I enjoyed Paris' Behind Closed Doors so much that perhaps my expectations for her new novel, The Breakdown, were a bit too lofty. When Cass takes a shortcut through the woods to her house one stormy night, she passes by a woman in a car; unable to decide if she should help or if it's a dangerous scam, Cass continues on without stopping. When news report that the woman in the car has been murdered, Cass's sense of guilt over her decision not to stop eats her alive...added to this is a troubling development of her inability to remember things, a growing sense of paranoia that all is not right with her marriage, and an ominous feeling that the murderer may be after her. As the plot twists and turns, Cass and the reader find themselves in a strange, devious situation, where Cass stands to lose it all - possibly even her life - if she cannot figure out what is going on. While the premise of the plot is interesting, I found the eventual explanation and ending to be fantastical, over dramatic, and not as clever as Behind Closed Doors. None of the characters exhibited any depth of development, and the lead up to the climax simply just took too long.

4.5/5 This book mixes the trauma of having been unable to stop a murder with the a completely different kind of fear: dementia. And if your protagonist doesn't have a clear frame of mind, then neither does the reader. This is a fast and fun read with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing.

I was totally swept away by the suspense and mystery of The Break Down. Cass and Matthew have a great life together although she has secretly feared she will end up with dementia like her mother. Things begin to fall apart when Cass realizes that a murdered woman is someone she knew, and that she passed her car on the road in a terrible thunderstorm on her way home the night before. She becomes fearful that the murderer may be after her next. She starts to forget things, minor absent-mindedness at first but then it escalates to the point that she can't remember ordering packages that have been delivered, or how to work her own coffee machine. Is it just the stress? Is it the start of dementia? Or is it something more sinister? Could someone be gas lighting her? Or will she be the next murder victim? Alfred Hitchcock could not have crafted a more electrifying thriller with such a satisfying conclusion. 5 out of 5 stars from me.

Let me start off by saying I read B. A. Paris' first book, Behind Closed Doors and absolutely fell in love with it. When I heard a new book was coming out I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. A lot of the time when a book is extremely hyped, I tend to be disappointed. Luckily that was in no way the case with The Breakdown.
The character building in this book was amazing, I felt like I got a wonderful idea of who each character was while also questioning them all throughout the book. I found myself immediately drawn in because the book was written with an extreme air if mystery. I physically felt as though I had to keep turning each page and find out immediately what was going on. I love the fact that it touches on the subject of early on-set dementia, which I don't hear or know much about.
Overall this book was a great mystery that was so unpredictable I couldn't stop reading if I wanted to. It flowed so well and kept me guessing until the very end. I would highly recommend this book if you like psychological thrillers.

Cass, a young high school teacher with a loving and attentive husband, makes a reckless decision one night when driving home during a horrible storm. She goes against her husband’s explicit request and takes a shortcut home along a lonely and desolate road. Halfway to her home with the rain pouring down Cass sees a car stopped on the side of the road with a woman inside. She pulls up ahead of the car and stops to see if the woman signals her in some way or gets out and comes to her car. When the woman doesn’t do anything to signal that she needs help, Cass drives on home assuming if she broke down she has already called for help and is just waiting for someone. The next day not only does Cass find out that the woman was brutally murdered after she drove by but also that she was someone Cass knew.
Thus begins Cass’s downward spiral. She is already concerned that she is experiencing signs of Early Onset Dementia, a condition her mother was diagnosed with. Added to that is the guilt she feels for not doing anything that horrible stormy night. Cass is soon convinced that the murderer saw her and it is he who is making hang up phone calls to her house. As Cass comes closer and closer to having a nervous breakdown the pace of the novel becomes even more intense. Fans of Behind Closed Doors will not be disappointed and if this is your first psychological thriller by Paris hold on tight you are in for a heart stopping ride.

