Could NOT put this book down!!!! It was just as good as her first one!!! I could really feel the hurt and emotion in Cass. Like Behind Closed Doors, there are many twists and turns in this book and it kept me sitting on the edge of my seat!!!! Way to go!!!!

Ever wonder about the road not taken? What about the road you did take? Cass was warned by her husband not to take a shortcut through the woods on a dark and stormy night. Cass disregards his warning and goes that way instead. After being privy to a horrible crime, Cass starts to have more and more issues. Very suspenseful, with lots of gasp or loud moments and an ending not to be missed!

Brilliant in every way, I was hooked from the first paragraph.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I was late to the game of Behind Closed Doors– a book that I found to be good, but the sinisterness of the book just dripped off many of the pages. The Breakdown is not like that. You won’t feel the mounting terror that you did in Behind Closed Doors.



The Breakdown is more subtle, like a cat and mouse game……..



What I liked:

How B.A. Paris wrote and examined the relationships between some of the characters.

The red herrings.

How it all came together- when things were revealed.



What I didn’t love:

Cass is dealing with guilt- guilt about her role in that night, guilt and worry about her mother and inheriting her mother’s dementia. While this part of the book was necessary to the whole plot, I felt that it was a bit draggy at times.



Bottom line: Is it as good as Behind Closed Doors? Yes, but in a different way. Not as sinister and disturbing- more of a good plot with characters that you are not sure you can trust.



*This book was sent to me by St. Martin’s Press for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

I was a huge fan of B.A. Paris’ “Behind Closed Doors” and was anxious to read her next release.
THE BREAKDOWN was a letdown for me. I did finish reading it and was pleasantly surprised by a tiny plot twist in the ending, but the main character’s overall responses and reactions to what was happening to her were repetitive and wore very thin by halfway through the book. I believe I would have enjoyed it more if it had been a tighter plot and novella length.
The story is told by Cass, who returns home on stormy night via a road through the woods. She almost wrecks avoiding a car pulled to the side. She stops, but when the driver doesn’t come to her car, she continues home and forgets about it. She is later horrified to realize the woman in the car was a new friend that was murdered sometime later that night in her car. She is wracked with guilt and tells no one, not her husband or best friend, who worked with the murdered woman.
The reader also learns that Cass has been forgetting small things and is worried that she may be experiencing early onset dementia like her mother. This makes Cass a possible unreliable narrator. As she becomes more afraid and paranoid some of her reactions are just not believable. This is when I would have liked less Cass and fewer pages.
I finished to see if my assumptions were correct and they were. There are not that many characters in the story, so it is not hard to figure out, especially if you read a lot of this type of book. As stated earlier, there is a small plot twist at the end that did surprise me, but there is a lot of emotional drama to get through for the surprise. This was just an average thriller for me.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I started out really hating this book, the beginning was annoying and repetitive. For instance why would you beat yourself up for not stopping to help someone on an isolated road, that's just common sense. I wouldn't have thought twice about that the next day. Then Cass is a liar, lying about little things, and that's a character flaw I hate. It mostly felt like a weakness, for example she was literally scared to tell her husband she drove down the isolated road on her way home.. Get out of here with these weak ass women. The novel stayed repetitive but it got more interesting for the last 25%. I gave Paris an extra star for her creativity, but honestly this sophomore attempt was a let down and I don't recommend it

I was so excited to read this book as I thoroughly enjoyed Behind Closed Doors. This book was just okay. Felt the author spent so much time on how the main character (Cass) was feeling than the actual story itself. If you've read once that the main character is feeling bad and oh so sad, how many more times does the author feel we need to read that. So I unfortunately cannot recommend this book. If you haven't read "Behind Closed Doors" you should give that one a try.

Before heading home on the stormy night Cass calls her husband and lets him know she will be home soon. He warns her not to take the back road home because of the storm, but despite her husband’s warnings, she takes it anyway. What she sees is a woman sitting in a car

After Cass sees the woman in the car and decides to do nothing, the guilt seems to be too much for her to handle. She can’t tell her husband, or else he will be furious with her, so she keeps this information to herself. As the guilt takes a toll on her, she starts slowly forgetting and misplacing things. Eventually, her husband suggest she sees a doctor, who subscribes her some pills to help her cope. With these pills she becomes much more relaxed. The author does an excellent job flipping back and forth between the times when Cass is on the pills and is not. The chapters are not marked separately, but through the author’s writing, you can tell just how chaotic and confused Cass is when on the pills, and how relaxed she is when not on them.

Eventually, Cass starts to piece everything together. As she does, the writing becomes more fast paced, but you can also tell Cass is starting to think more clearly.

The big twist comes towards the end. I was definitely shocked! Throughout the entire book, I really had no clear idea what was going on with Cass or who killed the woman, but when the pieces started coming together and everything was revealed, I couldn’t put this book down!

This is definitely a must read for all!

