"The Breakdown" by B.A. Paris is a haunting tale of a woman named Cass Anderson. The story exposes the major humiliations that she experiences over the course of several months. After learning of a brutal murder of a woman, Cass feels unfathomable guilt after realizing that she never got out of her car to help the woman who was pulled off the side of the road. Her anxiety escalates even further when she realizes that she knew the dead woman.

In addition, Cass starts to experience episodes of forgetfulness. She is fearful that she will succumb to the same fate of her mother, who was diagnosed with dementia at age 44. Cass starts to slither into a depressed state of mind and finds difficulty in mundane tasks. Her world becomes clouded by drugs that are prescribed for her by a doctor for her anxiety.

Without giving too much away, I would have to say that this book will be in my top ten for 2017. Paris does a great job of lingering in moments of despair and hopelessness. Cass' character was the heart of the story.and I was intrigued if and how she would climb out of her depression. I finished this book in one night and immediately ordered her first book, "Behind Closed Doors." This is an author who is here to stay and hopefully will continue to entertain us with her gripping and powerful stories.

My thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and B.A. Paris for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

After reading Behind Closed Doors, I was eagerly anticipating B.A. Paris's next novel, and it did not disappoint! Cass's inner monologue throughout the book really made you feel like you were in the story. It moved at the perfect pace where it kept you hooked, but you didn't feel like you were being rushed towards the conclusion. Although I read this in the spring, it seems like it would be a great beach read for the summer.

After being thoroughly disappointed (and bored) by Behind Closed Doors, I was skeptical going into The Breakdown. The Breakdown had me hooked from the first page to the very last. There are so many twists and turns, ups and down… buckle up!

Cribs notes: Cass takes a shortcut through a dirt road and comes across a parked car. After pulling over to see if the woman in the car needs help, he deems it unsafe to get out of her car and continues home. The next morning, Cass finds out that the young woman in the car had been murdered. Cass is torn up and ridden with guilt for not having done something. Cass’s starts having memory issues and fears the worst as her mother suffered from early onset dementia. In addition, Cass starts receiving silent calls from a blocked number whom she is convinced is from the murderer.

I could not put this book down. It had my holding my breath. Every time I thought I had it figured it out, I was wrong.

This book delivers. You will not be disappointed. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Breakdown in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved B.A. Paris' first novel, Behind Closed Doors so I couldn't wait to read this one. While I figured out the "who done it" part around 20%, it didn't really ruin anything for me and I questioned my guess a couple of times. I really enjoy Paris' writing. The book kept me hooked until the very end. I look forward to her next book.

Had a pit in my stomach reading this book! I found this to be a page turner until about half way through the book, then it slows and picks right back up at the end!

I enjoyed this read, I liked it more that Behind Closed Doors, it was more believable...

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!!

I previously enjoyed B.A. Paris' debut novel, Behind Closed Doors, so I was excited to read her much-anticipated follow up novel, The Breakdown, via Netgalley.

One of the best elements of this novel was the the unreliable narration. This is one of my personal favourite literary devices, because it add a level of uncertainty into any story. In this novel, the main character is painfully aware that she cannot trust her own memories, which creates an interesting dynamic.

The writing was a bit cumbersome at times with some awkward sentences occasionally pulling me out of the reading immersion. The characters, themselves, were fairly decent. There was not a lot of character development, which is a common complaint of the thriller genre. Most of the characters were emotionally detached and a touch unlikeable.

Unlike in Paris' previous novel, the Breakdown relies on elements of mystery and plot twists to pull along the narrative. Much of the storytelling is designed to purposely leave the reader in the dark. Unfortunately, this is the greatest weakness of the story. The big build up to the ending and the final reveal was quite underwhelming, because the plot twists in this novel are very, very obvious. Most people who has read at least a few psychological thrillers will be able to guess the ending from a mile away.

However, despite accurately guessing all the plot twists, I still generally enjoyed the reading experience. The deterioration of the main character was quite entertaining to read, although it became a bit repetitive in parts. The story started out a little slow for a psychological thriller. Yet, the buildup of the narrative was very well done. By the midpoint of the novel, I was pulled into this page-turner.

Overall, I think fans of Behind Closed Doors will likely enjoy Paris' new novel. I would recommend this one to readers looking for an entertaining story, but do not necessarily need a shocking ending.

