After reading The Breakdown, the first word that came to my mind was - Meh. I didn't hate it. But I didn't love it.
The novel starts on a promising premise - Celeste has been in a car accident ( a suspected suicide attempt) and has lost parts of her memory. Pregnant at the time, she gives birth to a little girl who dies mere weeks later as she and her family are living at their holiday home on an island off the coast of Maine. And now her other daughter, Lizzie, is missing. Where is she? Did somebody take her? Who?
Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Unfortunately, after the set up, the story just crawled. Part of the problem was the multiple perspectives the narrative follows. There's Celeste, her therapist (Stephen), the British au-pair (Jayne), the personal nurse, and the female detective (Detective Alba) assigned to Lizzie's case. Their POVs alternate back and forth and it soon becomes a dragging story. I couldn't relate or develop feelings for any of the characters. They just ended up annoying me more and more as the story progressed and their mountain of lies grew higher and higher. There are lots of red herrings to choose from and the reader is kept guessing until the end. The twist was fairly inventive but, in the end, I just couldn't care less.

Written from multi-viewpoints, The Breakdown tells of how British Au Pair Jayne Smith joins the Wainwright family on Cliff Island, situated off the coast of Maine, to look after their three children. Celeste Wainwright has had a breakdown following a car crash, a suspected suicide attempt.
Celeste is now convalescing on Cliff Island with her husband and children, supported by a nurse and a therapist. A head injury sustained during the accident has left gaps in her memory. Sometimes she is lucid, other times not.so much. Soon after Jayne’s arrival, a death and a disappearance bring Detective Adele Alba to the island as part of the investigating team.
Cleverly written, the narrative moves back and forth between the various characters as the story progresses. There are people with secrets to hide; secrets that make them likely candidates for the crime Adele is investigating. I have to admit I was convinced, despite the many twists and turns that I knew who was responsible. However, when the truth was revealed, I really didn’t see it coming.
My thanks to Arianne Richmonde, Netgalley and Bookouture for an ARC of The Breakdown in exchange for an honest review.

I hate to give negative feedback so I’ll blame this one on the time change. This novel should have worked as it had all the elements there to make it a great story. But for me I found everything too disjointed and sometimes the added information or the introduction of new characters was too disjointed. Perhaps too many points of view - of which I AM a fan. The POV was really between Celeste, a wife and mother who is recuperating and receiving around the clock care at her on summer home with family and other care givers. When Celeste has her accident her 4 year old daughter was in the car and her unborn child. Miraculously all survive.. Celeste is suffering from brain trauma that has her memories of events come and go. Sadly less than a week after her return home, newborn daughter Violet dies mysteriously by presumed cot death. If that weren’t tragic enough her beautiful 4 year old daughter Lizzie is taken from her room right after that. Lizzie has simply vanished. Enter the Detective. This is where the second point of view that makes sense comes into play with the arrival of Detective Alba assigned to the case to help solve Lizzie’s disappearance. We could have had interviews with the supporting cast of characters rather then separate POV’s. I found these detracted from the story.

I know it was also an uncorrected proof copy but the line editors have a way to go yet. I’m very sorry to say that this novel was not for me. Writing a novel is hard enough without negative reviews.

Thank you however to Netgalley and Bookoutre for this ARC. However, this was one was not for me.

Celeste can't remember much of her life prior to her car accident or even giving birth to her daughter in the aftermath. The family hires Jayne to help out with the two older kids while Celeste recovers. Celeste's 4-year-old daughter disappears one night and with Celeste's memory problems and everyone else's secrets, it is unclear who is to be trusted. This was okay. I kept reading because I wanted to know what happened more than that I was actually enjoying it. The ending was not predictable. 3 stars.

The Breakdown will be hitting shelves April 11!

This is a lower rating for me since this is a thriller but I'll explain why it was a three star read. This book is gripping in the sense that you want to figure what is going on! It's a crazy ride with a few twists thrown in there.

The biggest thing that hindered my rating was how the chapters were set up. The book has three different points of view and sometimes in that short chapter (only a few pages long) we read from a different time period. This left me feeling very disoriented with the story and led to a lower rating.

This would have been a higher rating if that author stuck staying in one time period or stayed with only one point of view rather than three different ones.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks to netgally and bookoutore for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Celeste has been in a car crash and lost her memory. The detail of what happened is unclear, and the waters get muddied even more when her youngest baby dies, and her second daughter disappears. What is really going on?

