Behind Closed Doors was outstanding. The Breakdown is even better! B A Paris has written an absolute belter of a tale that had my heart literally pounding. The first person narrative races along and I felt as if I were actually inside Cass Anderson's head, experiencing events in the same way that she did. That's skilful storytelling.

The plotting is superb and there's a real sense of tension and pressure as the events take place over a few weeks in the summer holidays. Cass is a happily married teacher. She has a good friend, Rachel, whom she's known for years. A local lady is murdered and Cass realises that she knows her and saw her just before the murder. She could have helped and from this point, Cass's life starts to spiral out of control. Tension builds inexorably with silent calls, shadowy figures in the garden, memory loss, missed appointments until Cass can barely function. She's under threat and unable to trust her memory, she becomes increasingly reliant on her husband and friends to keep her anchored. But who should she trust and who will be betrayed?

I was convinced at around the half way point that I knew where the story was leading. I was totally wrong and the denouement in the final section is sublime. Poetic justice, beautifully wrought and delivered in fast paced chunks in a twist that's revealed by working through events in reverse. Read this in almost one sitting; it grips and doesn't let go. Simply brilliant.

Possible spoilers here - don't read unless you finished book.
I liked Behind Closed Doors, which is why I requested this from Netgalley and wasn't disappointed. Though Paris can go through slow patches, with what appears to be unnecessary detail, after the big reveal it becomes clear how necessary the build up was.
My only criticism here was that the ending, in contrast, was too fast - not enough loose ends being tidied up and no satisfactory schadenfreude where you get to see the villains suffer!

My review which will be posted on my page on Goodreads:

There are already many rave reviews being written about this book. As I worked my way through it I didn't think I would be adding my praise.

However, about two thirds of the way through the story suddenly takes off.

My early notes for this review mentioned chick-lit and rambling descriptions. At one point I nearly gave up. However I'm glad I didn't, because when the psychological thriller aspects of the novel kick in they do so with abundance.

I am sure this will be one of the early successes of 2017.

This is certainly a book with a big twist. I hoped it would come, eventually it did. On the strength of this I will look out for future novels by B.A. Paris.

I offer thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin UK for a copy of this book in exchange for this impartial review.

Brilliant follow up to Behind Closed Doors. Well written characters with creepy undertones and a ending that will blow you away.

I nearly gave up on this book, about two thirds of the way through, it became repetitive and needed something to happen in the plot.
I'm so glad I didn't! The ending is fantastic. I thought I knew what was going to happen from the beginning, but there were many twists that I hadn't anticipated.
The characters are frustrating at times, and there are a few unrealistic things happening, but overall, I recommend this book.
I would have liked more descriptions about the main characters, the location etc.

Twelve months ago I was gripped by B. A Paris' debut novel Behind Closed Doors, so much so that it made my list of top books of 2016 so I couldn't wait to read The Breakdown. I was eager to find out if her second book would be as good as her first, but it wasn't. . . . . it was even better!!

Cass is on her way home, it's a filthy night and all she wants to do is get home. Deciding to go against her husband Matthew's advice she takes the shortcut down a dark, wooded and lonely road which will cut a few minutes off her journey, not knowing that it will be a decision she will very quickly come to regret.

Spotting a car in the lay-by she pulls up level with it to see if she can help the driver, but although she can make out a female sitting in the drivers seat, the woman makes not attempt to communicate with Cass. Not wanting to drive off and leave the unknown woman possibly stranded, she pulls over infront of the car to see if that encourages the driver. In the short time that Cass patiently waits her thoughts run away with her and she starts to think that maybe it's a trap and that maybe someone will steal her car if she gets out. With no movement from the car behind and no mobile signal she decides that the best thing to do would be to carry on home and make a call once she's there.

Cass never makes the call and is horrified to find out the next day that the female motorist has been murdered. Understandably she is absolutely riddled with guilt, going over and over the previous night in her mind - what if she had got out of her car, what if she hadn't forgotten to make a call when she arrived home, what if she had got out of her car, she might have been killed too - the list is endless but of course none of this will change the fact that a woman has died.

When the police find out who the mystery woman is Cass realises that she knew her and had lunch with her just a few weeks before. Her husband Matthew is supportive but he's worried when Cass starts to forget things and even more worried when she voices her fears that the murderer is making silent phone calls to the house.

In my opinion The Breakdown is an exceptional book and B A Paris is an exceptional writer. The further I read, the more palpable the tension got and at one point I could almost feel Cass' heart racing as she struggled to make sense of her life and battled the demons inside her head. No character was safe from the finger of suspicion being pointed at them and I was totally gripped, wanting to read faster to find out how it was going to end but at the same time not wanting to finish such a compelling book. As the ending was getting nearer I could feel my lips curling into a smirk and then growing wider into a grin as I realised what was happening and for me the ending couldn't have been better, but don't worry I won't spoilt it for you all.