This book is written by the same author who wrote the hugely successful and horrific Behind Closed Doors. I believe after reading The Break Down that it has the immense ability to be another HUGE bestseller. I’ve not read Behind Closed Doors yet – my Mum bought it some time ago but I've not got around to reading it. Yet!
Anyway, I started reading The Break Down and I got to over 70% by the time I’d snuggled into bed - although I did have the lights on. I finished the rest off in the morning whilst enjoying my morning cuppa.
This book was so fast paced, and so utterly gripping that I could not put it down – literally! It usually takes me about a week or thereabouts to read a book with all my studying and life stuff getting in the way, so for this to have taken less than 24 hours really tells you how amazing this book is. I slept with the table lamps on next to my bed and I still managed to have nightmares! It really scared the hell out of me!
The story centres on Cass as she’s on her way home from a party – but decides to take a route through the woods to get home which her husband has asked her not to go through for safety. She passes a car that’s pulled over in a lay-by, so she stops but as the driver does nothing to signal distress she drives on home. The next morning she discovers from her husband (who had called her the night before with a migraine so he slept in the spare room) that there was a murder along the road by the woods last night. A woman in her car was murdered in the lay by. Safe to assume Cass discovers the woman she passed in the car is the same woman that was murdered.
Cass then has to deal with the grief as she'd recently met this woman, along with the guilt of not doing anything. She thinks she’s going mad. She forgets things and as her mum had dementia, understandably her fear is that she has early onset dementia too. Her husband makes her go to the doctors and gets pills to help calm her down. (Jeez – i’m not doing this book half as much justice as it deserves! But I'm trying to keep it mainly spoiler free for you!) There is so much going on in the book which is why I simply couldn't put it down, I just had to keep on reading! A long story short – Cass discovers that the people close to her are not who she thought they were but with her ‘early onset dementia’ can she figure it out in time? And I don't think it's as straight forward as you may think!
What scared me the most whilst reading this was the fact that the more I read, the more I was ‘becoming one’ with Cass. What I mean by that is that I was terrified to walk around my house without shutting the curtains and locking the doors. I slept with the lights on. This for me is a huge testament to just how good this book is. When a writer can capture the characters so perfectly, and not only take you along for the ride, but to literally capture you as well, well that's a huge achievement isn't it?
I was just so desperate for Cass to figure it all out. I wanted her to be OK and I wanted to just know who the hell killed that woman. I had theories but I admit I was wrong - brilliant twist! I also wanted to know why it was having such an effect on Cass – because Cass had no idea, so we were all clueless.
The ending was absolutely bloody brilliant! I was squealing with delight and grinning from ear to ear as I got all excited. I reckon I must have looked like I was a cross between winning the lottery and needing the loo!!!
I definitely will read any future books by B.A. Paris now. Without question. What it has made me question even more is just how well I know people around me…I feel like I’ve become Cass in that sense (and no, it's not related to Mental illness on either part - mine or Cass's!). It just really made me question EVERYONE around me. How well do I really know someone? Really?
Whilst I’d like to follow her story and catch up with her in 5-10 years into her future, I just think she deserves a break. Boy does she deserve a break. She deserves to live her life in peace and be happy – I feel like I’ve intruded on her life far too much already…look at me talking as though she is real! Look what it’s done to me!!

What a crazy ride! This book had me hooked immediately! I'm not going to give anything away in this review because I don't want to spoil anything for anyone but I would definitely recommend this book.

Before I picked this up, I was in one of those moods where I started a few other books and I just could not get into them. I was afraid I was starting a slump but thankfully it was just one of those moods where I needed something addictive to keep me interested and wow is this book addictive. If I could say anything about B.A Paris it would be that she knows how to write stories that are addictive and extremely thrilling but not in the usual way an author goes about it. I genuinely feel that her style and approach to writing is very unique. She has only published two books so far but they have both been hits for me. Take Behind Closed Doors - from the synopsis you can probably guess what the story is going to be about and the story even jumps back and forward in time so you know what is going to happen while you're reading it but you're still completely enthralled with the story. You want to know HOW it happens. A lot of authors focus on writing thriller stories where the readers are left to question WHAT happened but with B.A Paris's books so far, it's more focused on the HOW. So similar to BCD, this story focuses more on the HOW. From very early on I guessed the general gist of what was going to happen but weirdly, that didn't matter to me. Usually when I guess what happens early on, it's just a boring drag until the reveal (I'm looking at you The Girl On The Train) but this was so different.