The story is told from several POVs. The breakdown begins with Lizzie, the second daughter of Celeste and max, being taken away. This is a great way of starting a book, getting right into the action. Unfortunately I wasn’t too impressed with the development of the story until I’ve read half the story. There were some obvious writing errors, and the writing style wasn’t to my liking at first. The second half of the book was better, though. The words flowed more easily, and the suspense increased. I was wondering who was telling the truth and waited impatiently for the big reveal. Richmonde certainly did give me several options for who’s done it. I didn’t like Jayne, the au-pair very much. How likely is it that she fell ‘in love’ with Lizzie so fast? And her curiosity just got a bit too much. Stephen also didn’t appeal to me. The novel got more interesting the last chapters when everything you thought was suddenly turned upside-down, but my overall impression was that this was a good novel, but it didn’t quite satisfy my thirst for a nail-biting thriller that kept me captivated for hours.

An au pair is coming over to the island to take care of the children in a family she does not know. Turns out she really has no clue what is going on, since everything is so polished and hushed. Everything is not what it seems to be, and it is hard to know whom to trust and whose lies are the biggest.

There is one dead child, and another goes missing. There is no suspect, or maybe everyone around could be considered suspects. The perfectly seeming family is far from it, and it is time to find out the truth...

This was a fast and easy read that kept me guessing, and I liked it that it was murky and filled with twists, even though it was more of "a lot happens under the current" instead of a fast-paced thriller.

Jayne arrives on the quiet island through the fog and mist to meet the family she's Au Pairing for this summer. She doesn't know much about the Wainwrights and their three children, but she could do with the work and the kids seem lovely. But after a while, she realises something isn't quite right with the few residents of the sleepy island.

Celeste Wainwright doesn't remember before the accident. They said she had a breakdown, crashed the car. And right now, she feels mad so maybe she did. But everything is a blur - her marriage, her summer house, her sister-in-law and her new Doctor who are always around, even giving birth to Violent just weeks ago - it's all murky.

She knows she should feel safe here with the family - but something isn't adding up. Somebody is keeping secrets. And if she's right, those secrets could be fatal not just for her but everyone she loves.

"There are secrets buried here. Rumours whisper amongst themselves about ghosts and centuries-old ships sailing in the fog and mist. The dead still live on, some say."

Arianne Richmonde is a Queen when it comes to a twisty tale. The Breakdown is a darkly convoluted tale that leads the reader down paths of despair and confusion only to turn a corner somewhere even more terrifying. Full of complex layers of lies and deceit that slowly peel away page by page until everybody is a suspect and we're not even sure what we're suspecting them of.

Told from multiple perspectives, we hear from Celeste, Jayne and Dr Stephen, we get to know the main players in the game personally and they're all perfect examples of the fact that a well-written character doesn't have to be likeable. They were complex, curious individuals who lived perpetually in a murky grey area of ambiguity.

This burned so slowly I felt like one of the characters waiting impatiently and anxiously for something to happen, setting each scene with painstaking detail. But when everything finally exploded, it was mind-blowing, although there was a bit too much telling rather than revealing towards the end of the conclusion for me.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Fantastic book - kept me reading and guessing to the end! Twists and surprises throughout! I loved this book - can't wait to read more of Arianne Richmonde's books. The ending was totally satisfying!!

Really enjoyed reading this as it was told from the eyes of many and left you wondering after each chapter.. The title lets it down because it is so much more than a breakdown.

Well-done. This was suspenseful and a great who-dun-it. The author spun the story in a way that made you suspicious of every character. The ending was unexpected. There were a lot of grammatical errors, but it was still an enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

What a nail-biter! I couldn’t put this book down. Imagine waking up with no memory and someone telling you who you are, what you do, and what you like. Would you be able to trust them? Celeste starts questioning things when she has a flashback. And what she thinks she saw, is different then what everyone is telling her. I love the storyline and the author had you guessing until the very end. Everyone seemed like could of been the one to do it.

This was actually a good psychological thriller book!

Celeste has lost part of her memory due to a car accident. She lost her infant child Violet. Meanwhile, Celeste's husband Maz hires a British au pair, Jayne Smith. Then one day, Celester's four year old daughter Lizzie goes missing.

The first part of the chapter was slightly boring to me in my opinion. The story is told from Celeste's. Jayne's and Stephen who is Celeste's doctor's perspectives. But when Lizzie goes missing, then things start getting interesting as the police gets involved. From the middle part of the book onewards, the story gets intense and fast paced with thrills and twists along the way. The ending is what actually blew me off and I did not expect that kind of ending at all.