This book raises the bar in the psychological thriller genre and although it's only January I'm pretty confident that The Breakdown will be one of my favourite books of the year. If you only read one book this year. . .make sure it's THIS one!

With kind thanks to NetGalley and publishers Harlequin UK for the review copy.

As someone who has driven past a motorist with their car bonnet up and later learned they had been struck by a car and killed, I could really relate to Cass and her guilt over the decision not to stop and assist the woman in the car. Add in the forgetfulness and the silent phone calls and this really was a chilling, gut twisting read for me. I was well and truly manipulated by the author and jumped from suspect to suspect each time convinced I had it solved. I felt a like the ending was a bit rushed but that might have been because I just wasn't ready to let the characters go. Don't you just hate it when readers say 'this would make a great movie', but this truly would.

WOW...... I have never been so tempted to skip to the end of a book to find out what happens and then go back, until now, that's how much I enjoyed this book. Nail biting, edge of your seat story, absolutely brilliant. One of the best psychological thrillers I've read to date. A must read in my opinion.

What a fantastic story from a fantastic author loved both of your books and can't wait to read anymore in the future x

Another unputdownable (when are they going to accept that word into the OED?) read from B.A. Paris. I really enjoyed her "clever, claustrophobic" debut BEHIND CLOSED DOORS and this read was "more" and "better". As POV protagonist Cass slips further and further into confusion, unsure what is her Early Onset Dementia and what is the murderer trying to scare her, so too does the reader become wonderfully discombobulated. While Cass may appear to be the very definition of "unreliable narrator" (and arguably does the wrong thing when she doesn't stop to help the woman "broken down in the woods") there is a careful depth to her that keeps you rooting for her all the way through.

I must admit that I worked out what was going on but that didn't spoil the ride. A beautifully constructed and paced domestic thriller that genuinely had me glancing behind me during my walk home.

Having loved B A Paris' debut novel Behind Closed Doors, I was really looking forward to reading her latest book The Breakdown unfortunately although I enjoyed it, this one didn't quite hit the mark. It's a psychological thriller filled with murder, paranoia and plenty of suspense, with flawed characters that make you question there integrity at every turn, but personally I expected something more. Maybe I have read one to many books in this genre, and I have come to expect a storyline to shock me and leave me breathless, unfortunately for me this is where this novel didn't meet my expectations.

One night Cassie decides to take a short cut through the woods after a night out, what she doesn't realise is that a woman will be found murdered on the very same night she passed her. Cassie starts out feeling guilty that she didn't stop to offer help, but guilt soon turns to paranoia, suspicion and dread. It soon becomes evident that Cass is having problems remembering things and as her life spirals out of control and drags her to the brink, it begs the question is this a woman struggling with mental health issues? or is there something far more sinister a foot. B A Paris convincingly describes Cass loosing her grip on reality, and you can't but help but for empathy for her character, as the author describes her emotions and feelings with such conviction I found it heightened my own feelings of anxiety and paranoia.

The Breakdown is an intriguing read and I just know there are going to be plenty of readers who will love every page of this well written novel. Unfortunately I pretty much guessed where this novel was heading, so when the twists were revealed they didn't come as a great surprise to me, I really thought there would be a twist that would make me change my opinion of this book but unfortunately it never materialised so I was left feeling slightly deflated as I had such high hopes for this novel. In the authors defence she has written a well plotted book, building skilfully on the tension and suspense and I'm sure it's a book that will become a bestseller, but for me it lacked the "thrilling" or mess with my head element I've come to expect in books of this genre.
4 ⭐ this review maybe altered slightly and edited prior to publication on my blog

I thought this book was very exciting multi layered and a damn good story I liked the main character and although I did guess the outcome towards the end it didn't detract from the story or my enjoyment in reading .I liked the ending not giving anything away but it was good.Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Having read and loved Behind closed doors I was thrilled to be able to read the secondition book from BA Paris.
The breakdown is a brilliant book, cleverly written and following the apparent happy lives of Andrew and Cass. Following the murder of a young woman close to their home Cass is finding things difficult to deal with, her fear that the murderer is close by, that they will come for her next. Those fears are compounded by strange goings on at home, silent phone calls and the feeling that she is being watched.. Cass is convinced that the killer knows who she is but does he and will she be able to escape?
Loved it, highly recommended to family and friends

Fans of thrillers will absolutely love this one!!
Cass, happily married, is on her way home one evening, in the torrential rain. Her husband does not like her taking the short cut through the woods, but as he is not in the car she decides to chance it. Cass sees a car parked in a layby, and, like a lot of us, decides to stop and see if she can help. Maybe they have broken down? All she can see through the rain lashed window is a blonde head. Cass won't get out, in case of a trap, so she waits. When no one gets out of the car, she decides to drive off. The next morning comes the dreadful news that the woman who was in the car has been brutally murdered. Cass can't tell anyone she had stopped. And then comes worse news, it was Cass's friend in the car. Cass is so guilt ridden, upset and angry. She bottles all these feelings up. And then she begins to forget things. Appointments, work, meeting friends, buying things she can't remember ordering. Her husband, worried, takes her to the doctors and she is diagnosed with early-onset dementia, a condition that robbed Cass of her mum at an early age. Cass is devastated. And then the silent phone calls begin. Is the murderer now after Cass? She is sure someone is watching her. Someone moving things around in her home, knives appearing in the kitchen. Cass, rightly so, is terrified. She suspects everyone. Friends, colleagues, but who is following Cass, and why? Is it because she saw something that rainy evening in the layby? And will she be silenced before she can tell anyone?
If you can't trust yourself, who can you trust?
Fantastic book, from start to finish. I was shouting at the screen!!