Everything about this was really good - the story, the writing, the way it played out, the characters, etc. I did think the dialogue in this book was so much better than what it was in Paris's first book. It felt very natural in this book and I was impressed. The main reason why this book is a 4 and not a 5 star for me is because it was predictable. I know I rattled on about it a bit earlier but I just feel like if Paris somehow blew my mind at the end, I would have given it a 5 star rating. I also felt like Paris could have built up the suspense more in some of the key scenes but that was very minor for me. I also feel like some people might not want to read this because Cass is an unreliable narrator and I usually can't stand them either but this book is different. Cass's unreliability didn't bother me in the slightest.

I would100% recommend this. I enjoyed it more than Paris's first book and I will definitely be reading her future books! I really feel like she could be a very popular writer if she continues to bring out more books like this.

*I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I want more than anything to be able to take her hand in mine and tell her that I love her, for her to put her arms around me and tell me that everything will be all right. Because sometimes I’m not sure that it will be."

One split decision can change your life ... Young teacher Cass is on her way home from a party when she decides to take a shortcut, turning onto a deserted road leading through dense forest. Whilst it is a popular and picturesque drive during the day, at night it is dark and lonely and not considered safe by her husband Matthew. In fact, she has promised him to stick to the main roads, but it’s late, and it’s raining and she just wants to get home to her warm bed. On her way through the woods she notices a car parked in a parking bay on the side of the road with its headlights on. Pulling over to check if the person needs assistance, she sees the outline of a young woman behind the steering wheel, looking back at her through the rain. The woman makes no move to signal distress, so thinking that she is not needed, Cass drives on home through the storm and forgets all about the encounter. Until she hears on the news the next morning that a young woman has been found murdered in her car on the very same road. And the nightmare begins ....

Paris quickly reeled me in with her story, partly due to the fact that I do a lot of driving on lonely country roads without phone reception at night. Would I stop if I was in Cass’ position? To be honest, I am not sure. The roads are scary places alone at night, and you feel very vulnerable. Paris’ description of Cass’ moral dilemma is well executed, as is her subsequent disintegration as guilt and fear weigh heavily on her.

“Anybody would stop if they saw someone in trouble, wouldn’t they?”
“Would they, though? On a lonely road and in a storm?” I desperately wanted the answer to be “No.”
“Well, not unless they didn’t have a conscience. Nobody would just drive on. They’d at least do something.”

I liked the portrayal of a vulnerable young woman, scarred by the untimely death of her mother after a battle with early onset dementia. When strange things start happening around her, Cass is convinced that she must surely be going crazy and follow the same downward spiral as her mother did. Cass is a likeable protagonist, and one I wanted to root for in the face of the challenges she faces, even though I felt that the whole “unreliable narrator” concept was a bit overdone at times with Cass acting quite irrationally for an educated, smart young woman.

Whilst the start of the book had me firmly in its grip, parts of the last third fell a bit flat for me, but I can’t go into that for fear of spoiling things for other readers. Let’s just say that I guessed early on what was happening, and felt that the grip the book had on me loosened considerable once that part of the mystery had been solved. Whilst the ending was clever in a double jeopardy kind of way, it all came together a bit too neatly, losing some credibility. The mystery and its final twist could have been more convincing had more time been spent on character development of some of the supporting characters. I also disliked that a lot of time was spent relaying SMS messages, which seemed like an unexciting way to resolve an element of the story that had so much more potential to be clever and tense. This may not be an issue for other readers, but for me the tension that the author had been trying to build up suddenly deflated with a loud pffffft like a flat tire. Shame!

Whilst The Breakdown was a quick, entertaining and reasonably enjoyable read, it didn’t mess with my head enough to make it memorable. However, I do think its atmospheric setting would make a fantastic movie! I also really enjoyed Paris’ writing style, which will make me look out for other titles by the same author.

Yikes!

When those ol' marbles start rollin' around inside your head and they seem to shift and move back and forth as if on cue.........you know you're in trouble........big trouble.

