Greetings Friends!
Today, I have a review of B.A. Paris’s The Breakdown, her highly anticipated follow-up to last summer’s hit Behind Closed Doors, which I also reviewed and you can read here.
Rating:
Synopsis:
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.
About the Author:
Review:
The Breakdown is definitely more of a slow burn and can truly begin to test your patience as Cass’s inability to understand what is happening to her begins to drag on and become quite repetitive. This is not the fast-paced thriller of her previous book nor are there any shocking moments that would make this dark and difficult to read. It reads simply as more of a traditional mystery that is incredibly hard to put down, especially once the pieces start coming together.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first person narration from Cass’s perspective because she is the embodiment of an unreliable narrator. You have no idea if what she is going through is what is really happening, yet you begin to realize that you can’t trust anyone else around her either. I loved the experience of living this situation out through her and discovering the horrific truth right alongside her. I was just as frustrated and exhausted as she was! One minute I was overwhelmed with sympathy for her predicament, but then the next, I was so incredibly annoyed!
There is nothing complicated about this story and more savvy thriller readers will probably question the logic of some of the plot elements that lead to the big reveal; however, this was still an incredibly twisted and gripping read. Definitely pack this one with you to enjoy along with your summer plans!
Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and B.A. Paris. It was a pleasure reading this book and providing a review!
That's What She's Reading 