I would like to thank Harlequin UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Breakdown’ by B A Paris in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Cass is taking a shortcut through the woods during a thunderstorm and sees a car parked in a lay-by with a woman at the wheel. Thinking that the driver might need assistance she stops her own car in the lay-by ahead of the parked car but thinking it might be a trap she drives off. The next day she discovers that the woman in the car is her new friend Jane – and she’s been murdered!
Cass starts receiving silent phone calls and has the feeling that someone is watching her. She becomes convinced the murderer has noted her car’s registration number and is going to kill her too. Then Cass starts to experience memory lapses, how to turn on household appliances, appointments she can’t remember making, items she can’t remember buying, and is convinced she has the symptoms of early onset dementia which her mother died of at the age of 44.
This is a fantastic second novel by B A Paris, it has a brilliant storyline and compelling characters, is unbelievably chilling, and I can guarantee that once started the reader will be unable to put it down.

Cass drives by a parked car which she later realises contained a woman who was killed and not only that it turns out she knew her - the ensuing guilt eats her up, and the fact that she feels unable to share that guilt with anyone, not even her husband. She also has a number of memory lapses which result in unexplained happenings - like losing her car, but she also begins to receive silent phone calls.


This is going to be a hard review to write as I don't want to reveal too much about what happens in the book. I actually read this book in just two sittings which I hardly ever do - I just had to know what was going on. There aren't any chapters, just dates, so I found it difficult to place an end of chapter marker and put the book down. However, the style of writing was so easy to read that it just flowed from the page - making me turn ever faster.


I thought I had guessed what was happening in this book early on, but then I decided I had the wrong idea about it. There are plenty of red herrings to lull the reader into thinking they have guessed the outcome of the plot. The full plot is finally revealed and it is done in a really clever way. Then comes the twist and I have to say I got a little scared for Cass but was so proud of her.


My only misgiving is the final pages which seemed a little lame compared with the rest of the plot. Personally I preferred the plot in her first novel Behind Closed Doors which was much richer and much more terrifying.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars.

My thanks to Netgalley and HQ UK for an advance copy of the book for review.

I loved this author's previous book, Behind Closed Doors, and I was sceptical whether the same psychological tension could be replicated in this new book. But it was as every bit as tense and twisty! I flew through the pages; I had my suspicions about what was really going on..was she really suffering from Early Onset Dementia?..or was something else at play?...but I couldn't quite guess correctly! Great book, great storyline, great ending!

Cass is about to make the worst decision of her life when she decides to take a shortcut home on a dark and stormy night. The drive home takes her on a rural road through the woods during a torrential rainstorm. She passes a car parked near the woods with a woman inside, and she stops the car momentarily, thinking the woman will approach her if she needs help. The woman doesn't get out so Cass drives off. The next morning she discovers that the woman was later found dead in the car - and had been brutally murdered!

Cass is beside herself with guilt, could she have saved this woman? or would she herself have been murdered if she'd stopped to help?

Her decision that night has impacted badly on her health and she becomes really forgetful, forgetting even the simplest of things. This causes her extreme anxiety as she believes she's suffering from early onset dementia, just as her mother had. Then she starts receiving silent phone calls and believes whoever murdered the woman must have seen her that night, and is now watching her!

Oh Boy! I thought the author did a good job with her last book 'Behind Closed Doors', but she's excelled herself with this one. The characters are well formed, the plot is intricate but extremely clever, and the anxiety and fear jump out from every page - you've no choice but to be pulled helplessly along, yearning to discover what's coming next.

As is usual for me, I had a suspect lined up for the murder immediately- had them questioned, charged, and locked away. Well I was wrong! And that's what happens when I pit my my wits against someone as adept at her craft as B.A.Paris is.

Do yourself a favour and don't miss out on this one - you'll be missing a treat if you do!

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.
I really enjoyed B A Paris' first novel and had high hopes for this one. It did not disappoint. A thrilling, pacy tale with twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. Excellent characters and I particularly empathised with Cassie and the situation she found herself in. The book is cleverly written and really drew me in to the unfolding drama.
4.5 stars

At the start of the book I was thinking "NO......I KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING"
then at 15% I am thinking" but why . No this doesn't make sense". All through the book my mind was working over drive.
This is kind of book you can't stop reading . I read it in one day, couldn't stop until I finished .
This book was brain teaser.