I really loved Paris' first book, Behind Closed Doors; it was a tense, powerful thriller about an abusive husband and a wife who eventually fights back. This second book is good, yet I found it to be a bit reminiscent of the first. The premise of the plot is new and different, however. On her way home from a pub gathering, Cass takes a shortcut through the woods and sees a car pulled over; due to the terrible storm that night, Cass continues on her way home and hears the next day of the woman's murder. As the guilt roils her emotions, we also see the ongoing memory issues with which Cass struggles, the impact it has on her young marriage, the slow deterioration of her mind as well as her life, and the help/hindrance of many supporting characters. I read voraciously, with guesses in mind of 'whodunnit' (yes, I was correct from my original guess but perhaps it's because I read a ton of mysteries and not that it was obvious? Hmmm), yet I did wish that Cass did not take so terribly long to grow a backbone and act like a strong capable woman. I would like to see Paris develop that strength sooner, or at least in her next book, have a woman who is a bad-ass and not such a pushover. With that said, if you're looking for a page-turning thriller, this one is pretty solid.

B.A. Paris' book BEHIND CLOSED DOORS was a hit or miss for me, I thought it had potential but just missed the mark of being a five star read; so I was eager to read THE BREAK DOWN.

Again, the potential was there but I felt like I was reading the same thing over and over again. The gaslight novel has been done before and done better. There were moments of suspense but the mystery was pretty obvious.

I did not really engage with this book or any of it's characters until Cass begins reading the text messages on the phone that inadvertently finds its way to her.

I am sure this book will appeal to many readers but not hard core thriller readers; it lacks the suspense and edge of the seat reading that some books produce.

Having loved and spent months raving about Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris I could barely contain my excitement when The Breakdown appeared on my Kindle. I was however apprehensive as I wasn’t sure if it could live up to the last book.

Was I disappointed? Nope! This book was once again packed full of drama, suspense and incredibly engrossing. We follow Cass who, as the blurb says, is struggling following a drive home when she encountered a woman parked up in a desolate road. The woman has been killed and Cass just can’t shake her fear over what happened, and whether there was anything she could have done to stop it.

This is the start of a journey that will see Cass question everyone and everything, including her sanity! She cannot shake what happened and things only get worse when she starts getting phone calls and a feeling that someone is watching her and out to get her.

The story spirals and along with family and friends Cass’s world starts to crumble, and along with Cass I as a reader started to question how much of what occurs is real, and how much is her imagination. There are twists and turns that had me too-ing and fro-ing with my thoughts, and looking out for any little inklings about what to believe and who to trust.

The Breakdown packed a punch and I sat it almost in one sitting as the writing flows and grabbed me by the collar and dragged me into the whole scenario. It will definitely be a book that people talk about, and will keep you turning pages late into the night.

The Breakdown is a brilliant thriller. I read it in two days because I could not put it down. Characters were well developed and the story intriguing. I highly recommend it!

This book/ BA Paris deserves a standing ovation for this book. Seriously BRAVO, WELL FREAKING DONE! This book deserves more than 5 stars because it was just that good!

Now on to the reviewing and not just the raving about this book.

I went into this book with very, very high expectations as I had heard WONDERFUL things about Behind Closed Doors, her debut novel. So I just knew this one was going to be great as well. Boy was I blown out of the water! It was so much better than I was expecting and I seriously devoured this book.

To be honest, I've been in a book hangover almost ever since I finished it.

With all of that being said, I've still heard BCD is so much better than this one, so I'm extremely excited to read that was as well. All I can say is that BA Paris is seriously setting some high bars for herself!

The main character is Cass and she has a history of dementia in her family. This is very important to the plot of the story. Her husband Matthew is a very loving and supportive ally in her life. Her best friend Rachel is also very supportive of her. Jane is a new found friend of Cass' before something terrible happens to her. These 4 characters are very entangled in a web of lies and messes that you will NEVER EXPECT!