The Breakdown is yet another excellent read from B A Paris.Although i guessed early on in the book who the guilty parties would be i still found this a great page turning psychological thriller.Cass's world is thrown upsidedown one night when driving home in a storm she fails to stop when she see's a woman sitting in her car at the side of the road.She learns later the woman in question was a friend who had been murdered and.Cass starts to spiral out off control. Matthew her husband and best friend Rachael try their best to reassure her that all is ok and that the killer is not after her. As more and more strange things happen Cass is forced to seek answers for her behaviour but what she uncovers leaves her shellshocked.I After reading a few negative reviews about this book i was interested to read it for myself and i have to say for me it is another 5 star read from B A Paris,an excellent page turner of a thriller, buy it you won't be disappointed.

OOOOOOOOOO!!!!! So freaking good! I finished this book a few days ago and I am still thinking about it. It is difficult to put into words. I truly do not want to give anything away with my comments. Just know..this is a must read if you like psychological thrillers.

Cass has come upon what she thinks is a car broken down on the side of the road. She stops but does not get out her car. It is pouring down rain after all. She decides to head on home. Later she finds out the owner of the car was murdered in that very spot. Plus, the victim is someone she knew. This is the beginning of Cass' own breakdown.

"What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!" A great quote for this book. It is amazing the illusions the mind can play on you, as Cass is finding out. Did she really buy that?? Did she really sign this?? Is she really going crazy?? I love how the author tangles so much within this tale. It is brilliantly contrived.

I did have part of it figured out, just didn't have the whole picture. I am trying very hard not to give anything away. Twists and turns and figments of the imagination!!! This is a read not to be missed!


I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review.
I did meet B.A. Paris at Book Expo. Her accent is fabulous. Sadly, I did not get a picture but, I did get a signed ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for reading an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback.

Too predictable, not enough tension and plot, but kept me reading until the last page. Then, I actually wanted more; what happens next? It was a strange feeling after reading a book that I thought was only good and not great.

Main character Cass witnesses a woman in her car on the side of the road in the wood on a stormy night. Later the woman is found murdered so her guilt is off the charts. When she starts getting silent phone calls, she is convinced the murderer must have seen her pull over; is he now after her?

Add a family history of early onset dementia and mysterious purchases arriving with her signature and she feels she is losing her mind. A supremely patient and caring husband is not quite believable and add a best friend who drops everything to help her and you'd think she'd be reassured, but the paranoia just grows.

I thought I figured out the murderer very early on and felt the story was a bit under done as I expected more. Not a bad read if you are not looking for something that really makes your brain work. It kept me reading, but not enough to tell others to go buy it.

I will never claim to be a detective and solve crimes. I am a reader that follows the clues the author lays out for me. With that being said there were so many trails that I could follow and I followed each and every one of them. With each twist and turn there was a new guess, that I was sure was absolutely correct, as to who had killed the woman in the car. The not knowing would bother some readers, for me I love to follow the path and see where it ends without really knowing the ending ahead of time.

B.A. Paris is amazing. The talent shared while weaving a complex, twisted, and wonderful story is phenomenal. The characters were twisted, complex, and real. I kept thinking what kind of horrible person could be making Cass come unhinged…were they truly enjoying watching her lose her mind… I just couldn’t imagine what kind of person enjoys this. When the who-dun-it is told it all comes together and makes the twists and turns make sense in a twisted sort of way.

The quick pace, the anticipation, and the twists and turns made this a cannot stop reading book for me. I recommend picking up your own copy ASAP.


Thank you Jordan Hanley at St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Since I loved the debut novel, “Behind closed doors”, I was really excited to read the new book, “The Breakdown”, by B. A. Paris. And I was not disappointed. The suspense builds slowly and after a few chapters in I wasn’t sure whom to believe. With a medical history Cass has it brings out the question if she really is losing her mind, getting dementia early in life. After all, she has a loving husband and a good friend she knows since her childhood years. But after the murder of her new friend Jane life seems to unravel for Cass. While I enjoyed the book a great deal I got suspicious and had a theory before getting to the middle of the story. And yes, I had gotten it right. BUT, I hadn’t seen the twist in the end. This was a total surprise and made me like the solution to all the mysteries more than I thought it would. Overall, a great story, maybe a little predictable, but with an ending that makes it worth reading. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press!

BA Paris has a way of telling you a story and making you believe what he wants you to believe before giving you a small glimpse of the twist to come. This book had me hooked until the very end.

This was one of the most emotional suspense books I have read since Gone Girl. At the beginning of the book I felt like the twist that I knew would be coming was easily predicted, however Paris had me second guessing myself throughout the entire novel.

Cass, a newlywed who recently lost her mother, was driving home one rainy night and passed a car sitting on the pull off of the road. While she stopped she never got out of the car to try to help the driver. The next morning she learns that the driver was brutally murdered and the guilt of not helping this woman consumes her. The novel follows Cass' life over the next three months as she begins to question her sanity and lets her fear consume her.

Paris' style of writing had me questioning Cass, her husband, her best friends, and not knowing who I could trust.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

For three years, Cass Anderson had been taking care of her mother who had dementia. It has taken its toll on her, and has also made her worry that she too may have dementia some day.

The worry actually seemed to be coming true since Cass has been forgetting everything including appointments, where she left money given to her to buy a gift, and lunch dates.

