PINTEREST
BLOGLOVIN
GOODREADS
Published by HQ/HarperCollins
eBook & Paperback : 9 February 2017
approx 352 pages
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…
It’s a pleasure to be taking part in the blog tour for The Breakdown and for my turn on the tour, I have my review AND the publisher is kindly giving away 3 paperback copies. More details below.
B A Paris’ debut thriller, Behind Closed Doors, was one of my Top 10 books of 2016 and I actually squealed with excitement when a proof copy of The Breakdown arrived through the letterbox. I did wonder how this second novel would match up to the first – would it be as good? would I be disappointed? The answer to that is a big fat YES and NO. This is a cracking read – its a completely different story to that of Behind Closed Doors in my opinion; it’s not as dark a subject matter and is a more ‘typical’ psychological thriller – one that you can get your teeth into whilst your mind is being messed with!
The story begins with Cass, a teacher, driving home late at night along a deserted country lane during a storm. She sees a car parked at the side of the road with a woman driver and faces a dilemma. This results in a ‘what would you do’ scenario. Would you take the risk of getting out of your car, and possibly walking into a trap or would you drive by? Cass’ decision that night forms the rest of the story.
The tension increases when it seems that somebody is targeting Cass. Silent phone calls spook her and she is convinced that she is being stalked. Add in her escalating memory issues – all of which take their toll on her mental health; I guess this is where one meaning of ‘The Breakdown’ could apply. I felt some sympathy for Cass – my memory is rubbish too but I also wanted to shake some sense into her when her feelings of paranoia overwhelm her and she makes some questionable decisions. Her husband Matthew is sympathetic at first but he begins to question her sanity.
I really enjoyed this fast paced and insightful thriller. I did have suspicions from early on about the who and the what however with each new revelation my list of suspects grew and I certainly didn’t know who to trust so I entirely sympathise with Cass when she began to have those same doubts.
B A Paris has certainly shown that she is more than capable of repeating the success of Behind Closed Doors. This was a suspenseful, addictive read and I can’t wait to see what the author has in store for us next.
My thanks to HQ stories for the paperback copy to review.
About the author:
B A Paris is the internationally bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, her debut novel. She was brought up in England and moved to France where she spent some years working in Finance before re-training as a teacher and setting up a language school with her husband. They still live in France and have five daughters. Her second novel, The Breakdown is out February 9th, 2017.
Author Links: Twitter | Amazon UK | Goodreads
GIVEAWAY
The publisher has allowed me to give away 3 paperback copies of The Breakdown. Sorry but books can only be posted to entrants in the UK. Please enter using the Rafflecopter boxes below and 3 winners will be picked when the giveaway ends at midnight on 23 February 2017. Winners will be notified by email and/or Twitter and if no reply is received within 48 hours another winner will be selected in their place. Winners details will be passed to the publisher who will send the books out direct.