I'm not really sure how to go about reviewing this without spoilers, but I will do my very best!

The story starts with Cass driving home during a really bad storm and taking a road that is very dangerous during the weather conditions she was driving in. She passes a car that has come to a complete stop in the middle of the road and stops to see if they might need some help. Due to the storm she doesn't get out of the car and with no response from the person in the car she continues on home. This is the basis to her life spinning out of control.

The guilt she feels completely takes over her life when she finds out the person in the car was brutally murdered. This book is very THRILLING from start to finish. We have mysterious phone calls, break ins, the loss of Cass' sense of security, and basically her whole world falling apart!

And because my followers know I like to give them one word/ phrase things to peak their interest for the story, here's one for this book. The life changing cell phone!

I felt extremely sorry for Cass throughout the whole story. Even more so when everything is brought to light in the end. I was not expecting things to turn out the way that they did, but that just made the story so much better! I could not have pictured I better plot twist or ending for this book.

I was really suspicious of Matthew from the very beginning. But not in the way I should have been. Well I guess in a sense my suspicions were right, so I won't say what they were. BUT they were definitely but on the back burner compared to what actually happened!

This book was jam packed full of thrilling events, I literally couldn't stop reading it. I was staying up super late trying to get as much read as possible even though I had to wake up form work super early the next morning. I'm telling you it was just so good!

I will definitely be recommending this to others AND buying myself a physical copy soon!

Once again, this author has knocked it out of the park! I'm not sure I can do a review that does this book justice without giving any part away! If you're looking for a great, quick read that keeps you on the edge of your seat and guessing until the end, this is the book for you. Psychological suspense at its best! Don't miss it! Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for giving me an opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

The Breakdown is the latest story from B. A. Paris. I'm sorry to say that to me it was a huge disappointment. I loved Behind Closed Doors, the previous story by this author. Too easy for the reader to figure out what is happening in this story and it makes you want to shake some sense into our "heroine". Some twists at the end leave the reader satisfied. I was given an early copy to review.

This is the second book of B.A. Paris' that I have read.

The beginning of the book was taut and compelling. During the middle, I felt a bit frustrated over the daily calls and panic, but then at the 3/4 mark the tension built and everything really took off, into an explosive ending.

Glad to have read this thriller. I like this author very much!

The breakdown starts when Cass, travelling home late one night, to her house in the woods, which she shares with her husband, there is a torrential storm, and she is involved with a car that has broken down in a remote spot.

Cass is a teacher, has recently suffered through her mum's illness, and is quite keen to start a family. Simple dreams for a happy contented life. Only B.A. Paris has created an eerie world for Cass, as a stranger starts calling compulsively. Cass must sift shifting truths, mounting frustration at her own shortcomings, and not knowing who to trust as the life she thinks she has comes under threat, from all directions.

This is a clever, yet easy to read thriller. You'll find yourself guessing and then second guessing, and maybe even third guessing. And you won't want to stop reading until all is revealed.

I enjoyed it thoroughly, despite being a little too frustrated with Cass at the outset of this book, and also finding the unravelling, when it happened, too quick and easy. One thread pulled, and the whole thing came rapidly apart.

But a good diversion, nevertheless.

While driving home on a deserted, dark lane, in a horrible thunderstorm, Cass sees a car pulled over to the side. Worried about her safety, Cass doesn't help the driver in the car; only to find out the next day that they have been murdered. With this tragic event, on top of her increasing forgetfulness Cass begins to spiral out of control.
A thrilling read that held me captive until the end!

This book was full of twists and turns. It definitely had an ending that I did not see coming!! This was a fairly quick read that will definitely keep you guessing what is going on.

This book was a fabulous read! It was sufficiently creepy and chilling, with just enough plot twists and turns to make me question what I thought I had figured out. I can't wait to see what kind of a psychological thriller B.A. Paris comes up with next.