This book was incredibly hard for me to get through, from the beginning to the very end.

To start the main character, Cass, leaves a party with her co-workers and drives home in the middle of a horrible storm. She phones her husband and he tells her not to take the shortcut to their house, it’s a windy road and it’s night time and storming and it seems like a good decision to me. But instead she decides to take the road and comes across a car broken down on the side of the road, lights flashing. She pulls in front of the car and waits, but no one ever gets out, and she doesnt’ want to get wet either. So she decides that the driver has already called for help and they are on their way, so she pulls away and finally makes it home safe.

The next day she finds out that the woman she saw inside the car was murdered right after she had driven by, and thus begins the longest novel of my entire life.

So the bottom line is that the main character Cass, just isn’t relatable at all to me. She was annoying most of the time. Her mother had early onset dementia and now she thinks that she is getting it too because she keeps forgetting everything. She is always stressing out or having a panic attack about something incredibly stupid. Then she gets in her car and speeds around town until she sees someone she knows. And the panicking and the forgetting and the freaking out about stuff just goes in a circle over and over and ohmygod is there ever an end? I have a couple huge beefs about the inconsistencies in her character, but it isn’t easy for me to talk about them without spoiling the plot, so if anyone wants to talk about this book feel free to comment or message me.

The husband was supposed to be this super hot guy, as the author had implied many times, but I couldn’t help but think about him as this sloppy fat mulleted white guy that was nice to his wife until they got in the car away from everyone. As I was reading I felt like their relationship was a farce, or maybe that is what the author was shooting for? I don't know but it was impossible for me to connect with any of the characters.

This book obviously took place in England, so maybe I'm not as familiar to their culture. But I also think that may be a reason why I was having a hard time believing all these situations Cass was getting in.

But there was an end, and there was a twist, just like every other book that is published these days.

It was an ok twist, one that I sorta saw coming since the very first chapter. Most of it was just way to unbelievable for me, and I think that’s why I couldn’t like it or the characters.

I thin that the author has a good writing style, and there was nothing wrong with the imagery or anything, there was just dumb stuff happening, with a totally unsatisfying ending.

I was so disappointed through the entirety of the book because her first book is one that I see other readers raving about, so I was sure that this one would be so much better, but I was only able to hang in there because I promised NetGally a fair and honest review in exchange for letting me read the book for free. If I had been reading my own book I would have put this one down early on. Honestly the only reason I gave it the extra star is because I thought that the basic concept of the novel was original enough, but it all needed to go down in a different way. There might be plenty of people that enjoy this one once it comes out. 2/5 stars.

The premise was interesting the beginning sucked you in, but I felt like the middle dragged. The ending was strong and exciting.

I loved this book! I read it in one day since it was very engaging and it kept me on the edge of my seat.
If you enjoy a good plot twist and a book that keeps you guessing throughout the story; then this is a must- read.

Many thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. If I could give 4.5 stars I would. It's a good, solid psychological thriller. I enjoyed it a lot. Part way through, I thought I had everything figured out...twice....but later discovered I was wrong. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 was that some of the episodes seemed to occur over and over. That said...if this was really happening to me, maybe that would be even more of a concern. I not only couldn't put this down, I found myself thrilled my husband was gone :) so I had the afternoon to continue reading to the conclusion! I hadn't read the author's first book, and I just immediately ordered it. Another was in my line up...but Paris has gone to the top!

I have to admit I really struggled with this book. I found the main character to be really hard to like and it made it a struggle. I'm glad I did persevere to the end because I felt it improved a lot once the "twist" was revealed.

A very tense psychological thriller that starts out with a character seemingly overreacting to a situation she's involved in after she learns a woman has been murdered. At the same time, she's desperately afraid that she's going to suffer from early onset dementia as her mother did. Soon, nothing makes sense as she begins forgetting things. It starts out innocuous, then one day she can't remember how to use the microwave. Another day, she can't figure out the washing machine.

In the middle of all of this, she is receiving many phone calls with an unidentified caller where no one is there, but they don't hang up. Things continue to go downhill for Cass as she is given medication to help her deal with the situation and no one around her believes her and she falls deeper and deeper into anxiety, depression and forgetfulness.

