pages. There are some excellent characters that are not all they seem, and they keep you guessing right to the end. Loved it and didn’t really want it to end, but I couldn’t put it down.

A tense domestic thriller that often reaches an intensity that makes it difficult to read. As the story progresses it becomes increasingly clear that there is far more being unsaid by the characters than is being said but that is the only thing becoming clear. The truth is unravelled slowly - from the perspective of each of the characters- right through to the last page

The Break In by Katherine Faulkner is an absolute page-turner!
From the very first chapter, I was hooked. The story kept me guessing the whole way through and delivered twist after twist. The suspense builds beautifully, and the pacing is spot on. The ending was especially satisfying with twists that just kept coming. An easy 5 stars from me—highly recommend if you love a gripping, twisty thriller!

The Break-In by Katherine Faulkner is a twisty slice of mum noir - a psychological thriller about a London mum whose life unravels after a terrifying break-in at her home.

I’d read The Other Mothers by the same author about a year ago, and between the two, I have to say I preferred The Other Mothers. Both books dig into the realities of motherhood, the loneliness, the comparison game, and the quiet pressures, but this one leans harder into the suspense and anxiety spiral.

It took a little while for The Break-In to really hook me, but once it did, I thought the author nailed the rising panic of Alice, the main character. You feel her confusion, her fear, her growing obsession. The anxiety is palpable.

Did I question pretty much all of Alice’s choices post-break-in? Yep. Would I have done the same? Hard to say. But the fact that her behaviour stayed juuust on the edge of believable really worked for me - it kept me invested without rolling my eyes.

Plot-wise, I figured out the key dynamics early on, which took away some of the mystery buzz, but this isn’t really a book that lives or dies by its twists. The real tension is psychological: watching one woman unravel under the weight of fear, doubt, and not knowing who to trust.

If you're into mum noir with slow-burn tension, domestic drama, and a healthy dose of bad decisions, this one fits the bill.