I couldn't put this book down. When Cass thinks she could have done something about a terrible tragedy the turmoil she faces while keeping it a secret is almost enough to do her in, especially when she learns that she knew the woman who was murdered. She starts to question things around her as the guilt weighs heaving on her conscience. Knowing that her mother suffered from early onset dementia only furthers her fears and anguish once she realizes she's having some of the same issues at such a young age. As things keep happening and getting worse for Cass, she feels lucky to have such a supportive husband and best friend and constantly has to question herself on decisions and choices she's making.
I do wish there was a little more at the end as I wasn't ready for the story to be over but this was a very suspenseful novel that kept me interested from page 1.

On her way home from a night out, Cass decides to take a shortcut home down a dark wooded road, even after her husband warned her to avoid that route due to the severe storm that was hitting them. While she’s driving, Cass sees a car stopped on the side of the road, and pulls over to see if the driver needs help. Reluctant to get out of the car in the middle of the storm, Cass waits to see if the driver will alert her that they need help. When no such sign comes, she continues her drive home.

The next morning, she hears that a woman was murdered on the same road she took home…it was the woman in the car she saw. Partly wracked with guilt that she didn’t get out of her car, and partly terrified that the killer is still on the loose, Cass winds up on a downward spiral and as she seems to be forgetting more and more details of her life, she questions whether she can even trust herself, or if she’s starting to suffer from dementia the same way her mother did.

Regardless of whether or not she’s forgetting things, she knows she’s been getting daily phone calls each day where the caller says nothing, and she can’t shake the feeling that she’s being watched…

After totally obsessing over Paris’ first novel, Behind Closed Doors, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on The Breakdown! While I did enjoy the book, I didn’t love it the way I loved Behind Closed Doors.

I mostly liked Cass as our narrator – Alzheimers runs in my family, so I can imagine the panic and frustration she must feel when she realizes she’s forgotten a conversation or something she’s done. That said, there were definitely times where I wanted to shake her because she was acting so irrationally! She refused to tell anyone that she saw the car on the road in fear that it would make her look guilty, and instead completely obsesses over it.

There were some points of the book that I felt like were repetitive and could have been moved along more quickly – it wasn’t until around 80% into the book where answers started coming and action started happening – the rest of the story was build up, but there wasn’t a lot changing with it, which is where I started to get antsy for the story to move forward.

Despite the fact that some of the book felt repetitive to me, I had a hard time putting it down. I was sucked in and wanted to get answers and find out what happened! I also really liked the end of the book – I didn’t fully guess the outcome until it was smacking me in the face, which was nice.

Compared to Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown felt like more of a slow building suspense story rather than the super tense thriller that Behind Closed Doors was. I’m a huge fan of B.A. Paris and look forward to future thrillers from her! Thank you to Netgalley, B.A. Paris, and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of the book. It was my pleasure to provide an honest review. The Breakdown comes out on July 18, 2017.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review. I loved the author's first novel, "Behind Closed Doors" so I was really looking forward to this new one. This story starts out with a female narrator who can't remember certain things and you know from the start that this spells trouble. I was hoping for a more gripping storyline, but this one fell a little flat for me both in pacing and character development.

Fantastic, read it in one go, I had all sorts of theories in my head, none of those were correct but the ending was better than I could have imagined. Definitely recommend.

Wow, this was fantastic! I also read "Behind Closed Doors", this author's debut novel and loved that one as well. I love books with an unreliable narrator and that is what we have with Cass, our main character. Cass is on her way home late one night and takes a road she shouldn't be taking, especially during a storm. She encounters another car and can barely make out that it is a woman driver through the rain. After pulling over and getting no signal or indication from the driver that they need help, she makes the decision to keep on driving. The next morning she hears that a woman has been killed on that very same road the night before. So begins a downward spiral for Cass, guilt consumes her and paranoia sets in. Weird things start to happen. Is she having a "breakdown"? Her mother was diagnosed with dementia at the early age of 44 and she fears that she possibly has it as well. Paris is a master on setting suspense and makes you question who is trustworthy and who is not. This was a brilliant and addictive psychological thriller and I highly recommend to all lovers of psychological thrillers. I cannot wait for this author's next book! A big thank you to St. Martin's Press an NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an early copy of this book!