The story dragged me in, even though I had troubles with how upset Cass was at the start of the book. It seemed out of proportion to the situation. In fact, she'd behaved as any normal woman who isn't in a horror movie would do - she removed herself safely from the situation. So that part didn't add up, but soon I just had to know what the real story was. Was Cass really an unreliable narrator or was there more involved. To be honest, I had to believe that there was more involved otherwise all of the suspense was building up just to learn that she really was forgetful.

Good book with a satisfying conclusion. I still have the bad taste in my mouth from believing she was overreacting in the beginning though.

I had heard rave reviews of Behind Closed Doors, so I wanted to get my hands on The Breakdown as soon as possible. It's fast paced, draws you in way faster than The Girl on the Train, of which many will draw comparisons. While the title characters share several qualities, Cass had her life together-- good job, happily married, close friends, and enough money to live comfortably. Everything changes when she doesn't stop on a stormy night for a pedestrian in possible trouble and doesn't report it. Paris includes lots of plot twists and successfully makes you believe you're losing your mind! For readers who want to see how you could intertwine Still Alice and The Girl on the Train, this one's for you!

I really enjoyed Behind Closed Doors so I was excited when I got the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this (thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press). Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed. I found the first 80% of the book to be slow and boring. Cass was annoying and so dumb. The repetition of Cass forgetting something and then freaking out while her husband and friend acted shady was just too much. Their reactions to Cass were so unrealistic that their involvement was obvious from the start. The ending was predictable but I actually started enjoying the book more once the "twist" was revealed, even though I knew it was coming. The way the truth was revealed to Cass goes beyond suspension of disbelief but whatever. This was okay but not nearly as good as Behind Closed Doors.

I could not wait to read this, Behind Closed Doors was the best book I have read in years. This book was awesome, not quite as good as her previous novel, but still great. I could not stop reading this to find out what was going to happen. I loved all the twists and the ending was amazing!

4.5 stars rounded up!  What an absolutely thrilling and emotional ride this book took me on!

This book totally consumed me and I couldn't think of anything else but this book. I was reading it everywhere and anywhere which was annoying the heck out of my husband.

THE BREAKDOWN by B.A. PARIS is an interesting, thrilling, suspenseful, and cleverly written psychological thriller that takes you on a very emotional and apprehensive tale here questioning the psyche of our main protagonist, Cass.  Is she really having a breakdown, early onset dementia, or is there something more sinister at work here?

B.A. PARIS delivers an impressive, tense, and mind-blowing story here that was executed at breakneck speed grabbing my attention from the very first page and didn’t let go until the very last word.  I could really feel Cass’s emotional distress, guilt, anguish, and frustration throughout the novel and questioning her mental health right along with her.  I didn’t know what the heck was going on and I loved it!

Okay, while I found this story to be really fun and exciting for the most part I must say that I did find some of it to be a little predictable and tedious in parts but it sure made up for it though with its heavy buildup of anticipation, the thrilling climax, and the unexpected and surprising conclusion to make this an extremely good read.

To sum it all up it was an entertaining, gripping, fast-paced, and an easy read with an unexpected and exciting ending. Highly recommend!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, B.A. Paris, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book for a fair and honest review.

...THE BREAKDOWN (great title) begins on a dark rainy night with an ill-advised shortcut home on a winding secluded road surrounded by woods, and the nightmare for Cass begins when she spots a lone woman in a car who on that same eerie night becomes a murder victim. (no spoiler here)

...From here, the story becomes intense when forgetfulness begins to overwhelm Cass and suspicious phone calls leave her feeling frightened, confused and unable to function normally....or knowing who to trust.

...While the storyline is an interesting one that grabbed my attention right from the start, (for me) a good portion of the story was predictable, and a bit monotonous, hence the 3 Star rating, but the wind-up....now that was excellent!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

If you love unreliable narrators, you'll love The Breakdown. Does the title allude to a car breaking down in the beginning, the driver later found murdered, or is it about the main character's declining state of mind after realizing she saw the driver alive and failed to render aid? Or does she, instead, have early onset dementia like her mother? I went back and forth throughout the book, thinking I'd "just" figured it out. I hadn't. Paris does a superb job of creating doubt in the reader's mind at every turn. Such a deliciously fun escape!

To be honest this was probably more of a 2.5 star rating. I didn't find it very compelling and I didn't really care about any of the characters. I found Cass to be a pretty frustrating character and the plot was pretty predictable. As a whole the book is reasonable entertaining and well written, but it just didn't work for me.