Cass Anderson feels that crazy rotation. Battling a torrential downpour late one night, she takes the shortcut home. Her headlights are cast upon a car parked to the side with what appears to be a blonde woman behind the wheel. Stalled? Cass pulls ahead of her and waits for a few brief seconds. The woman never indicates that she needs help. Cass promised her husband earlier that she would stay only on the main highway. Instinct tells her to get home quickly.

The next morning Cass finds out that a woman had been murdered on that same road the night before. The marbles begin to collide from intense guilt and fear. Could she have prevented what happened on that dark, lonely road? Would going to the police now make any difference? And would the murderer recognize her car and pay her a little visit?

Consumed by terrifying thoughts, Cass is blanketed in paranoia. She begins to hear unaccustomed sounds within her house, misplacement of items, phantom phone calls, and the dreaded presence of someone watching her. Her greatest fear seems to be coming true. Her mother was diagnosed at the young age of forty-four with early on-set dementia. Is this what awaits Cass or something far more menacing?

B.A. Paris does it again with The Breakdown. If you read, Behind Closed Doors, you know that Paris has both hands tightly on the wheel taking you on some mighty slippery slopes. This one proves, in another go-round, that she has an uncanny knowledge of what makes those marbles roll and spin in staccato motion. As the character of Cass becomes unglued, you feel the trigger of instability happening a bit too close.

Many Sherlocks out there may fit the pieces together early on. But what eventually develops within this glass jar will cleverly put the lid on in the finale. This is a fast read and a satisfying one for all B.A. Paris fans, and certainly, those new to this talented author's game table. Looking forward to the next round, Ms. Paris.

I received a copy of The Breakdown through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to St. Martin's Press and to B.A. Paris for the opportunity.

I enjoyed this title, Cass, was a good character. I was drawn in right from the start, I knew she would take that road through the woods. As the author was telling the story of Cass driving down that deserted road I felt like I was in the car with her. I could not put this book down, by 60% I felt as though it was time to start the wrap up, I had figured out what was going on and wanted to know how B.A Paris was going to pull it all together. Great read!

Really good book, thoroughly enjoyed it. The story was great and I liked the characters. This was a real page turner, I had trouble putting it down! A solid 5 out of 5.

Brilliantly written, fast paced and twisted story of jealousy, deceit and murder.

Another great book from B.A. Paris! Thanks to netgalley for an advance copy. I found myself not being able to put this down, even from the very first chapter. It had a (good) creepy feel that drew me in. I appreciated the shorter chapters, which made it a fast read. Some of Cass' decisions made me frustrated, but that was the point I suppose. I wanted her to be a little stronger, but it still worked for her character. Although a few of the twists I saw coming, I didn't see the big final twist at the end. Overall, another page turner from a strong author. I'm looking forward to more!

ARC provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgally, but does not influence my review in any way.

I simply love B.A. Paris's style of writing. It took me awhile to get into The Breakdown as I wasn't really sure what the story was trying to tell me or where the journey was heading. About mid-way through it was becoming clear that this was going to be a twisty wild ride.

Cass is a school teacher who lost her mum to early onset dementia. Her husband Matthew is a caring, doting husband who wants to help Cass (Or is he?) Cass is having short term memory issues and is really stressed about the murder of a young woman in her town. Cass didn't know her well, but they were acquaintances. Cass is trying to piece together some puzzling things, while dealing with what she think may be a stalker.

The writing is stellar, and the while I saw what was coming, It was the way everything unfolded that had me furiously turning the pages to find out what happened next.

I want to thank B.A. Paris, St. Martin's Press and Netgally for being so gracious in letting me read an early copy of this book. I am looking forward to buying it in print.

Although the story started off slowly and the main character caused much of her own problems, I enjoyed it once it picked up and will definitely look for more from this author.