After reading B.A Paris’s gripping and compelling debut novel Behind Closed Doors last year, I have been eagerly awaiting her second book. Wow! All I can say was that it was well worth the wait! I read, no I devoured, The Breakdown in about 4 hours because the story drew me in from page one and didn’t let go until the last page! The book keeps you on the edge of your seat because it’s not only fast paced and addictive but the psychological suspense is so brilliantly executed by the author that you feel the terror, anxiety, guilt, and apprehensions right along with Cass, the stories main protagonist. Cass’s feelings are so intense they are practically leaping off the page, and I think that is mainly what makes this such an engrossing read.

That’s not to say that the story did not feel in some small parts a bit repetitive and predictable because it did. Less than halfway through the book, I had figured out a major part of the plot, but that in no way spoiled the book for me because I was only partially correct in my prediction…B.A. Paris is much too clever a storyteller to completely give away her book’s secrets before the end! Plus, the intensity in the last 25% of the book and the climatic ending well make up for any repetitiveness there might be.

Cass is a school teacher who believes she is having a literal mental breakdown after discovering that a woman who was sitting in a car on the side of the road not far from Cass’s home during a scary storm as Cass drove by was murdered. She blames herself for the murder since she didn’t stop to help her that night, but she doesn’t tell anyone because she fears being blamed somehow. The guilt she feels becomes considerably worse when Cass not only discovers that she knew the murdered woman but becomes terrified that the murderer is now after her.

Then the spiral into what appears to be a mental breakdown begins. She goes from forgetting little things like a forgotten purse, forgetting how to operate the microwave and washing machine, losing her car in the car park in town, and ordering things she has no recollection of buying to acting paranoid and almost delusional at times. Cass begins to believe she is suffering from early stage dementia just like her mother had before her death.

Cass’s life begins falling around her, and you can feel her terror that not only is she losing her mind, but that someone is after her. She starts to receive silent phone calls that she is convinced are from the killer trying to terrorize her. Yet, no one believes her that anyone is after her, not even her husband Matthew or her best friend Rachel.

The suspense in this book just continued to grow with every page, which is why I couldn’t put it down once I started reading it. You just had to know if Cass was actually having a breakdown or if someone was gaslighting her! Cass was a character that you felt sorry for but was extremely likable, especially at the end.

The Breakdown is suspenseful, intrinsic, gripping, and extremely clever. B.A. Paris has outdone herself. I think The Breakdown will be one of this summer’s hottest reads!

Thank you, NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and B.A. Paris for the chance to read an ARC of The Breakdown in exchange for my fair and honest review.

A real page turner that I didn't want to put down! I read it in one long sitting and really enjoyed it.

Imagine taking a shortcut home on a stormy night after a party and after promising her husband she would come directly home. Imagine coming upon a car stopped on the side of the road with a woman inside and trying to decide if it's prudent to stop to help. Opting for her own safety lest this be a set-up Cass drives home only to find out the next day that the woman, someone she knew, was murdered. And that's just the beginning. Heart pounding yet? Class told no one about what she had seen but becomes terrified and paranoid, always wondering if she could have saved that woman. Fearing for her own life she starts to forget even simple things and begins to think she may have dementia. She starts getting calls where no one speaks and is constantly looking over her shoulder as she feels she is being followed. Is she imagining or is she in real danger? I absolutely loved this book-it had me in it's grasp from the first page to the last-I didn't want to put it down-but only to let my heart resume a normal beat because it had my heart pounding the whole time. Absolutely fabulous-don't miss this thriller-the best I've read in quite a while-no ho hum here!