The author's writing style was great and the author did a good job of at least drawing the reader into the story by the middle of the book. The characters in the story are nearly unlikable yet that did not deter me from reading the story. Overall, if you like an unputdownable thriller, then this book will be the one for you. Worth four stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Sweet Baby Fluffy Foxes!!! 😯😯😳😳🤯🤯🤯

HOLY FLUFF! HOLY FLUFF! WHHHAATTT?!?! What did I just read?! 😳🤯 Great grief my mind is absolutely spinning! I can't... what ... but I ... but she?! ... WHHHAAATTT?!?! 😱
Celeste was in a car accident a year and a half before. She's now dealing with memory issues & has a full time nurse. Her husband Max has taken them to an island in Maine to a summer home they own to help Celeste recover. They're two children, Lizzie & Liam need an au pair so they hire Jayne. A week after her arrival, Lizzie goes missing on the island. What could have happened to her? Did Celeste do something without realizing it? Or maybe Jayne had a hand in this? Will Lizzie be found? Oh the secrets that will come out.
Seriously, this is one INSANE psychological thriller to the greatest extent! Seriously don't even bother TRYING to guess because you. Will. Not. See. It!! Freakin flabbergasted! 😯 This was absolutely genius! My freakin' gosh!! The constant loops, twisted suspects, endless guessing and doubts. I'm. Speechless. My jaw hurts!

Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture for this DARC.
Release Date: April 11, 2022

I give this a high 5 / 5 Bouquets! 💐

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me a digital ARC of this book. The opinions are my own and freely given.

This book is told from the POV of Celeste, Jayne and Stephen and "The Disappearance" - which is Detective Adele Alba.

The story begins with the abduction of Lizzie, a 4-year-old girl. That in itself, had me hooked. This book bounced from days before the disappearance to 8 days after. It is set up nicely as to not lose you with the timeline. Interspersed throughout was the detective trying to get to the bottom of the disappearance. I will say, this is not what I was expecting from reading the synopsis - even better. My suspicion went round and round to everybody from the husband, the nurse, even Celeste herself. Everybody has secrets they are trying to hide. And Jayne and Stephen do not like having Alba on the island. This story took a turn that I didn't see coming and kept me reading to figure out just what the heck was happening. There was a moment that I was like, huh? that isn't what was said before, BUT ALL WE BE EXPLAINED! I loved this book! Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and Arianne Richmonde.

I thought this book started off very slowly but the twists kept on coming to keep the reader interested and it turned out to be a real good read, and one that I would recommend

Wow this takes the word “Breakdown” to a whole new level. Poor Celeste has had a horrible car accident while she was pregnant with her 3rd child, Violet and her other daughter. She’s brain damaged and her husband hires an au pair to help with the kids. I do admit I was a little confused in the beginning as there are flashbacks, before and after etc but i kept reading! The chapters are in different points of views from all the characters so it really keeps you guessing till the end. Secrets, lies … this book has it all! Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

Brilliant!
This story was certainly full of dark, unexpected, twists and surprises!
The first page reveals a loved ones’ worst possible nightmare. Immediately I needed to know WHY and Whodunnit!
From there on, the story developed slowly, at times almost too slowly, but I realized it fit the frustration, anguish and even paranoia the characters were feeling in uncovering and solving this big horrific mystery.
AND…it’s not the only one!

This is a story about the evil that hides in plain site behind the beautiful homes of the beautiful people in the beautiful parts of this country. In this case Cliff Island in Maine.

Nothing is what it appears and EVERYONE is a suspect. EVERYONE has dark secrets and EVERYONE is a liar!
YET, on the outside we see the perfect family, the perfect life, the perfect reputation! They seem so lovely and so easy going!
Sca-ry!

The characters are not very likable but they were riveting!
I needed to get to know them!

Smart, cunning and super conniving, every one of these characters is harboring secrets and anything anyone says or does has a double meaning. Each of them knew that everyone, including themselves were hiding secrets and lying to protect those secrets. But these secrets were festering and they needed to dig them up and come clean.
Huh?
Yep the plot thickens!
Why?

The build up, the character development was intricate and almost methodical!
Oh what a twisted web the Wainwrights wove and I loved being caught in it.
The lies we tell to get what we want, what we need is closely examined. I enjoyed how current world events were incorporated into the plot line adding to the frustration and how things don’t move at the pace you want them to.

This is the kind of read that once I started reading, despite getting frustrated cause I wanted to get to the point, I got so caught up in the story, I couldn’t put it down.

The ending… holy wow!
Never saw that ending coming!

There were elements of this story that could have been tightened up and condensed but otherwise this was such an enjoyable unputdownable read!
4.5 stars.

The Breakdown by  Arianne Richmonde  is described as a totally nail-biting  psychological thriller. The book is incredibly atmospheric; the descriptions so vivid I can picture them in my mind.

The characters are an intriguing mix  of people. The main ones, all seem to be a bit "off" in one way or another. Their relationships with each other at times secretive and other times quite open; some of them are controlling. When the four-year-old, Lizzie vanishes, there is no end to the list of suspects because the author has let us into their actions and behaviors in such a way I could not pick just one who would have been responsible. Every one of them seems like they could be likely candidates.

After many red herrings everything becomes clear in the end.

This book is just wow. I was addicted to this book. It was really gripping really well written and just fantastic. Just wow.