On her way home from a work party, Cass passed by a car on a deserted road and didn't stop because the driver gave no indication that any help was needed. The next morning the news announced that a woman had been murdered on that same road.

The guilt Cass felt from not stopping to help caused her memory to get worse and her fears that the murderer saw her that night and was after her escalated. She did get phone calls that had no one on the other end of the line as well as many other instances that made her think she was heading the path of her mother. Was it dementia or stress? Or could it be someone making her think her memory was declining.

THE BREAKDOWN was very tense, and did have me thinking someone was purposely doing all of these things to stress her to the point of losing her memory and deciding to not go back to work.

THE BREAKDOWN had me turning the pages as well as being nervous for Cass, but it was nothing like the tension and terror of her first book.

As the ending neared, the suspense was very high as the truth came out.

I sort of figured out toward the end what was going on, but the plot and revelation were carefully and cleverly carried out by Ms. Paris.

ENJOY!! 4/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This was a really good thriller. While I enjoyed the author"s first novel, I felt this book was really superior. The plot was interesting and the tension really ratchets up throughout - this one is hard to put down. I appreciated that there were several good red herrings thrown in too, as it kept me guessing all the way to the end. I will be looking forward to the author's next thriller to see if she can top this one.

The Breakdown
By:B.A. Paris
Thriller
Five stars

What's it's about:
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, on the winding rural road, in the middle of a downpour, with the woman sitting inside―the woman who was killed. She’s been trying to put the crime out of her mind; what could she have done, really? It’s a dangerous road to be on in the middle of a storm. Her husband would be furious if he knew she’d broken her promise not to take that shortcut home. And she probably would only have been hurt herself if she’d stopped.

But since then, she’s been forgetting every little thing: 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.

The only thing she can’t forget is that woman, the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt.

Or the silent calls she’s receiving, or the feeling that someone’s watching her…

My thoughts:
OMG this is a must read, I can see why in some cases it's a hyped book, it plays with your mind as your reading , in the story you meet Cass who's driving home on a darked and lonely back road to get home in a storm , when she comes up on a parked car with a woman inside of it, at first she stops because she thinks the woman might have a breakdown,but after a short time Cass start getting a bad fell and decides to leave ,it's not until the next morning that she finds out that the lady in the car was killed, and so after that things start to go wrong, as your reading the story you get pulled in to it, and you start to think is Cass going crazy, is the killer after her or is it someone else who's after her , there was times I actually thought she was going crazy ,then the more I read I thought ok so it's the killer ,he or she knows where Cass lives and after her , but then after awhile I went back to she nuts, it was a back and forth thing with me, is Cass nuts, is the killer the one doing all the strange stuff that's happening,or is it someone else, like I said it's a must read , so glad that NetGalley give me a chance at reading what turned out to be a really good book.going to have to pick up a copy when I can.

As the reader, be prepared to be flipped on your head and surprised. This book is a more twisted “Girl on a Train.” Whether you liked “Girl on a Train” or not, this is a must read!

Review: 3.6 Stars – rounded up to 4 Stars

Publication Date: July 18, 2017.

Have you ever had that feeling like you left your stove on, or can’t remember whether you turned off the facet or flipped the laundry? This book takes that feeling and ratchets it up tenfold! Cass, the main character, is devastated by a murder on a road she wasn’t supposed to be on (per her husband), she receiving calls with silence on the other end and forgetting monumental things. Is the murder taking a toll on her or is it something more? The author drags you along, gaining momentum just as you start feeling for Cass. As the reader, be prepared to be flipped on your head and surprised. This book is a more twisted “Girl on a Train.” Whether you liked “Girl on a Train” or not, this is a must read!

Why I didn’t rate this higher: Majority of the book is spent building up Cass’ backstory. The last 25% of the book is where the ultimate action begins, and YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO PUT IT DOWN!

This book was for sure compulsively readable. I really didn't want to stop reading it the first night I picked it up. If I'd started earlier in the day, it may have been one of those I read all at once. The details just kept stacking up in the beginning and it just kept getting more and more intriguing.

Fairly early on in the book we learn that Cass, the narrator, lost her mother recently but spent many years caring for her after early onset dementia. And fairly early on we also realize that Cass is terrified that at the age of 37, she is beginning to suffer from a similar fate. So as she is dealing with the murder that took place close to her house and the fear and anguish she feels having left the woman out in the woods by herself, she is also worried she is slowly losing her mind.

The story was compelling and I really did wonder if she was losing her mind. Because she is the narrator, the story hops around a bit and I found myself feeling a little disoriented from the holes in her story. I also found myself getting annoyed with Cass, as her husband seemed to be. I wanted her to remember things and was frustrated when she would forget yet another event or plan.

The details did come together in the end, and I didn't see it coming a mile away, which I appreciate. And Cass redeemed herself with me in the end, so all was well.

This one is another book set across the pond but I'm starting to get used to a lot of these types of books taking place in charming little countries I've never visited. I like the colloquial language and I can just picture Cass's house as a charming English cottage.

I definitely recommend this one to suspense readers as one of the top suspense novels I've read this year. And great news--The Breakdown came out last Tuesday, July 18, so you can run right out and pick up your copy.