I was given a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.
While the writing is excellent and the characters fully formed, I did find the plot predictable. Maybe it's just me - because I read so many mysteries - but I knew what was happening before the end of the third chapter.
Cass has had a lot of trauma in her life. With a mother who passed at a young age from dementia, to her feelings of guilt about leaving a woman stranded in car on a stormy night - only to discover later on the woman was murdered. Add in the seemingly endless things she is "forgetting" lately, Cass is a troubled woman.
As I said, the writing is excellent, and the characters are believable - as is the storyline. I simply found no surprise in the "mystery."

I had been looking forward to reading this title as soon as I saw it. I was late to the party with Behind Closed Doors but loved it. This is a proper page turner - the sort of book that keeps you up late or makes you get up early so you can find out what happens. Cass did irritate me slightly just like Grace did in the previous book. I never guess plot lines so I was surprised in the twists and turns. Excellent read. Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the chance to read this title.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of Breakdown by B.A. Shapiro.

I must give credit to whomever chose the brilliant title for this psychological thriller. With its multiple meanings, Breakdown provides many possibilities.The story centers around Cass, a schoolteacher who has just been celebrating the end of term with some colleagues. Her husband phones to say the roads are very bad where they live, due to a storm so avoid the backroads and drive carefully. He also mentions he has a migraine and is turning in for the night. As Cass heads for home, a huge truck forces her off the main road so in a moment of panic , she veers off the highway and opps to take the backroads through the woods. While making her way in the downpour she notices a stopped car with a female driver inside. Debating what to do in the dark and pouring rain, Cass decides the woman in the car, is not making any attempts for help so she must be waiting for someone to arrive, so Cass continues to drives home.
The next morning, Cass is shocked to discover that a woman has been found dead in the back roads inside her vehicle. Regret and guilt seize Cass as she realizes it's the woman she saw last night. Ashamed to admit she did not stop to offer assistance and that she took the backroad after her husband explicitly told her not to, she says nothing. Hours later, Cass learns the woman was somebody she had recently met and had lunch with. Although the guilt is gnawing at her, Cass still remains silent.
Eventually, Cass phones the police anonymously to say she had seen the woman alive around 11:45pm. Still feeling guilty and scared, Cass soon begins to receive mysterious phone calls,leading Cass to believe the murderer saw her and is now after her.
Meanwhile, aside from this terrible ordeal, Cass is experiencing memory loss which she attributes to early onset dementia because her mom had the same illness. Before long, Cass is spiraling out of control and can't remember what is real and what is imagined. As she begins to doubt herself, her husband and friends begin to do the same. No one will listen when she insists the murderer is stalking her..
I am becoming a little frustrated with authors who have been using this formula lately; unreliable narrators who may or may not have an underlying condition (anxiety, alcohol abuse, dementia). I found the scenario a bit unoriginal and I had the mystery pretty much figured out early on. It was frustrating that an intelligent woman was not able to ascertain certain "clues" fairly quickly and easily. Good news was that I did breeze through the story and was compelled to read until the end to see if my hunches were correct (they were). This story was OK, but not great. I think those who read thrillers all the time, will have this figured out rather quickly but for casual readers, this book will be exciting and compulsive.

A really well written steady read. Very hard to put down. I'll be checking out Behind Closed Doors now that I've discovered this amazing writer.

Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review.

As a fierce storm rages, Cass fights to maintain control of her car as she makes her way home on a dark and winding road. Straining to see through the pounding rain, she passes a car pulled over to the side, and catches sight of a woman's face. Desperate to get home and out of the storm, Cass drives on, vowing to call the police to alert them of a possible breakdown of a vehicle by the side of the road. Upon arriving home, Cass fails to make that call. She forgets. Next day, the news is full of the murder of the woman in her car.

Cass is forgetting quite a lot of things these days. Riddled with guilt, self-doubt, and untold truths, her mind begins to slip. Then the telephone calls begin, with no one speaking but with an air of menace about them. Has someone been in the house? Why can't she remember anything? The paranoia begins to eat her alive, and she fears she is going mad. Her wild ravings and accusations have eroded her credibility with her husband, her friends, and the police. Cass is convinced the killer of the woman in the car is after her now.

I applaud the pacing, and like the title, which carries multiple meanings. This was a quick and entertaining read, but as a psychological thriller, it just didn’t mess with my head quite enough.